7 link shortener features you didn't know about

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Non-obvious but cool ways to get the most out of your link shortener.

There are many link shortening services on the Internet. They make the page address shorter, prettier, and easier for users to remember. It is convenient to share such a link in messages and posts, it does not spoil the appearance and does not repel it with cumbersomeness. However, compactness is not all that you can get from a short address.

A life hacker, along with to.click, explains how to get the most out of your link shortener: for the benefit of your business, advertising campaigns, developers and bloggers.

1. Create beautiful links

You can not only shorten links, but also make them beautiful. For example, the to.click service supports Cyrillic and emoji, so you can create memorable links that will grab the user's attention and interest.

2. Shrink in Telegram

To save time, you can shorten links directly in Telegram. To.click has a bot for this, which quickly shortens links, including in inline mode (you can use the bot in private chats and groups). Slack app coming soon.

3. Create one link for all platforms

By shortening the link, you can direct the user to three places at once: to the web or mobile applications on iOS and Android. If the app is not installed, the person goes to the App Store or Google Play to download it. Or the user can opt out and just open the page in a browser.

This is a cool feature of the service. That's what it can be used for.

To increase conversion

App developers often use deep links. They redirect the user from the regular web or third-party applications to a specific screen of the mobile application. For example, for the action "3 pizzas for the price of 2", and not on the menu of a pizzeria. This increases conversion: a person is more likely to order a pizza if they immediately appear on the promotion page.

The problem is that the deep link leads to the application page only for Android or only for iOS. To improve the mechanics, you can create one short link for the main platforms. It will redirect the user to where the business needs it. This will shorten the user's journey from the advertising post to the promotion itself, which means it will increase the conversion.

Who will benefit from: developers, business.

To save on advertising

Mobile apps are usually released simultaneously on iOS and Android, but each platform has its own store.

To share the product for iOS and Andriod users in one ad post, shorten the link and insert it into your ad. It will redirect the user to the app store of the platform they have installed.

This way you will save on advertising: instead of two ads with separate links to the markets for Android and iOS, you use one shortened link for both platforms.

Who will benefit from: marketers, SMM specialists, developers.

To increase the number of users

RSS and Atom news feeds have all but disappeared. Most of them read news on social networks and messengers. Therefore, the media publish announcements of materials on social networks and sew UTM tags into the link, receiving statistics on the number of clicks and the referer of the channel from which the subscriber came.

An alternative option is to publish announcements in social networks with a shortened link. This way, you can direct the user not only to the web, but also to your own mobile application (or to the App Store or Google Play, if it is not installed). This will increase the number of downloads, user base and lifetime of one user. The function is also relevant for those who record podcasts.

Who will benefit from: news sites, media, content aggregators, podcast hosts.

4. Edit the shortened link

The shortened link can be edited after you publish it. The link will not break and will lead to the desired page of the site or application.

This function is useful in the following cases.

To increase customer loyalty

Often information about the promotion is placed directly on the product packaging or handouts. For example, on a packet of chips or a flyer. The problem is that the promotion ends, but the product or promotional brochure remains. A person wants to participate and get the promised free English lesson, but when he clicks on the specified link, he gets to a non-existent page. There is no promotion, the landing page was removed from the site.

In order not to lose customer loyalty, edit the link after the end of the promotion. It will lead either to another promotion or to the current page of the site. Additionally, get detailed statistics on users.

Who will benefit from: small and medium-sized businesses that advertise their services on flyers; companies producing goods; those who print handouts or pack goods.

To save time

In addition to entertainment videos, bloggers publish promotional reviews on their channels. In order for the user to go to the advertiser's website, the blogger inserts the link either in the video, or in the description or comment under the video.

What if the contract has ended and the advertisement is no longer relevant? You can bypass all 100,500 videos and edit the link manually, but this is long and inconvenient.

The way out of the situation is to initially create a short link and place it in all publications. After the termination of the partnership, the link can be edited in your personal account on to.click and redirected subscribers to the desired page.

Who will benefit from: bloggers.

5. Publish a shortened link with your domain

Short links scare away users: they look strange, and it is not clear where they lead (if it is spam or a virus). To increase the visibility and credibility of your short URL, link your domain to a URL shortener.

This will make the links look more reliable and secure, without confusing customers with an unfamiliar address. Users are more likely to click on them and see the information they want.

Who will benefit from: everyone who has their own domain.

Bonus: to.click attaches domains for free. To do this, create an account and write to the developers.

6. Analyze your audience

By shortening the link to to.click, you can view conversion statistics and user information.

Detailed statistics are a good tool for tracking the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. Usually, to measure the effectiveness of a post on social networks or messengers, you need to use a link with a bunch of UTM tags. Such a link scares away and takes up unnecessary space. In addition, it is usually lazy to put labels, and they can get lost.

Link with UTM tags	Shortened link
https://vk.com/away.php?to=http%3A%2F%2shkaf-barkat.ru%2F%3Futm_source%3DVKtarget% 26utm_medium% 3Dcpa% 26utm_term% 3Dbig21-24% 26utm_content% 3Dchild% 26utm_campaign% 3Daciya	https://clc.to/shkaf-barkat

A short link solves these problems. It allows you to track the number of people who have read the post and followed the link, as well as get additional information about users.

Who will benefit from: SMM specialists.

7. Automate link shortening

Companies processing orders send notifications to their customers. For example, order status and a link to your personal account. Since an SMS message is limited by the number of characters, and sending a few is expensive, you can use a link shortener.

To avoid manually shortening each link, automate the process through the API and shorten URLs directly from your products. To make the link look as beautiful and accurate as possible, attach your domain to the service. In addition, automate analytics. If the client has not received the information, the message will be sent again, which will increase the effectiveness of the mailing.

Who will benefit from: companies for the delivery of goods, food or online stores.

Outcomes

A short and memorable URL is the least you can do with a link shortener. This is a good tool used by developers, social media professionals, bloggers and businesses.

However, to usefully shorten links, you need to pay a subscription fee. Many services don't work any differently, and the subscription costs up to $ 1,500 per month. To.click has many cool features available for free. Including all those listed above.