Author: seth bair

If you run a marketing or creative agency, you already know that delivering results is only half the job. The other half? Proving those results clearly and consistently to clients.

That’s where short links come in.

More than just a cleaner way to share URLs, short links give agencies the power to:

• Track campaign traffic by channel, message, and user segment
• Control and update destinations mid-flight
• Create clean, shareable dashboards for clients
• Attribute clicks (and even conversions) to specific tactics or creatives

Let’s dig into how performance-focused agencies use short links to streamline reporting, improve attribution, and deliver smarter outcomes for their clients.

---

🎯 Campaign Attribution Without the Overhead

You don’t always have access to a client’s full Google Analytics setup — or worse, they don’t either. Short links give you an independent, lightweight tracking layer.

How it works:

• Create a different short link for each campaign channel:
  brand.agency/ig-story, brand.agency/edm, brand.agency/ppc-a
• Add UTM parameters to the long destination URL, then wrap it in a short link
• Send each short link through its assigned channel

Now you can measure top-of-funnel engagement (clicks), and if GA or CRM is configured, downstream actions too.

This works even if you’re running campaigns across different properties or third-party landing pages — because the shortener tracks clicks regardless of the client’s web stack.

---

🧪 Built-in A/B Testing and Message Variants

Need to test different headlines, thumbnails, or subject lines? Create multiple short links pointing to the same destination, then assign them to different creatives or messages:

• brand.agency/email-a
• brand.agency/email-b

Now you’re not guessing which message is best — you’re measuring.

Some platforms also let you enable rotating destinations or weighted split tests, turning your shortener into a lightweight A/B tool without touching the landing page or ad platform.

---

🔗 Dynamic Redirects: One Link, Multiple Experiences

Advanced shorteners support dynamic redirection rules, which let you serve different destinations based on:

• Device type (mobile vs. desktop)
• Geolocation (e.g. localize a landing page or CTA)
• Referrer or campaign source

Example:

brand.agency/shop
→ iOS users go to the App Store
→ Android users go to Google Play
→ Everyone else hits the desktop product page

It’s a powerful way to personalize without complex front-end code — and it helps clients maintain a smooth user experience across platforms.

---

📊 Clean, Client-Friendly Reporting

Short link platforms typically offer analytics dashboards that show:

• Total and unique clicks over time
• Top-performing links by channel
• Referral sources and geographic trends
• Device breakdowns

Agencies use these dashboards to:

• Justify budget recommendations
• Identify underperforming placements early
• Create live or scheduled reports for clients

Some shorteners even support white-label analytics portals, so clients can log in and view their own performance — without ever seeing the underlying tool.

---

🔧 Automation and Workflow Integration

If you’re using tools like:

• Google Sheets
• Airtable
• Zapier or Make
• Webhooks
• Custom CRMs

You can often integrate your short link service via API, so that:

• A new link is automatically created when a campaign is launched
• Click data is sent back to a central dashboard
• Clients get weekly performance summaries by email

This helps keep things hands-off for your team while delivering ongoing, visible value to clients.

---

📦 Bonus: Branded Domains for Each Client

To build trust and reinforce professionalism, many agencies set up dedicated short domains for each client:

• go.clientbrand.com
• news.brandpartners.co

You maintain the back-end infrastructure, but the client gets brand visibility on every link — from Instagram bios to email CTAs. It’s a win-win: more control for you, more credibility for them.

---

TL;DR: Short Links = Better Data, Cleaner Reporting, Smarter Campaigns

Short links aren’t just a nicer way to share URLs — they’re a lightweight but powerful layer of analytics and control that helps agencies:

• Attribute clicks without relying on full GA access
• Run and track A/B tests effortlessly
• Personalize link behavior based on user context
• Deliver clearer, more convincing reports to clients

SMS is one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s arsenal — but it’s also one of the most constrained. You get just 160 characters to make your point, deliver value, and earn a click.

That’s why smart SMS marketers rely on short links. They’re not just about saving space — they’re the key to better tracking, cleaner messages, and higher conversions.

---

1. 🚫 Long Links Break Messages (and Trust)

When you paste a long URL into a text message, a few things happen:

• You quickly run out of characters.
• The link might get broken across line breaks or devices.
• It looks messy — and might even trip spam filters.

