How not to link shortener

The original article was published in May 2021 at original article. This article is provided as is with some minor edits. Many of my points still stand.

Here are my thoughts on the usage of link shortener services. Think of services like bit.ly or cutt.ly.

I see two main reasons why people use these services:

1. To shorten a link.
2. To track the number of clicks (like analytics).

When we input a long link, these services return a randomly generated string, e.g., bit.ly/3akDzn. This is perfectly fine. You get a shortened link ✅, and you can use it in a poster or message ✅.

Some services provide a feature where we can customize the back half of the link, e.g., bit.ly/SurveyQ1. It remains short but is descriptive enough to tell people the purpose of the link.

The issues arise when people:

1. Misunderstand the reason (1). Some people customize the back half of the link, making it even longer—for example, bit.ly/spmsejarahpapercollections. Yes, this link clearly describes its content; however, it looks messy, reduces the conversion rate, and can affect productivity when typing the link in some cases (e.g. link that appears on printed materials).

2. Don't know where and when to use it.

So, when should you use it?

• If you have a long, ugly link and want to make a poster, shortening the link can improve the design and make it look cleaner.
• If you want to track the number of people clicking the link, so you can take action based on the data.

When shouldn't you use it?

• For apps/sites that provide their own link shortener tools. For example, on Twitter and LinkedIn, no matter the length of the link you include in your post, it will automatically be shortened. People viewing your post can predict where the link will take them.
• Another example is Google Form links. By default, Google Forms generates long links, but it has a built-in option to shorten them to become something like forms.gle/hdd891VVi. Use that.
• When the link is already short and makes sense to people. Remember, you don't always need to use a link shortener.

Examples

Good examples:

Example 1:

✅ The text is short, descriptive, and easy to remember.

Example 2:

✅ The text is short, easy to spell out.

Not quite good examples:

Example 3:

❌ The text is lengthy, and looks like a random string of characters. Might be better if just use the original link.