Before we get started, let's briefly discuss the background of link shortening and what a shortened URL is.
Introduction to link shortening
Link shortening has been around for longer than most people realize.
Originally, link shortening was used primarily to prevent long URLs from being fragmented in email or SMS texting.
This was due to text wrapping issues with the display used at the time.
Today, however, URL shortening is especially popular on social media.
Short URLs are easier to read than long ones, and are more enjoyable and functionally beneficial on platforms like Twitter.
There are many popular URL shortening websites.
These services have a lot to offer marketers, and Vivoldi offers much more power and flexibility than many link shortening services.
What is the Link Shortener URL Service?
- A web technology that shortens a long URL and when you click on the shortened URL, it takes you to the original long URL.
- Shortened URLs are used in a variety of ways, including sending KakaoTalk messages, sending texts, and sending emails. They're especially powerful when the content of the post is limited.
- When you click on the shortened URL, various statistics are saved before you are redirected to the original long URL, and you can view the statistics on the dashboard page.
Benefits of Shortened URLs
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When you're limited on what you can write in a post, shortened URLs are a big help.
This is especially true for Twitter and texting.
URL shortening, or URL minification, makes hyperlink text look more appealing.
Website links typically take up a lot of space. They are often unattractive strings of random letters and numbers, and can be distracting and aesthetically unpleasant.
Shortened links make your posts more readable, easier, and smoother, especially on social media platforms, make it easier for viewers to share your content, and reduce the chance of making errors when copying links.
Plus, you don't risk reading your hard-earned SEO benefits - Google is smart enough to forward link addresses to 301 or permanent redirects.
There's also click tracking to consider, and measuring the success of your marketing efforts is always essential.
Simply put, you can't improve audience targeting if you don't know how your audience is responding to your content.
Link shortening provides analytics that show you who clicked on your links, and you can analyze their behavior through a centralized dashboard.
What can you do with URL link shortening? 
URL shortening has come a long way since its inception in 2000. Here are some cool things you can do with URL shortening.
Link masking
Obviously, shortening a URL can mask the original web address.
This is bad for us as consumers because it allows spammers and hackers to hide malicious links.
Thankfully, with the security features in Chrome and other browsers, we don't have to worry about masking malicious links anymore.
By placing a plus sign (+) after a short link in Vivoldi, Google's Safe Browsing can determine if the link contains malicious code.
Example: https://vvd.bz/@vivoldi+
Proper link masking can be where you take a URL from powerful content you want to share and simplify it to get to the point of your social message.
For example.: 
The original link is https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-top-100-social-media-blogs. It's not too ugly, but it's too long to display on Twitter.
Other good reasons for masking links include.
- Hide, beautify, or brand unsightly affiliate links.
- Shorten the long domain "playyourbusinesslikeapokerplayer.com", like the title of an upcoming book, to something simpler like "vvd.bz".
- You might be masking the link so that you can track how many people click on it. This is a digital marketing best practice when sharing links online.
Link shortening URLs
It's much simpler to share a short, memorable URL than a long one, especially if the long URL contains random numbers.
Which URL would you rather yell out to a room full of people while giving a speech: short or long?
Which URL would you rather link to in a presentation?
Which URL would you rather have people know at a networking event when you run out of business cards?
Me, I use vvd.im/card. It's simple.
What URL would you add to a forum when sharing a new idea?
Whenever you share a link in a public setting, you should use a link shortener to make it pretty and track clicks.
Track link stats and clicks
Link tracking should be the first reason to shorten links.
As a digital marketer, social media operator, you know the results of your labor. If you can't prove clicks and conversions, you have little job security. 
When should you use a shortened URL?
If you're running a website, blog, or social media presence, you're probably wondering: How many people clicked on my post or link? You're probably wondering a lot.
Rather than just saying, "How many people clicked today?", it's important to understand the nature of the users who clicked the link.
For example, if a link is clicked from a cell phone, you know the name of the user's cell phone device. This phone model name tells us a little bit about the user's personality.
If the phone model name is for a phone that's only been on the market for a month, this user might be inclined to consume the latest fad or new gadget whenever it's released.
Maybe they're into tech gadgets, in which case writing a promoted post selling the latest gadgets could have a big impact on sales.
Promoted posts don't have to be written in just one community or social - they can be all over the place,
and if you know which communities or socials are getting the most clicks on the links in your posts,
you can create more promoted posts in the funnels that are getting the most clicks.
Lastly, if you're selling anything in the internet world, like marketing or shopping, URL shortening is a must.
Whether it's for personal use as a productivity tool or for tracking and reporting results for your business, use URL shortening without fail.
I highly recommend getting your own custom domain.
There are a lot of cool things you can do to impress people, save time, and boost your marketing strategy.
At Vivoldi, we're not just a URL shortening service, we're thinking about all the things you can do with short links, and we're taking notes and recording every minute of the things that really help your personal productivity or business.