Compare this:

“Click here to claim your free trial: https://yourstore.com/products/limited-offer-free-trial…”

With this:

“Your free trial is waiting 🎁 Get it now: get.yourbrand.com/trial”

The second version is shorter, cleaner, and actually gets read.

---

2. ✅ Branded Short Links Build Credibility

Users are more likely to trust a link when it carries your brand — especially in SMS, where spam is a growing issue. A branded short domain like shop.yourbrand.co/sale reinforces legitimacy and helps customers feel safe clicking your link.

Bonus: It also increases brand recall and makes your campaigns feel cohesive across channels.

---

3. 📊 Track Clicks Without Asking for Anything

Short links give you powerful built-in analytics:

• Who clicked your message
• When they clicked it
• What device they used
• Which version of your campaign performed better

You don’t need any tracking pixels or extra code. Just replace the long URL with a short link and start learning from your customers’ behavior instantly.

Want to know which day of the week gets more clicks? Test two versions. Want to know if iOS users click more than Android users? You’ll have the data.

---

4. 🔄 Keep Links Dynamic (Even After You Hit Send)

One of the worst-case SMS scenarios: you send out a campaign and the landing page changes… or worse, the URL was wrong.

With a short link, you can update the destination later, without resending anything. Your customers still click the original link — they just end up in the right place.

This saves:

• Last-minute campaigns with changing content
• Black Friday landing pages with shifting inventory
• Referral links that need to be rotated or redirected

---

5. 🧪 Personalize, Test, and Scale

Smart SMS marketers use short links to:

• Generate unique links per user for abandoned carts or exclusive offers
• A/B test two different messages or landing pages
• Track channel-specific performance across SMS, WhatsApp, or email

Since short links are easy to automate and track, they scale naturally with your customer base — without adding friction.

---

TL;DR

Short links are the unsung hero of SMS marketing. They:

• Save space
• Build trust
• Enable click tracking
• Give you post-send flexibility
• Help you personalize at scale

---

Want to make your SMS marketing smarter?

In the world of ecommerce, every click counts. Whether you’re running a flash sale, sending SMS promotions, or trying to win back abandoned carts, your link is the bridge between customer interest and a completed checkout. That’s why top ecommerce brands rely on short links—not just for clean aesthetics, but for real, trackable business impact.

Here’s how ecommerce brands are using short links to boost conversions, gather insights, and build better relationships with their customers.

---

1. Powering SMS Campaigns Without Wasting Characters

Short links are essential for SMS marketing. With a 160-character limit per text, space is at a premium—and long URLs eat into your message fast. A short link keeps things concise and clickable, giving you room for an actual message and a call to action.

Example:

“🔥 48-Hour Flash Sale! 25% off sitewide – don’t miss it: shop.ly/flash25”

Short links also look cleaner and reduce the risk of a message being flagged as spam, especially when paired with your branded domain.

---

2. Tracking Campaigns Across Channels

Smart ecommerce marketers use short links with UTM parameters to measure performance across platforms—but long UTM links look messy and intimidating. A short link hides the mess and keeps things customer-friendly.

By generating unique short links for each campaign or channel, you can:

• Compare how Instagram vs. email is performing
• Test two different calls-to-action
• Identify which influencer actually drove conversions

Pro tip: Use a different short link for each email button (e.g., “Shop Men” vs. “Shop Women”) to track segment behavior.

---

3. Creating Personalized Customer Experiences

Short links can be dynamically generated for individual users. For ecommerce brands, this means:

• Personalized links to abandoned cart pages
• Order status or shipping updates
• Tailored product recommendations

You get a seamless customer experience with built-in tracking, all while making your message look polished and intentional.

---

4. Enhancing Product Packaging and Offline Campaigns

Ecommerce doesn’t end at checkout. Brands use QR codes on packaging inserts to link to how-to guides, product care, or loyalty program sign-ups. Underneath each QR code? A short link—clean, brandable, and easily trackable in analytics.

This also applies to print ads, pop-up booths, influencer boxes, and other physical placements where a long URL just isn’t practical.

---

5. Protecting and Future-Proofing Links

Ecommerce campaigns are fast-paced, and mistakes happen. With short links, you can edit the destination URL later—so if you realize your sale page went live with the wrong coupon code, you don’t need to resend every email or update every post. Just fix the target behind the short link and move on.

You also get insurance against link rot: even if your product URLs change or your site structure evolves, your short links remain usable.

