![]() ly Libya – to companies seeking memorable and short branded domain names. The URL shortening trend has created an interesting business opportunity for domain name providers who market the two-character codes from far-flung countries – such as. Really, Bitly has been doing this for so long that it is just an incredibly safe choice. It's also a good choice for small businesses that want to generate short URLs and follow their stats for a modest number of campaigns. These URLs can reflect company branding through creative domain names like many major web brands.įor example, Twitter recently announced the addition of a custom URL shortener twt.tl, Google also uses a custom goo.gl (from Greenland) which also creates QR codes, WordPress uses wp.me, and Facebook uses fb.me (both. Bitly is a great URL shortener for large online businesses that share a lot of links and want to brand and track them. Up next, HootSuite will be adding the Ow.ly Pro service to provide custom URL shorteners for businesses who purchase “vanity” URLs. Technology industry news source, TechCrunch, in a study with, rated Ow.ly as top choice of URL shorteners: “When both the reliability and speed rankings are combined, ow.ly and bit.ly tie for first place overall …” Research bureau Watchmouse keeps real-time status charts for popular URL shorteners and verifies Ow.ly’s performance as well as worldwide usage trends.įurther, Ow.ly and Ht.ly also prevent dissemination of shortened URLs that disguise nasty, suspicious links by checking URLs with the Google Malware/Phishing list and present web surfers with a warning message when a page is suspected to contain harmful scripts or scams. Ow.ly is among the top 5 most used URL shorteners on the web and rated as a top performer. Ow.ly is best suited for users who just need the basics - a short link and statistics.Įxample of a link shortened with Ow.ly - note fully-redirected URL w/o frame Ht.ly with the social bar is best suited for marketers seeking to amplify their messages by encouraging users to spread links across social networks and share with friends.Įxample of a link shortened with Ht.ly - note the Social Bar Further, both options include handy storage for photos and files, which you can easily attach to Twitter messages. With changing desires in the marketplace, HootSuite now offers users a choice of URL shorteners - Ow.ly will change to simply a fully redirected URL without a frame, and the newly-added Ht.ly, which will continue to present the link with the social bar.īoth Ow.ly and Ht.ly options include full statistics, including accurate click-throughs (with bot filtering), custom date ranges, regional breakdowns, and exportable reports. The links were/are presented with an opt-out “social bar” which provided options to Retweet, spread to more networks, add a rating, search Twitter, view popular links, and more. Using Ow.ly to manage URLs provides businesses and organizations with important statistical analysis to see which Twitter messages generate clicks-throughs. ![]() Popular social media dashboard tool HootSuite allows users to update Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks from one web interface, and lets users shorten links using the built-in Ow.ly URL shrinker. Both Ow.ly and Ht.ly options include full statistics, storage for photos and files, malware protection, and 1-click messaging with the Hootlet tool.Vancouver, CANADA – ApIn the character-limited web of micro-updates, instant blog posts, and status messages, URL shorteners have grown from a simple utility into a critical tool for a variety of reasons ranging from vanity and branding to click-through statistics. Most users likely check a link before they click on it, but URL shorteners make it impossible to inspect or verify the link without exposing yourself to the risks of tracking, or exposure to an infected site.HootSuite announces a choice of URL shorteners in the social media dashboard - Ow.ly is now a fully redirected URL without a frame, and the newly-added Ht.ly will present the link with the social bar allowing easy Re-Tweets and sharing. Secondly, URL shorteners allow people to hide malicious links. This personal information could then be exploited by social engineering, for example, by posing as a customer service representative from a computer manufacturer and presenting IP and OS information as “proof” of their credentials. The provider of the shortened link might even be able to get the user’s IP address or correlate data with other links the user has clicked on to generate knowledge about the user’s social interactions. Since it has a better market share coverage, Ow. ![]() As only one person is using the link, it becomes scarily easy for anybody, even without technical knowledge, to find the link user’s approximate location, browser, and operating system information. In the URL Shortener market, Ow.ly has a 13.68 market share in comparison to MyLnk’s 0.01. This especially becomes a risk when a shortened URL link is only handed out to a single visitor, for example, in a private email or chat.
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