By Neil Patel

When you’re trying to drive traffic to your website and generate new leads, the goal is to make your content as attractive as possible. After all, with so much competition out there, it’s important you stand out from the crowd and grab someone’s attention right away, right?

The answer’s yes!

Just like you spend time and energy creating visually appealing content for users to enjoy, you shouldn’t forget the finer details: namely, your links.

Yes, really. URLs matter. Let me show you why link shortening is worth your time and what link shoortening alternatives to Goo.gl are worth trying.

What Is Link Shortening?

Link shortening takes longer links, with their confusing combination of numbers, letters, and special characters, and turns it into a short, readable link.

Here’s an example from NASA’s Twitter feed. The link is only a few characters long, it contains the NASA branding, and it’s clear where the link redirects to:

Here’s another example. When you click the link, it takes you to a YouTube video. The destination is fairly clear from the short link (youtu.be) even though it’s unbranded, meaning there’s no mention of NASA’s name in the link:

The original “longer” link looks like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mqsd0ru_pc

Which one do you think looks more attractive on a website or social media post? Which one would you be more likely to click on?

Chances are, it’s the first option, and the reality is, your potential customers feel the same way.

Why Should You Use a Link Shortening Tool?

OK, so that’s how link shortening works, but is it worth your time? Here’s a bit more detail.

In most cases, URL shortener tools also track how many people click your links. You can track who clicked your link to calculate the success of ad campaigns or content marketing strategies you’re running. From a marketing perspective, link shorteners are invaluable.

It’s also ideal for social media posts, where you might have a limited number of characters to convey your message. Shortening URLs and focusing on content makes it easier to engage your followers.

Finally, short URLs are more attractive. They’re easier to read and make your content more user-friendly. You can also create branded links with URL shorteners to reinforce your brand message at the same time.

Since great marketing is all about creating a great experience for your customers and building awareness, short URLs are a crucial tool.

To be clear, it’s not always worth shortening URLs. For example, …read more

Source:: Kiss Metrics Blog