5 link shortening services without advertising and with conversion statistics

“Clicker” from Yandex – QR code + link

A special link shortener from Google has stopped working at the beginning of 2021. The vacated niche was occupied by an eternal competitor - Yandex. The “clicker” he developed is located at clck.ru. Registration in Yandex services is not required, the service is absolutely free to use.

clck.ru has an attractive “old-school” design and a clear interface.

Unlike VK.CC, CLCK.RU does not provide detailed statistics on clicks on your link, but it generates its own QR code. You can point it anywhere so users can scan it with their phone and go to the address in one second.

How to shorten a link using “Clicker” from Yandex:

1. Go to clck.ru
2. Enter the source link in the empty field
3. Click on the Click .
4. Copy the resulting URL using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C or by clicking on the scissors icon.
5. You can copy the barcode by saving the image to the clipboard or using the “Save image as...” option in the browser context menu.

Go to clck.ru

How to choose a service for reduction?

If you type the query “How to shorten a link” in the search bar, you can get several dozen answers. There is always a choice, but it can take a lot of time to select the right service.

After all, there are a lot of sites and services for shortening links:

• During this time, they have already managed to close, but they will be visible in search results for a very long time.
• They provide only paid services, which can only be understood after registering for the service.
• When clicking on shortened links, advertisements are added that the visitor must view.

Therefore, about 90% of services can be considered practically useless for use. Key points to pay attention to when choosing a site for link shortening:

• Age of the resource. Optimally – more than five years. This ensures security that the resource will not close in the near future.
• Free use of the service. Of course, there may be a paid option, but with the provision of special functions.
• There should be no advertising after the transition.
• It is advisable to see statistics for each link received on the service.

Thanks to these points, a huge number of reduction services are eliminated. However, the remaining sites will be reliable in use.

TinyURL – a “modest” shortener

TinyURL is considered one of the oldest shortening services, so many people know the name. Unlike Bit.ly or, say, Google's shortener, TinyURL allows you to shorten links with a large range of characters in the title. In addition, you can customize the letters and numbers at the end of the link to your liking. In contrast to the hard-to-remember, complicated link name, you can specify something like https://tinyurl.com/mybestlink. It’s convenient and beautiful – agree, it’s not a shame to share such a shortened link.

Separately, we note the possibility of adding a bookmarklet to the browser panel. This allows you to shorten links without going to the service. To use, simply drag the given link to your bookmarks bar and click on it when you need to shorten it.

Go to TinyURL

Bitly

Bitly com (previously available at bit ly) was loved by many users, despite the complete absence of Russian in the interface. It is one of two services that Google has officially recommended for use instead of the closed goo.gl.

When creating a shortened link, you can give it any (empty) short name and the desired tag:

In the report you will find not only the distribution of clicks by date and time of day, but also the source of transitions (direct, email, sms) and the country of location of the users.

The service has paid options that open up the possibility of in-depth analytics, multi-user access, personal manager services, etc.

Bit.ly has rightfully earned the recognition of thousands of users, including the largest European and American brands.

VK.cc - shortening links for VKontakte

The link shortener from the social network VK really inspires confidence. It is absolutely reliable and was created specifically so that the user can shorten the link leading to his profile or group.

Access to the short link service from VK is available at the link vk.com/cc. In order to use the application, you must have an account on a social network and be authorized in it.

The simple form of the service has a clear interface:

1. Paste the link you want to shorten into the empty field
2. Click on the "Reduce" button.
3. VK.cc will generate a short link using the secure https protocol.
4. You can use the link anywhere, not just on the VK social network.

An important feature of the application is maintaining statistics (similar to how it was in the deceased shortener from Google). After filling out the form, you will see all the links you have recently shortened, and will also keep track of the number of clicks on it. By default, such statistics are public: if you want to hide them from other users, before shortening the link, check the box next to “Link statistics are visible only to you.”

Go to VK.cc

Short Links: 5 Reasons to Use

It is not always convenient to use original links to a website, article, or image. Such addresses can be quite long: several lines, with hyphenation of incomprehensible characters. Therefore, they use a link shortening service to obtain short addresses that lead to the original page.

In addition, there are certain reasons for using short links:

1. To make the page address easier if it is very long and unclear. A short address is much easier to enter into the browser line.
2. To make it easier to remember the address, since the shortened version is much easier to reproduce even when communicating via any messenger in audio format.
3. To shorten the affiliate link, in this case the affiliate identification number is not visible. This option will not confuse the visitor with an incomprehensible addition.
4. In order to hide additional tags that are added to the main link when creating advertisements. These tags show all the statistics for each advertising campaign.
5. To reduce the number of characters if there is a publication limitation. For example, in personal messages, in a status on a social network, when sending SMS messages, when publishing in an online presentation.

In addition, short links are visually easier to perceive by users. Therefore, the number of transitions to this address is much greater than to the original one.

Useful links: Services for promotion on Instagram: ranking of the best, How to hide friends from other users on VK: tips, How to make a screensaver for a video on Youtube step by step.

Is.gd – the simplest possible URL shortener

Is.gd is one of the simplest shortened link generators. There is nothing superfluous or distracting in it (for example, captcha) - only the field in which you add a link; As a result, you get a short analogue of a link, which you can also customize to your taste and connect view statistics to it.

