Here are 3 reasons why should never use a free URL shortener or link cloaking service:
1) A lot of ISPs block them because they often collect your data and share it with other sites. ISPs don't like that! And what happens if they get hacked and/or blacklisted? Don't take a chance in letting your links get blocked.
2) You don't control the service, so if they go out of business all your links quit working. Think about it. Do you keep a record of all your short links you use by a 3rd party?
3) Those URLs you shorten are impossible to remember and/or edit later. One of my pet peeves is I can't go back and edit where it goes on some of the services out there.
So what's the solution? Use an affiliate cloaking/redirect script on your own domain that protects you from all these things and more.
My friend Christine Cobb recommended a tool to me and I've been using it for about a month now. I love it! It's super easy to use, only takes seconds to create a shorturl, tracks clicks, and even makes QR Codes!
I set mine up on a separate domain (reginahelp.me) and use that domain only for my shorturls.
Check out Easy Redirect Script at https://wpsecuritylock.com/easyredirectscript/ <–that's my affiliate link 😉
Since I am using WordPress for my website, I am trying to decide if I want to convert my Pretty Link Pro links or continue to use the plugin. I love the way Pretty Links works, tracks, and it's right inside my Dashboard.
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What are your thoughts? Should I convert my links and stop using a plugin? Have you tried the Easy Redirect Script? What do you use for cloaking your affiliate links or shorturl redirects? What are your fears of using redirect scripts? Looking forward to reading your comments below.
Good points, Regina. I have had occasional problems w/ Pretty links in the past with it not working after WP updates , so I stopped using it. Too bad too, I really like Pretty Links, but a couple days of links not working……
Now I either create a subdomain and redirect it or do some sort of redirect depending on the script used.
Hey Kathy,
Thanks! When you create a subdomain and redirect it are you doing all of that manually? And do you use a separate domain? I like to have something super easy to use with affiliate cloaking in case my link changes. Love having a dashboard to login and change when needed.
Regina, I’m glad to hear your follow up on how this plugin has been working for you. I’ve been thinking of getting it. And, I’ve been seeing more folks use it in conjunction with another domain, as you have adding help to your name with a .me extension, or adding the word loves after their name. I’m thinking my domain is so short that I may use it as is, though.
I’m sure you tossed around the idea of branding for these links. I’d be interested to know the factors you considered with choosing to use a domain that’s different than your brand for these links.
Hi MaAnna,
Great question! The reason I used reginahelp.me for my shorturls is for security reasons. I did not want to have WordPress and my redirect script running on the same domain. Less risk of file vulnerabilities on one site vs. another. And if one goes down (temporarily of course) the other will still work. Plus, less clutter 😉
I didn’t really consider branding for my shortlinks. But one thing I do like is my url is shorter.
Thanks Regina, I had not even thought of that. So, to be clear, the short links on reginahelp.me redirect to pages/posts on your main site, correct?
For example, I use http://reginahelp.me/easyredirectscript/ for my affiliate link to Easy Redirect Script. I don’t really use shortlinks from that script from that domain. For pages or posts I use the shortlink that comes with WordPress. Example, this post is https://wpsecuritylock.com/?p=8232.
So for affiliate links I am going to use reginahelp.me and for links to my posts I’ll use my WordPress shortlinks.
I was referred to you by MaAnna Stephenson. A fantastic resource, thank you!
Glad you found me. MaAnna is such a sweetheart. Tell her thanks for me.
Great article Regina Smola for this wonderful article. Though, I used to decrypt links before using them, but I never thought that they can prove to be harmful for creator too. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
One of the things that I have run into is some of the url shortner services I’ve tried have actually changed my link to one of their own. This has happened a few times when I have linked out to an affiliate offer and later found that the shorturl that I was using was not actually linking to my affiliate id.
Thanks for this post – you’ve given me a lot to think about.
OMG, i never thought that these Shorteners are very harmful. i really appreciate you admin for giving me this knowledge. Now i will never use these in future.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been using shorteners for ages without thinking about it at all. Time to stop!
I do have some shortened links that are still live and I guess it is about time I did something about it, thanks for the information.
Hi Regine, interesting topic you got here.
Yes, I agreed with you on the last point. For bloggers joining any affiliate program, this is really important. Sometimes the vendor change their link and using any affiliate plugin for WP, it’s much easier to change it site-wide. By the way, I’m using link cloaking plugin called thirsty affiliate. Pretty good so far.
Hi Regina! I really appreciate all your posts about WordPress. I learned a lot from them Thanks a lot.
Good point, but how about the TO and OWL used by twitter and hootsuite are they safe to use? Also, do you consider using bookmarking site url shorteners? I’m using the sherteners for posting on facebook and twitter.
Your point 2 does not applies to all of the link shortener, there are link shortener like goo.gl , bitly . Thye are not going to out of business. SO if you popular url shortener then your link will always work
Hi Rakesh,
Thanks for your comment. However I beg to differ. Even popular companies can go out of business and you have no control over it. The point states, “so if they go out of business all your links quit working.” Having control over your own links is essential for website owners.
~ Regina
So how about the most known url shortener websites as facebook and twitter and bit.ly and google and others… I use a free url shortener script called shrinky for a long time and i’ve never had a problem.