Ever faced a dilemna when the URL you'd been wanting to visit seemed so hard to remember because it was so long and the name was quite complicated? Or have you experienced a time when the link you've had received from email was broken down in lines which left you no choice but to copy it line after line, paste them and manually delete the spaces in between?
This is where URL Shortener comes in.
From:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/techniqueal
techie/SLXAPfrOa_I/AAAAAAAA
AFc/Awn55NnHJvM/linkvendor.
jpg?imgmax=320
(100 characters)
to:
http://is.gd/202k
(17 characters)
OR
From:
http://technicaldotcom.blogspot.
com/2008/08/how-to-open-
multiple-gmail-accounts.html
(84 characters)
to:
http://tinyurl.com/multiplegmail
(32 characters)
Below are some of the top URL Shorteners around the web.
(1) Tiny URL
URL: http://tinyurl.com/
Google PR: 7
Features:
wont break in email postings; never expires; allows custom alias where one can put in keywords as part of URL; contains preview pages where the original (longer) link is shown; has bookmarklet capability
click image for a closer view.
(2) is.gd
URL: http://is.gd/
Google PR: 6
Features:
gives shortest URLs; contains preview pages where the original (longer) link is shown; has bookmarklet capability; has firefox plugin for easy URL shortening via additional menu items; can have additional keywords added on the shortened URL
click image for a closer view.
(3) Drawf URL
URL: http://www.dwarfurl.com/
Google PR: 5
Features:
never expires; contains preview pages where the original (longer) link is shown; has password capability so stats (number of clicks and referring URLs) of the drawfURL can be tracked/viewed; allows the link to be viewed privately or publicly
click image for a closer view.
To check for other URL Shorteners, check out:
Friedbeef’s Tech Top 5 URL Shorteners and How They Help You
Top 9 Free URL Shorteners, like Friends with Benefits
To learn more about the SEO side of it, visit:
How URL Length Affects Search Engine Placement
Does URL Length Affect Ranking?
Importance of Image URL Length in Google - SEO Chat
Choose URIs wisely - Quality Web Tips
Resources:
http://www.friedbeef.com/2007/05/03/top-5-url-shorteners-and-how-they-help-you/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/245845/top_9_free_url_shorteners_like_friends.html?cat=15
http://www.searchenginechannel.com/2005/12/how-url-length-affects-search-engine-placement
http://www.ezau.com/latest/articles/0155.shtml
http://forums.seochat.com/google-optimization-7/importance-of-image-url-length-in-google-209750.html
http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/uri-choose
http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci995868,00.html
http://forums.seochat.com/search-engine-optimization-28/max-characters-on-url-143458.html
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