The question on many people's minds is, "Which link shortener tool should I use?"
There are many options on the market today, and they're not all created equal.
Here are some of the best URL shortening services available and why they made the list.
What to look for in a link shortening service
To maximize your marketing success, you need to be clear about your why for using a URL shortener. It's also important to follow link shortening best practices.
To choose the right URL shortener for your business, you need to think about what features you want.
The short answer of "I want to shorten links!" isn't the whole story. The best link shortening tools will certainly shorten links, but they'll do more than that. They can help you collect important metrics, strengthen your brand's credibility, and keep the process smooth.
Which link shortening tool would you choose?
Provide easy link tracking and analytics
One of the most important keys in marketing is measuring the results of your marketing campaigns against planned performance indicators (KPIs). Knowing exactly which marketing channels generated the most clicks, which calls to action (CTAs) were most responsive, which landing pages performed best, and other important information is crucial. A link shortener tool that tracks clicks and provides detailed analytics can help you make data-driven decisions that help your marketing succeed.
Allow customized links
Brands can use Brand links to increase marketing effectiveness and build awareness.
For example, instead of a link that looks like this:
uz24ghfig11-products.com
you can use a link that looks like this:
yourcompany.com/products
The shortened URL helps users know why they're clicking on the link. It also exposes your company name to customers one more time.
Personalized or branded links add professionalism to your company's marketing and give consistency to the look and feel of your message, and when you're looking for the best URL shortening tool for your company, make sure that the tool offers personalized URLs.
Changing long URL original links
If the long URL is changed or deleted and the server can't change the URL of the page, clicking on the shortened link will take you to a long URL that doesn't exist, resulting in an HTTP 404 Not found error.
If you've already done or are doing marketing, this will cause users to bounce because they're still trying to get in through the shortened link, but they're getting a 404 error.
Check your URL shortener to see if you can change the long URL.
The 5 best URL shorteners
Using the criteria above, we've reviewed a variety of tools to generate short URLs. We also considered pricing and ease of use to find the best tools on the market.
Here are the top 5 tools we recommend for Facebook and Twitter and why.
1. Vivoldi
This link shortening service automatically generates a QR code when you create a short link. Intuitive and packed with unique features, Vivoldi gives users a simple way to shorten links and do much more. Small and large businesses can improve their link management with this tool's powerful dashboard and endless features.
Key features
- Provides a way to customize your branded links by using your company's domain name in the URL. This helps increase brand awareness and optimize SEO.
- Collect real-time data from every click. This feature allows you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns, determine which channels are performing best, and pinpoint the most engaging content. Because of its powerful real-time statistics, it's also a favorite among users who work with Shopify Partners.
- We invest in the highest level of security. All links are encrypted to keep you safe, so you can use it with confidence.
Price
- The free plan allows you to create 100 vvd.bz links per month and 10 branded links per month.
- The Personal plan costs $24 per month and includes 1,500 vvd.bz links per month and allows you to create 150 branded links per month.
- The Premium plan costs $40 per month and includes 3,500 vvd.bz links per month and allows you to create 350 branded links per month.
- The Business plan costs $73 per month and includes 5,500 vvd.bz links per month and allows you to create 550 branded links per month.
- All plans include 2 months free when you pay for a year.
2. Bitly
Bitly is the oldest of the URL shorteners. Like Vivoldi, it comes with the ability to generate QR codes and is used by a wide range of users due to its age.
Key features
- The free plan has limited functionality, but the paid plans offer a wide range of features. The interface on the dashboard is intuitive.
- It offers branded and customized links and uses 301 redirects.
- It supports a wide range of campaigns, and you can integrate your data with third parties to measure.
Price
- Free plan allows you to create 10 bit.ly links per month.
- Starter plan is only available for one-year payments, not monthly payments. It costs $96 per year and allows you to create 200 bit.ly links.
- Basic plan costs $348 for a year and $45 for monthly payments. You can create 1,500 links per month.
- Premium plan costs $2,388 for a year or $300 per month. You can create 3,000 links per month.
3. TinyURL
TinyURL gives you a way to create customized branded URLs, track links, and gain insights into your buyers' wants and needs. You don't need to sign up to use TinyURL, but if you do, you can view the history of your shortened links. This part is similar to Vivoldi.
Key features
- The TinyURL dashboard makes it quick and easy to manage links across your marketing channels.
- All subscriptions give you the ability to create links with your company's custom domain name to boost trust and increase click-through rates.
- The tool collects real-time analytics to help you track metrics and measure the performance of your campaigns.
Price
- Free version displays ads. It's best suited for personal users.
- Pro plan (the most popular package) starts at $9.99 per month. It provides 500 active TinyURLs.
- The bulk 100,000 plan starts at $99.99 per month and includes 100,000 API credits.
4. Rebrandly
Rebrandly's great features help with social media management and link tracking, and there are plenty of integration options to scale as you grow.
Key features
- Provides extensive team security options such as multiple access levels, two-step verification, and activity audit logs.
- Provides useful data points from each link, including how many people clicked on the link and their demographic information.
- Provide users with healthy traffic control features, from 301 SEO Redirects to link retargeting to mobile deep linking.
Price
- Free plan provides a total of 250 branded links.
- Lite plan costs $12 per month ($138 per year as a one-time payment) and includes a custom domain.
- Essentials plan costs $28 per month ($336 in one annual payment).
- Rebrandly's most popular option, the Professional plan, costs $85 per month ($1,020 one-time payment per year) and includes 150,000 clicks per month and a total of 15,000 branded links.
- Pro+ plan costs $359 per month ($4,310 per year) and includes five custom reports per month.
5. BL.INK
BL.INK made this list because it offers a rich set of features, the ability to drill down into analyzing results, and seamless scalability. BL.INK's platform is easy to use, yet powerful enough to help streamline and automate your team's connection strategy.
Key features
- With link management, you can shorten long links, monitor all clicks, and quickly edit them as needed.
- Branded links help you find custom short domains to use for recognizable links that work well with your SEO efforts.
- Advanced features provide flexible user permissions, granular analytics details like clicks by date, time, and device, and the strictest data security.
Price
- BL.INK doesn't offer a free URL shortener plan, but it does offer a 21-day free trial.
- Expert+ plan costs $48 per month and includes up to 15 domains, 3 users, and unlimited redirects.
- SMB plan costs $99 per month and includes 250 dynamic links.
- Team plan is $299 per month and includes 500 dynamic links and up to 30,000 clicks per month.
- Business plan costs $599 per month.
Shorten urls with Vivoldi
As a marketer, there are many benefits to using short links in your marketing. You can promote your brand, increase your credibility with your audience, save space if you have a limited character count, and create links that can be tracked for clicks and other analytics.
Choose Vivoldi as the URL shortening tool that best fits your company's goals. Decide on a tool that serves your purpose and fits seamlessly into your current processes.
Are you developing your own URL shortener? Or are you looking for an alternative to Rebrandly or another link shortener? If you need a tool that can shorten links, generate QR codes, track clicks, and more, count on Vivoldi. We are experts in helping clients of all sizes with all aspects of link management. Try Vivoldi for free.
The #1 shortened URL service. Vivoldi!
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