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A favorite ingredient: URL Shortening
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If you are a Twitter user, you already know the importance of keeping your URL size to a minimum since there is a 140 character limit on messages in Twitter. And most Twitter desktop clients such as TweetDeck or my favorite, twhirl already have URL trimming functions built in.
But for non-Twitter users, and especially genealogists with a blog or website, why would you want to go through the trouble of using a URL shortening site? The usefulness goes beyond merely trimming very long URLS – you can not only save space, but also track how many users have clicked your link and also add an element of “surprise” to your comment or blog posts.
How It Works
As an example, I’ll include a screenshot from my favorite URL shortener, tr.im:
The basic premise is this: you visit a URL shortening website, enter the long-form of your URL, click a button and out spits a shortened version of the URL.
Most of these sites do not require you to sign up or become a member but doing so may give you added features such as the ability to track URLs or add keywords or embed other information.
Tracking Your URL Hits
One big advantage of signing up at a URL shortening website is the ability to track the shortened URLs you post. Here is an example, again from tr.im:
URL Surprise!
When making a comment at another blog, broadcasting on Twitter or posting to your own blog, if you include the standard URL link to the item, you basically give away information such as the source and topic of the link. You can channel more traffic to your site if you simply describe the link and use a shortened URL instead. Most readers will be curious enough to click through to the item.
URL Shortening Resources
Did you know that there are over 100 hundred of these URL shortening services available out on the Web? Here is a brief sampling:
· bit.ly: offers Twitter services but also uses analytics and semantics; does not require registration; allows you to track the last 15 shortened URLs by placing a cookie in your web browser
· budurl: geared towards small businesses and marketers; has a free and a paid premium service; offers a bookmarklet for your web browser
· is.gd: short and simple; offers one of the lowest character counts
· snurl: unique in that you can assign a security code to the shortened URL for public or private sharing of URLs
· TinyURL: the most popular URL shortening site; allows customized shortened URLs; has a link that can be added to your web browser toolbar
· tr.im: does not require registration; offers one of the lowest character counts; allows auto-tweeting, and tracks hits to your URLs
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