Bit.ly

Shortening URLs and tracking traffic

In August, I signed up for a bit.ly account to shorten URLs on News-Herald.com that I was linking to through my Twitter account. The links I have shortened and the number of clicks they have gotten can be viewed on my public timeline. Checking back to the bit.ly+ of my links has showed me what gets the most clicks, which has helped me adjust the brief text in my Twitter and Facebook posts to boost traffic to my links.

Customized links

I have been creating customized links (and sharing them with others in the newsroom) for web pages we would be referring to frequently or in print (where URLs can look confusing or jumbled) so users would immediately know what I was linking to and more easily remember the URL later:

1. Maintain, No Gain campaign: http://bit.ly/maintainnogain
2. Voting records from Scribd: http://scr.bi/votingrecords
3. Favorite ornament contest: http://bit.ly/nhornament
4. Announcements forms from Scribd: http://scr.bi/nhannouncements