use the right URL shortener!

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by PhilipSEO, Aug 11, 2010.

  1. #1
    Almost all of use have used URL shorteners. Does it matter which you use? Does it make a difference from an SEO point of view? Well, it turns out the best URL shorteners, such as tinyurl.com or bit.ly, use a 301 redirect (and this passes most of the link juice if the link itself is "dofollow"). Moreover, the top shorteners also provide a tracking capability. I wanted to share this article, which I have found useful. It offers a comparison chart of the most commonly used shorteners and lists their advantages and disadvantages:
    http://searchengineland.com/analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-you-use-17204
    Make sure to use an SEO-friendly shortener!
     
    PhilipSEO, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  2. fr@nc!z

    fr@nc!z Active Member

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    #2
    I'm using either bit.ly or tiny.cc in shortening my URL.
     
    fr@nc!z, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  3. ruby.mein

    ruby.mein Peon

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    #3
    Hi,

    Me too...I always use bit.ly and tiny.com for my URL shortening....
    Thank for the article you've post it ca help to others....
     
    ruby.mein, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  4. PhilipSEO

    PhilipSEO Notable Member

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    #4
    Actually, I am conducting a little test here to verify whether URL shortener sites appear as referrer sites in Google Analytics. Please help me test this. All it will cost you is two clicks. I think the results will be of general interest, and I will gladly report them here. Thank you!
     
    PhilipSEO, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  5. AirForce1

    AirForce1 Peon

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    #5
    Hi,

    Thanks for your nice information. But, In my own experiences, shorten links like TinyURL would not be calculated as back links for our sites even though they are 301 redirection urls.

    all the best,
     
    AirForce1, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  6. sousen

    sousen Active Member

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    #6
    Yes Philip statement is very useful I read it earlier from a blog post from that time I use to make my url shorter tinyurl.com or bit.ly
     
    sousen, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  7. Peter_jd

    Peter_jd Well-Known Member

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    #7
    I always use bit.ly thanks for sharing this nice information
     
    Peter_jd, Aug 11, 2010 IP
  8. seo4me

    seo4me Well-Known Member

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    #8
    me too use the same services!!!!!
     
    seo4me, Aug 12, 2010 IP
  9. alan.xie

    alan.xie Peon

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    #9
    me too...
    thanks for sharing
     
    alan.xie, Aug 12, 2010 IP
  10. PhilipSEO

    PhilipSEO Notable Member

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    #10
    The test is now complete and this is the result:

    1. 301-based URL shortener without preview: the original site (not the URL shortening site) shows up as referrer in Google Analytics

    2. 301-based URL shortener with preview: the URL-shortening site shows up as referrer in Google Analytics (not the original site)

    I hope this is of some interest.
     
    PhilipSEO, Aug 12, 2010 IP
    Jon Potts likes this.
  11. flanagan

    flanagan Banned

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    #11
    I am using ping fm for shorting url
     
    flanagan, Aug 12, 2010 IP
  12. Zeeshankhan

    Zeeshankhan Peon

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    #12
    i use tiny.com
     
    Zeeshankhan, Aug 12, 2010 IP
  13. ksb

    ksb Well-Known Member

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    #13
    i use bit.ly and this is best shortner..
     
    ksb, Aug 12, 2010 IP
  14. yoes_san

    yoes_san Peon

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    #14
    What's the benefit of an url shortener?

    From what I gathered, people use it for twitter or something similar as they allow limited comment length? Is that all, or did I missed something?
     
    yoes_san, Aug 13, 2010 IP