Previously only available to users of the Google toolbar, the new URL shortening system is now open to the public. Google has created a webpage at Goo.gl where you can take a very long website address and shorten it.
Similar to programs like Bit.ly and TinyURL, Goo.gl not only shortens the URL for you, but it also integrates into your Google account with analytics. You can easily view how many people have clicked the shortened link and also see from where they came.
Unlike Bit.ly , however, you cannot currently customized your shortened link. Google says that option will be available in the future.
Two benefits come to mind with the new Goo.gl service; First, is the speed. Redirects are noticeably faster with Goo.gl than with any other program we tested. That can be as important as page load times. This is especially important for international web users clicking your links. Most URL shortening programs don’t beef up their servers for international users which often means excruciating wait times for the redirect to happen….Or, a lost visitor for you when they don’t want to wait that long.
Goo.gl, by comparrison, has the oomph to serve web browsers around the world..and get your redirects speeding along.
Another benefit to using the new service is reliability. Google has almost 100% uptime. That means your shortened links will work each time, every time. In additional, you can expect your link to work next year, the following year, and likely many years into the future. Smaller companies may or may not still be in business five years from today.
For a little icing on the cake, you can take a goo.gl url and add ‘qr’ (without the quotes) to it and the link will become a QR code for reading with smart phones, etc.
So, whether you use URL shorteners for Facebook, Twitter, long-titled blog posts, or network marketing replicated websites, you might want to test out the new Goo.gl service and see for yourself.
4. October 2010 at 4:31 am
Hi R&J
I guess it was only a matter of time before they brought out something like this. I’m more than happy to start using it, especially as it’s integrated with Google Analytics.
I usually steer clear of using the bit.ly shortener (and all the others) on my blog for links because you just don’t know if they will be around in a few years time.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Denise
Denise´s last [type] ..Your Power
4. October 2010 at 7:38 am
Hi Denise,
You’re sure right about that…it was only a matter of time. We also love the idea behind the enhanced analytics. Bit.ly has some tracking features, but the features with Goo.gl are much more robust.
Thanks so much for coming by!
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 10:27 am
Hi Robin & Judy,
You have got sooo much helpful information on your site. I’m glad I came here and read about this. Google is still No. 1 in my book, no matter what people say about it being dead. Thank for posting this – it will be my new URL shortener, for sure. I appreciate your sharing.
Wishing you a song in your heart,
Leslie
Leslie Denning´s last [type] ..A Baby’s Music Education- Part 1
4. October 2010 at 10:30 am
Leslie,
Thank you so much for your kind words! We just love sharing!
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 11:04 am
Thanks for sharing this information. First time I had heard about this one. Love the idea of it reporting to Google Analytic’s. Thanks for sharing.
5. October 2010 at 8:23 am
Hi Dan,
We’re happy to share….. Google just released it to the public a few days ago, which is likely why you just hadn’t yet heard about it… … It should definitely give us some additional information to use in tracking our visitors, etc.
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for posting this … I had no idea Google had their own URL shortener. The fact that it has so many benefits like the ones you pointed out, definitely makes it my choice for a URL shortener.
Wendy
Wendy Hewlett´s last [type] ..Self-Discovery Through Social Media
4. October 2010 at 12:22 pm
Hi Wendy….. we’re happy to share. Google just opened the doors to the public a few days ago. Like you, we will be switching over to using Goo.gl.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for this information. I am so new to internet marketing that I didn’t know URL shorteners even had analytics! I will definitely be taking advantage of this feature. Now to figure out how to make that happen…
5. October 2010 at 8:00 am
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for coming by! You’ll find if you sign into your Google account, you’ll see your stats on the goo.gl page. If you don’t have an account, just sign up for one and you can take advantage of all the statistics. When you click on the “details” link on the goo.gl page, you’ll find expanded stats like what country the visitor came from, where on the web they came from and even what browser they use.
So many stats, so little time! (laugh)……
To your success,
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 8:43 pm
Hey,
Great information here guys! I had no idea that Google had a url shortener. Being able to use it with Google analytics, the speed and reliability of Goo.gl makes it the sure choice for choice out of all the shorteners. I will definitely be back here to learn more from you.