Working with Is.gd is very simple:

1. Go to the website Is.gd.
2. Paste the link into the text field.
3. If you need to keep conversion statistics, open the parameters ( Further options/custom URL ) and activate the Log statistics for this link .
4. You can specify your own name for the link, which will be displayed after “https://is.gd/”. This can be done in the second text field.
5. Click on Shorten!
6. , copy the shortened URL using Ctrl + C.

Go to Is.gd

U.to

Compared to hootsuite, u to is simply a model of conciseness and clarity. This shortener was developed by the well-known company uKit, to some of whose developments I have already devoted a couple of reviews (link 1, link 2).

You can shorten links directly on the main page of the service, but to collect click statistics you will need to register. The click reports are quite detailed and include:

1. Click time
2. Referrer
3. A country
4. Browser

Everything is very strict, concise, without unnecessary special effects. Perhaps the only negative is that the interface font is quite small, you have to strain your eyesight, but the page scale can be easily changed using the browser itself.

Friends, what link shortening service do you use yourself and WHY, why do you like it? Comments consisting only of hyperlinks to resources (without explanations) will not be published!

bit.do – functional short link service

bit.do is one of the few services that provides statistics on clicks on a shortened link.

Just like Yandex's CLCK.RU, in addition to the link you receive a QR code, which can be conveniently scanned with any mobile scanner application.

And finally, the final advantage of bit.do is the ability to change the name of the link to your taste, making it more readable.

However, bit.do has one drawback - the link compressor works using the insecure http protocol, as a result of which all links acquire “https://” in the URL name. But in 2021, not everyone will risk moving to such an address.

Go to bit.do

Short links: 3 reasons against using them

However, it is not always advisable to use reduction services. In these cases, it is better to act a little differently:

If the link is used when composing a letter, the abbreviated address is not indicated.

In this case, it should be noted that any email service has a negative attitude towards shortened links. Therefore, letters with shortened addresses almost always go to the SPAM folder.

After all, email services have no way to track which resource the transition will be made to. This is how email providers protect their users from possible virus infection when clicking on shortened links.

Therefore, when composing a letter, you need to use only the original link. To shorten it, it is important to use the “Hyperlink” function and attach the desired address to the selected word.

If you need a permanent link, it is better to indicate the original address.

Any reduction service may stop operating. For example, the very popular Goo.gl service was liquidated. Although no one doubted its reliability. All links to such a service lose their functionality when the site is liquidated.

Therefore, it is very important to periodically check the created short links, make timely adjustments or move to another site.

If you need to maintain the confidentiality of the data on the original page, then it is better not to use the abbreviation.

The thing is that the link shortening takes place on a third-party service. If you are not confident in the security of your data, then it is not recommended to use shorteners for payment services or files with confidential data.

Bitly – an experienced link shortener

English-language link shortening service Bitly allows you to automatically create shortened accesses to website URLs. The instructions for using them are extremely simple:

1. Paste the link into the empty field located in the middle of the screen;
2. Click on the "Shorten" button;
3. Get a new beautiful link and copy it with the “Copy” button.

Users authorized in the service receive additional features: for example, setting their own original names for the entered links. Registration on the site will take no more than a few minutes.

The paid version of the service allows you to create your own “Reduce...”.

We recommend registering on the site to take advantage of the significant advantages of authorization: access to the link editing function (you can enter your own original names) and tracking link click statistics. Registration on U.to is completely free and only takes a couple of minutes.

The combination of these advantages makes this service from the uCoz designer one of the best sites for shortening links.

Go to U.to

How to determine the best service?

In fact, there are quite a lot of link shortening services. There are paid and free options for use. Shortening the address is quite easy. It is very easy to share it in personal messages when correspondence, in conversations with colleagues and partners, in publications on social networks and websites.

The use of shortened links depends on the purpose. Therefore, it is important to determine the best service according to several parameters:

• Is it possible to create a link in one click without registration and additional steps?
• Is there a browser extension available so you don't have to search for a site with the selected service?
• Are there any restrictions on the number of addresses that can be shortened?
• Is it possible to customize the shortened link in different options.
• Is it possible to create a QR code for each link.
• Is there access to statistics, in what format and volume.
• How clear is the service interface?

These points will help determine the optimal service for the job. If you need speed, but do not need statistics collection, this is one option. If statistics are necessary, then the VK link shortening service will help you implement this request as soon as possible.

Sincerely, Olga Lyalukova specially for the project proudalenku.ru

Why shorten links?

When we share a link to a page on the Internet, we provide its URL. It consists of the http or https protocol, the site domain, and the group or account id. Sometimes such a link can be very long and include many unreadable characters, which interferes with its perception.

To prevent your URL from looking overly long, it's worth using a link shortening service that can automatically shorten the link to any page.

Another case when shortening links is necessary is when they are blocked by a social network. When you want to share a found resource with a friend, but VK or another service calls the page potentially harmful, a special service will help.

In addition to the fact that a long link is more difficult to understand, there are other advantages of using services that allow you to shorten the URL:

• Short links are easier to copy and remember so that you can enter them manually in the browser address bar;
• You can put your own identifier in shortened links. This will be useful for those who use referral programs;
• Services like Twitter have a character limit. Long links significantly “steal” the provided volume.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite.com (also known as ow.ly) is Google's second recommended alternative to its closed parent.

This service is designed to work with social networks, and the link shortener is just one of its tools that can be used on the free plan.

Despite the fact that owly is recommended by Google, I don’t recommend using it - as they say, you can’t figure it out without half a liter. Everything is extremely confusing, the devil will break his leg. What gives the service a special “charm” is its interface, part of which has been translated into Russian, while the other part remains in English.