---

TL;DR

Short links aren’t just cosmetic. For ecommerce brands, they’re a conversion tool, tracking solution, and customer experience upgrade. Whether you’re sending personalized promos or printing QR codes on packaging, smart link management can make your entire operation more agile and more profitable.

If you’re a digital marketer juggling campaigns across email, social, SMS, and ads, you know one thing for sure: links matter. They’re the gateway between your message and your results. But raw URLs are long, messy, and hard to manage—especially when you’re trying to track everything and keep it clean. That’s why smart marketers rely on short links.

But a short link is more than just a pretty URL. Done right, it’s a tool for brand visibility, click tracking, and conversion insight—all in one line of text.

1. They Make Every Character Count (Especially in Tight Spaces)

Social platforms and SMS campaigns have strict character limits. A long URL can eat up space or get cut off entirely. Short links keep your message sharp and focused—while still getting users to the right place.
Bonus tip: Short links look better visually and are less likely to be mistaken for spam.

2. They Help You Track What Works—and What Doesn’t

Every marketer wants to know: Did this link get clicked? Where did the traffic come from? With a short link service like blrb, you get click data broken down by time, location, and device—without needing to dig through Google Analytics.
You can also create multiple short links pointing to the same destination, so you can test performance across platforms:

• One for Instagram bio
• One for Twitter post
• One for email footer

Then compare clicks directly and double down where you see results.

3. They Let You Change the Destination Later

Ever sent out a link and realized you need to fix the destination after it’s already live? Short links let you update the target URL without changing the original link—saving your campaign and your reputation. This is especially useful for:

• Seasonal promotions
• A/B tests
• Fixing a broken landing page link on the fly

4. They Reinforce Your Brand

Instead of sharing a generic bit.ly or goo.gl link, you can use a custom domain like go.yourbrand.com/sale or get.yourbrand.co/free. It’s instantly more trustworthy and on-brand—especially in emails or sponsored posts where clicks depend on credibility.

TL;DR

Short links aren’t just about saving space—they’re about getting smarter with your marketing:

• Track what’s working
• Improve your click-through rate
• Keep control over your content
• Reinforce your brand identity

Start using short links to streamline your strategy—and never send a messy link again.

If you’ve been online for more than a few years, you probably remember Google’s URL shortener: goo.gl. Fast, simple, and backed by Google’s infrastructure, it was the go-to choice for sharing tidy, trackable links across the web.

But in 2018, Google began to divert resources from the service. First, new users were locked out. Then, in 2019, all link creation was disabled entirely. The final blow will come in August 2025, when most goo.gl links will stop working altogether. For millions of marketers, educators, publishers, and developers, this means something worse than inconvenience — it means link rot.

What Is Link Rot?

Link rot is what happens when a hyperlink stops working. It may lead to a 404 page, redirect to the wrong place, or simply time out. Over time, as platforms shut down, pages get deleted, or domains change hands, the links embedded in old emails, PDFs, tweets, blog posts, and documentation slowly decay.

For goo.gl users, link rot isn’t hypothetical — it will be a direct hit:

• Marketing campaigns with goo.gl links will lead nowhere.
• Old QR codes will no longer resolve.
• Archived documents, reports, and educational materials will lose their references.
• Codebases and apps will break where links were hardcoded.

Even after Google fully shutters goo.gl, shortened URLs created by Google apps will still function for now. But relying on that stability is risky. Google has a track record of quietly discontinuing products, and even their previously-recommended alternative, Firebase Dynamic Links, wasn’t spared—they’re also being phased out in 2025. This pattern leaves developers and marketers in the lurch, especially those who depend on reliable link infrastructure.

Why the goo.gl Shutdown Still Matters

The fall of goo.gl was more than just the end of a free tool. It was a wake-up call about what happens when large tech companies deprecate services. It taught teams a few painful lessons:

• Free doesn’t mean forever. Relying on a big-name service doesn’t guarantee long-term reliability.
• Short links need maintenance. A short URL is an abstraction layer — and like any layer, it needs upkeep.
• Link trust is brand trust. When a customer clicks your link and hits a dead end, they don’t blame Google — they blame you.

And for anyone who used goo.gl links in things like printed materials, SMS messages, or embedded software, there’s no easy fix. The links are hard to track down and impossible to update.

