URL Shorteners You Will Need in 2022
Since we bid farewell to Google URL shortener 3 years ago, we have been trying to find an alternative to the OG. while there cannot be a carbon copy of what we had, we can always find something that suits our requirements and works the best for us.
What to look for in a URL shortener
Talking of the basics, a URL shortener’s job is to take an unwieldy, long link and shorten it which makes it easier to share. When one is dealing with a long link, they are bound to make errors while sharing. Hence, shorter links are easier to type and share error-free. This typable link can go anywhere from a virtual share to business cards, prints, podcasts, etc.
In addition to the basic requirements, here are some things you need to look for in a URL shortener:
Click tracking and analyticsWhen you shorten a URL, you generate a unique link and hence, you can accurately see how many clicks the link is earning. Hence, you want your tool to be strong enough to generate analytical reports that can help you determine your marketing needs.
Customization The best tools will all allow you to customize your shortened URL. This will help you make your URL more relevant. Good tools will let you use custom domains as well.
Standalone apps We have preferred using easy-to-set-up, standalone apps as they are hassle-free and less complicated. We have stayed away from stuff that is too technical and difficult to operate.
Value for money Pricing is obviously an important factor to consider. From what we observe, certain free plans are better than the paid plans of other apps.
After experimenting with various tools, we shortlisted these URL shorteners and what makes them so great.
Bitly
Rebrandly
TinyURL
BL.INK
URL shortener by Zapier
Short.io
Sniply
This is a business-grade URL shortener that offers full services. If you have occasional use, you can simply paste your long link and shorten it without creating an account.
But the site has business features as well. It is known to be quite user-friendly. With a comprehensive dashboard and real-time data points, analytical reports, etc, this is a great way of monitoring progress.
The free plan offers:
100 links/month
Can customize the back half of 50 URLs
Paid plans:
Basic - $35/month and create 1500 links/month
Premium - $200/month and create 3000 links/month. City-level data, device types, unbranded QR codes, etc also included.
They strongly believe in customizing links for better personalization. Hence, they offer link customization in the free plan as well. They also offer tools for tracking clicks, generating QR codes, etc.
Free plan:
500 branded links, 5000 click tracking/month
Paid plan:
$24/month for 5000 links and 25,000 click tracking/month.
This has been around since 2002 and stuck because of how hassle-free it is. You simply have to paste your long link, customize the later half if you wish to, and shorten it! This link won’t expire as well.
Signing up isn’t compulsory but if you do, you can even see the history of your shortened links. They offer tracking, analytics, branding, etc with the paid plans that begin from $9.99/month.
This is yet another full-service URL shortener. It does a lot more than merely shortening links. The dashboard will flash trending links and statistical data for your links. You can dive into the locations, devices, refers, tags, etc following your link. All this data can help you broadly with designing your campaigns.
BL.INK has four levels of paid plans for different purposes like teams, business, enterprise, etc.
Free plan:
1000 links, 1000 click tracking, custom domain generation.
Paid plans:
$48/month, 10,000 links, 7500 click tracking.
This site is used when you want to generate a shortened link for any performed action and save it. For example, uploading a new product on Shopify. They allow you to create a workflow that is triggered when you perform a particular action. Then it automatically saves the URL in a Google Sheet. This is a great app for an automated workflow.
Free plan:
100 tasks/month for 5 active steps
Paid plan:
$19.99/month, 20 multi-steps, and 750 tasks/month
We have seen most apps generating data on what devices your customers are using and from where. Short.io takes one step ahead of it. With this site, you can send different links to Android and iOS users. Similarly, you can have various such categories for sending unique links based on your target audience.
As for shortening the links, Short.io is a great pick. However, you will have to use your custom domain to edit the links. Further, it will allow you to study the statistical data for the links as well.
Free plan:
1000 links, 50,000 click tracking, and device targeting.
Paid plans:
$16.67/month, unlimited links, geo-targeting.
This site is famously used by editors that include third-party articles in their blogs or newsletters. If you are citing someone else’s work, Sniply is what you need.
Sniply is great for shortening URLs, tracking links, as well as adding call-to-action. This can be of major help to businesses. They allow you to add subscriptions pop-ups etc to attract people to get in touch with you.
You can easily create a call-to-action that is suitable for your business. You can select which links will pop these actions as you share them. For all these great services, Sniply is a bit pricey.
Free plan:
500 clicks/month
Paid plan:
Basic - $25/month, 5000 clicks
Business - $125/month, custom domain, no Sniply branding, customized links, etc.
Marketing in 2022 will be soaring to a level higher than what we have seen so far. We believe that these URL shortening sites will help a great deal in not only reducing the complexities but also studying the performance of our generated links. Such information depth can also aid in better campaign management.