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Short URL's

By Mark Frederick

Services for Real Estate Pros

July 26, 2011 12:25 PM

Shortened URL's are pervasive in social media because they economize on space (especially in Twitter) and allow for more message and less link.

The real value in a shortened URL is that it enables you to track the reach and amplification of your messaging ("amplification" and "reach" are critical components of a social media strategy and I will address them in a future post). I'm partial to bit.ly and use it exclusively. It's a one-stop shop for shortening and then tracking my online link use.

With it I get a panel that shows the number of times that my content is clicked, the geographic location of the viewer (never knew that I had so many viewers in Brazil!), and the referring site of my views (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, apps, etc.).

Here's a screenshot of my recent activity (looks like I need to amp up my productivity!)

bit ly clicks history

Maximizing your time and effort in social media is key and you want to be able to track your performance and see what kind of return you are getting on those efforts.

What are you doing to track your online engagement?

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Bruce Parker

Best Realty - Highland Park, NJ

You Deserve The Best

good post. I am still not sure I understand but I will try. keep up the good work

Jul 26, 2011 12:29 PM

Mark Frederick

Seattle, WA

Thank you, Bruce! If you're using a link as part of your content and you want to see how many times it has been clicked and from where, a service like bit.ly makes sense. For instance, if I send out an e-newsletter with links, I would like to see how many times the content was accessed. Also, a shortened URL looks nicer and is more compact than an orginal like (example: this (http://bit.ly/pb482g) vs this (http://www.readmyblogorsuffer.com/the-world-is-against-me))

Jul 26, 2011 12:38 PM

Al Raymondi

Ocean View Realty Group in Ormond By The Sea Florida - Ormond Beach, FL

Ormond By The Sea Florida - Home and Condo Sales

Thanks Mark, I also use the shorter URL's on postcards and snail mail to make it easier for folks to type in an address without making an error.

Jul 26, 2011 12:48 PM

Great idea Al and a nice synthesis of "old mail" and "new"! :)

One of the key principles in customer retention and long-term loyalty is making a customer's engagement with you easy. Water follows the easiest path...

Jul 26, 2011 12:53 PM

FN LN

Toronto, ON

Hi Mark - Personally, I don't like the URL shorteners, especially if they are posted by unknown sources since you don't know where they link and if there is a virus or other problem at the other end.

Jul 26, 2011 01:32 PM

Marc, that's a good point. Links from any source, regardless of their configuration, should be taken with a grain of salt. It's like the old adage of not opening a door to strangers.

At least in social media we have a better idea of the message source since we've opted-in to connecting with a given person.

Jul 26, 2011 01:56 PM

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