What Can You Do About It?

Link rot isn’t going away — but you can future-proof your links.
There are a few smart practices you can adopt now:

• Use a dedicated link shortener that lets you update destinations.
• Consider a branded short domain you control.
• Track link activity so you know if something breaks or stops performing.
• Export and back up your links regularly.

---

You’ve refined your pitch, rehearsed your story, and built a beautiful deck. But once you hit “send,” you lose visibility. Who actually opens it? Did they click the demo link? Are they forwarding it around?
This is where short links become a stealth power tool for startup founders.

Used right, short links give you insight, control, and credibility—without changing your workflow. They turn your email pitch, deck, or product demo into a mini analytics engine that helps you work smarter.

Here’s how founders are using them today.

---

1. Track Who’s Actually Engaging with Your Pitch

Sending your deck to investors? Replace raw URLs with unique short links:

• One link for each investor
• One for each version of your deck
• One for your product demo or waitlist page

That way, you can see:

• Who clicked your links
• When and where they clicked
• Which version of your deck is actually getting traction

It’s not just vanity metrics—it’s feedback. If your top link isn’t being clicked, maybe your subject line needs work. If someone’s opened your demo 3 times this week… it might be time to follow up.

---

2. Keep Control Over Your Links (Even After You Hit Send)

Let’s say you catch a bug in your product demo the morning after you send your deck out. Or your pricing page changes. If your links are raw, there’s nothing you can do. But with short links, you can update the destination behind the scenes—without changing the original link.

That means:

• No scrambling to resend updated decks
• No broken links floating around VC inboxes
• No loss of control once your content is shared

You stay agile, even when your materials are already in the wild.

---

3. Add Professional Polish with Branded Short Domains

Instead of sending out links like https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/xyz…, you could send:

pitch.yourstartup.co/deck
go.yourstartup.io/demo

These branded short links:

• Build trust (especially helpful if you’re sending cold emails)
• Signal professionalism and attention to detail
• Look better in investor briefs, media kits, and one-pagers

They’re also easier to remember and manually retype if someone’s reading from a printed version or screenshot.

---

4. Use Short Links in Your Hiring Pipeline and Early Growth

It’s not just about investors. Smart founders also use short links to:

• Track which job boards or referrals bring in the best candidates
• Create single-use or region-specific referral links
• Monitor early landing pages or waitlist interest by channel

Short links give you data on your earliest signals, long before you have deep analytics tooling in place.

---

TL;DR

If you’re a founder, short links give you:

• Insight into who’s engaging with your pitch
• The ability to fix or change links after you’ve sent them
• A more polished and professional presentation
• A low-effort way to gather real-world feedback from your early efforts

---

You don’t need to be technical. You just need to start tracking what matters.

In our last post, we talked about how short links can give startup founders more control, better data, and a more professional edge when sending out decks, demos, and more.

Now let’s get tactical.

This guide shows you exactly how to set up and use short links—from your very first pitch to your early hiring funnel—without adding overhead or complexity.

---

🔗 Step 1: Set Up a Branded Short Domain

Before you start sending out links, grab a short domain that matches your brand.
Examples:

• go.yourstartup.com
• pitch.getloop.io
• demo.withnimbus.co

You can usually get a short domain for ~$10/year. Once connected to your link service, all your short links will use it—so your links always look clean and trustworthy, even in cold emails.

---

📤 Step 2: Use Unique Links for Each Investor or Outreach List

You’re probably sending the same pitch deck or demo page to multiple people. Don’t use the same link for everyone.

Instead:

• Create a separate short link for each investor or firm (e.g., go.yourstartup.com/a16z).
• Create grouped links for outbound rounds (e.g., go.yourstartup.com/seed-round).
• Use short links for different platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter DMs, or cold emails.

Now when someone clicks, you’ll know where the interest is coming from—and when it’s time to follow up.

---

🧪 Step 3: Run A/B Tests Without Extra Tools

Short links can help you A/B test:

• Two different versions of your pitch deck
• Two different demo pages (one “feature first,” one “value first”)
• Different CTAs or subject lines in your cold email

Just generate separate short links and track the click rates. No code needed. You’ll start learning what resonates—and fast.

---

🧹 Step 4: Keep Control Over Your Links

One of the most powerful features of short links is the ability to change the destination later.