Thank you
Bethany
Bethany Lamb´s last [type] ..Oktoberfest – Munich- Germany Video
5. October 2010 at 8:08 am
Hi Bethany,
Thank you! We appreciate your visit. We’re always happy to share helpful information….. We’re looking forward to using Goo.gl for our shortening needs….
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
4. October 2010 at 10:47 pm
I had started trying out goo.gl shortner this weekend. I do miss the ability to customize, but as you mentioned it should be available shortly.
I imagine google will be giving more love to those using the goo.gl shortner over the others just like twitter pushing their own t.co
Jeremiah M. Wean´s last [type] ..USDA Loan- 2011 Begins
5. October 2010 at 8:10 am
Hi Jeremiah,
You make an excellent point about Google love… it will be interesting to see if we hear more about that, as we think you are probably right. Hopefully, they will also have the API’s available so goo.gl can be the choice for retweets from blogs, etc as well.
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
5. October 2010 at 3:28 am
Hi Robin and Judy
Wow Google have been busy while I was away! Thanks for letting me know about this; I have always used bit.ly before but will definitely be giving it a go, even if just for the speed!
Haven’t been on your blog for awhile, need to catch up, you have some very interesting titles….. will be back for more, lol
Sue
Sue Collier´s last [type] ..Meet My New Baby…And The Cat Came Too!!
5. October 2010 at 8:11 am
Hello Sue!
Thanks for coming by again….we appreciate it. We also used bit.ly when needed, but will be moving to goo.gl as well. Just having the faster redirects will be helpful!
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
6. October 2010 at 9:56 am
This is a new one to me. I have been using Hootsuite till now.
Thanks for sharing.
Aidan Gibson´s last [type] ..How To Create A Facebook Page
6. October 2010 at 1:13 pm
Aidan,
Happy to share…… thanks for stopping by……
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
8. October 2010 at 12:00 pm
Hi Robin,
This is definitely cool, I’ve used it but like mentioned waiting for the customized version.
I have been using the plug-in Pretty Links to shorten links from my blog to get some targeted traffic from some of my links. My other option is bit.ly.
Thanks for sharing!
Tommy D.
Tommy DiPietro | MLM Sales´s last [type] ..MLM Sales Strategy Spinning The Wheel of Fortune To Solve The Keyword Research Puzzle
8. October 2010 at 2:48 pm
Hi Tommy,
It will be great when goo.gl can be incorporated into plug-ins for WordPress (like TweetMeme, etc) Thanks for mentioning, Pretty Links…. good solution as well…..
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts…always glad to see you!
To your continued success,
Robin and Judy
8. October 2010 at 5:35 pm
Hi Robin and Judy,
I heard about this and tried to go there and give it a whirl but for some reason it kept getting stuck in a temporal causality loop or something! LOL. Don’t know why but I just can’t get to the page.
I’d love to use it especially if I can tie it into my analytics. That would be awesome! I’ve been using budurl but would love to switch. I’ll just have to keep trying to access it.
Is anyone else having a similar problem?
Deb Augur´s last [type] ..Internet Marketing’s Not Dead It’s Just Been Kajabi’d!
9. October 2010 at 12:36 pm
Deb,
Sorry to hear it’s not working right for you…. It’s just http://goo.gl with no ‘.com’ or anything…. From that page is where you can check each link’s individual analytics (once you’ve created the shorter link).
Hopefully, you’ve been able to get there…..
Best,
Robin and Judy
8. October 2010 at 8:10 pm
Now this is interesting. I wasn’t aware that this shortener was now available and will definitely have to give it a try. I’ve been using bit.ly for some time but really like the idea of being able to track within Google Analytics. Thanks for great news!
Linnea´s last [type] ..Top 5 for SEO
9. October 2010 at 12:32 pm
Linnea,
It’s only been publicly available for about a week now. We do like the faster speed of the redirect and being able to track where link clicks come from, not just how many clicks a link has received, means not having to use separate links for different uses.
Thanks so much for stopping by…we appreciate you!
Robin and Judy
9. July 2011 at 3:35 pm
Hey there. I discovered your blog via Google even as searching for a related subject, your web site came up. It looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit later.