You can:

• Fix typos or broken demo links
• Switch out your deck for a newer version
• Redirect to your launch announcement after fundraising is complete

This is essential if you’re moving fast and want to avoid legacy decks floating around with outdated info.

---

👩‍💻 Step 5: Use Short Links in Early Hiring and Growth Experiments

Short links aren’t just for investors. You can also use them to:

• Track which job boards actually get clicks (go.yourstartup.com/jobs-hackernews vs. /jobs-linkedin)
• Compare early signup interest by channel (/waitlist-tiktok vs. /waitlist-email)
• See which referral partners or ambassadors are actually driving traffic

And because short links work in SMS, DMs, and printed QR codes, they’re great for scrappy growth hacks.

---

🧠 Step 6: Review the Data (But Don’t Overcomplicate It)

Most short link tools show you:

• Click counts
• Device types
• Time of day
• Referring source or location

That’s all you need early on. You don’t need Mixpanel on day one—just enough visibility to make smarter decisions and spot warm leads before they go cold.

---

TL;DR: You Don’t Need to Be Big to Act Like It

A solid link strategy helps you:

• Look more professional
• Learn faster from every round of outreach
• Stay in control of your materials
• Get better results from the same effort

The best part? It’s easy to set up, and it scales with you. Whether you’re pre-seed or post-Series A, smart links let you track and tweak everything you’re sending out into the world.

Have you ever tried to share a long website link — only to watch it get cut off, turn into a jumble of characters, or scare off whoever you sent it to?

That’s where link shorteners come in.

A link shortener is a tool that takes a long URL and turns it into something cleaner, shorter, and easier to manage. You’ve probably seen one before, even if you didn’t realize it:

• bit.ly/abc123
• tinyurl.com/xyz
• yourbrand.co/sale

But link shortening isn’t just about saving space. It’s about making links more useful, more trackable, and more professional.

---

Why Use a Short Link?

Let’s look at some of the most common reasons people use link shorteners in their day-to-day work (or side hustles).

---

1. Keep Your Posts Clean on Social Media

Some websites have URLs that are dozens — even hundreds — of characters long. If you paste that into a tweet, an Instagram bio, or a LinkedIn post, it eats up your message and looks messy.

Short links keep your post clean and clickable:

“Check out our latest blog post: your.link/blog”
instead of
“Check out our latest blog post: https://yourwebsite.com/blog/2025/07/15/article-title-with-lots-of-keywords”

Plus, they’re easier for followers to remember or type later.

---

2. Make Your Links Clickable in Text Messages

SMS has a hard character limit (160 characters), and long links often get cut off or wrapped across lines — especially on older phones.

A short link fits easily, looks better, and helps your message come through clearly:

“Your appointment is confirmed! Directions: go.brand.com/maps”

---

3. Track How Many People Clicked

Most short link tools come with basic analytics built in. That means when you send out a link, you can see:

• How many people clicked it
• When they clicked
• What device they used

You don’t need a website or an ad account — just share the link and track the clicks. Perfect for small campaigns, events, resumes, or personal projects.

---

4. Make Your Links Look More Trustworthy

Have you ever seen a link like this and hesitated to click?

https://example.com/landingpage/index.php?ref=39012&utm_campaign=spring2025&utm_medium=email&utm_source=campaignmonitor

It might be safe… but it doesn’t look safe.

A short link replaces all that with something that’s clean and branded — especially if you use your own domain:

brand.link/spring25

Branded links help build trust. They also reinforce your business name every time someone sees or shares them.

---

5. Fix Mistakes Without Breaking the Link

Let’s say you send out a link to your newsletter or post a promo link on Instagram — and then realize it points to the wrong page. If it’s a short link, you can update the destination without changing the original link.

That means:

• You don’t need to resend anything
• Old posts and bios still work
• You stay in control of what people see when they click

---

Who Uses Short Links?

Short links are used by all kinds of people:

• Social media managers who want to track post performance
• Small business owners running text or email promos
• Teachers or organizers sharing resources or Zoom links
• Job seekers putting portfolio links in resumes
• Anyone who wants a simple, trackable way to share URLs

---

TL;DR: Link Shorteners = Simpler, Smarter Sharing

You don’t have to be a marketer or developer to use short links. If you’re sharing links with anyone — in a post, a message, or a document — a short link makes it easier to track, fix, and polish your content.