How To Make Money With URL Shorteners

There is one particular new URL shortening service that has just been launched - the world's first that actually offers revenue to its members based on how many people click the shortened links that they send out all over the web. Given that these links can point to anything you like (not just sites that are trying to sell you something!), there seems to be a massive untapped market and potential for earnings. Today we look at some of the fastest and easiest ways to make money with short URLs - hold on to your Paypal account!

1. Tweeting with short URLs
   People are quite used to clicking on shortened URLs in Twitter ... and the microblogging site sees a massive amount of traffic every day!
2. Sharing links on Facebook
   Facebook is one of the biggest activity hubs on the internet ... and its social! People will often click links because their friends recommended them, their fellow group members told them they thought it was interesting, and other people who 'Like' the same pages they do recommended visiting. The best part of earning money this way is that you don't have to share unrelated links that will annoy people - simply put your short URL in place of the regular one!
3. Myspace, Bebo, Friendster, Qzone
   All of these social networking sites have a massive amount of traffic - most of us probably have friends on one or more of them, but as on Facebook, the real short URL clicking potential is in sharing information with other members of 'Groups' or 'Pages' and their equivalents on Bebo etc.
4. Your blog
   Blogs are an amazingly rich source of clicks - and you can use your anchor text to point to a short URL just as you would to point to an ordinary length URL.
5. Blog comments
   Many net-izens realize that blog comments can be just as rich and comprehensive a source of information as a blog post itself. Choose your type of blog post carefully - the ones where people are most likely to actually read that other comments and click in the links on them are in academic, scientific, political and current events niches.
6. Yahoo Answers
   It's always useful to provide extra information in your Yahoo Answers in the form of a link - make it a conveniently shortened one and you'll be earning cash by helping inform people.
7. Forums
   The same principle applies to forums - answer a question well, than provide extra information in the form of a shortened link.
8. Email jokes
   It is always advisable to use shortened URLs in emails anyway, because of the possibility that the email client will break a long link. You can use anchor text with the shortened URL within an email message, just as you can with blogs.
   
   

What to Expect from the Best URL Shorteners

The first generation of URL shorteners were revolutionary. Very simple ... but a massive step forward from the complete broken email links, horrible-looking URLs and inability to share Google Maps listings on Twitter! URL shorteners have progressed far past that simple random conversion-and-redirect stage, though. New generation short URL services are offering more features than ever before ... here's what you can expect from some of the most cutting edge shorteners!

Revenue earning potential!

That right ... you can actually earn cash when your friends, family, and the web at large clicks on your shared links made with URL shortening service ity.im - as in 'I am itty ... itty bitty!'. It's a world-first concept and set to be a very easy way for people to earn money on the new web; http://ity.im is also offering cash for referring friends that become members of the site, winning weekly contests and hosting the site's ads on your own website.

Traffic statistics

This idea was a revolution when tinyurl first introduced it a year or two ago. Now it is commonplace - you can't have a URL shortening service without having traffic statistics associated with the links it creates.

Preview services

Some URL shorteners also have inbuilt URL un-shorteners in them - very useful considering the amount of spam that is now shared via short URLs which can hide the dodgy domain names which would otherwise remain unlicked.

Polls, surveys and feedback

Here new short URL service http://ity.im takes another bow - it allows you to add module to your site to conduct surveys, mini-polls and elicit user feedback.

Personalized shortening

Some short URL services let you choose your own code - doiop is an example, and there are several others than do this as well. This means you get the benefit of a short domain, removal of parameters and session IDs, and also a more memorable URL. Some shortening services simply pay attention to the sequence of consonants and vowels within the URL to mean that you can 'pronounce' the address, even if it is gibberish. MemURL does this.

5 Best Practices in Linking for Web Usability

The entire World Wide Web is built on links. They are the only way to navigate around a website; they are the way that Google delivers us its information-rich goodness ... without links, the internet would look very different than it does. Few people actually realize that there is a well established set of protocols for linking in terms of web usability, governing everything from when to use short URLs, to when anchor text is needed, what to write and the appearance of your links. Here we check out 5 of those best practices.

1. Using anchor text
   When you use anchor text for a link, you are embedding a hyperlink within text that is not the actual web address itself. Google uses the anchor text that links are embedded within as part of its algorithm which determines in what order sites will appear when you type in a search. Using anchor text is considered a best practice in some cases - it provides a description of the embedded link, which helps people decide whether it will be useful to click on.
2. Length of anchor text
   Make your anchor text long enough to accurately describe the content of the embedded link, but no longer. When you make a portion of text into a link it removes the readability of the text. People will either struggle to get through the sentence or paragraph, or will skip it altogether ... ignoring the link it contains in the meantime!
3. When to use non-anchored URLs
   Non-anchored URLs are almost never recommended - they usually contain combinations of numbers, letters, words and non-alphanumeric characters that are simply unintelligible to people. Visually impaired people using screen readers will have to listen to all that gobbledegook, too. If you must use your URL as a link, shorten it with a URL shortening service (see below).
4. Length of non-anchored URLs
   In many cases, it is considered best practice to shorten long URLs with a free, widely available URL shortening service. This means that email clients will not break the link if it runs over a line break, it will fit within the character limits of a Tweet or a Facebook status update, etc.
5. Alt text for images as links
   Keep your alt descriptions accurate, but above all, fairly short. People using screen readers won't get the visual impact of a picture simply by hearing it described anyway, and will find a long description of a simple image a royal pain.

A Looong List of Un-Saveable Looong URLs!

Many long URLs can be saved. They're long ... they're intimidating ... they're most certainly not user friendly ... but at least links like Google Maps addresses, Yahoo articles and on-site search listings can be shrunk down to a manageable size with a good URL shortening service. However, when your long URL is a part of your company's branding, the situation becomes a little more hopeless! You can hardly hand out business cards with an address like http://ity.im/0bf on them, after all. So today we take a look (and try to learn a lesson from!) some of the longest, un-saveable URLs on the web!

1.http://www.yellowbirdsdonthavewingsbuttheyflytomakeyouexperiencea3dreality.com/

These people could have had www.yellowbird.com, but no ... they really wanted to be unique! I know that you have to have a point of difference in order for your business to survive. But should you really be known for terrible, difficult to remember URLs? It is a great site, though!

2. www.europeantileandstoneinstallation.com
I understand the rationale behind this very non-short URL ... but I still don’t believe it's necessary! Euro Tile and Stone, Stone Tile Installations, Euro Stone ... any of the above would have worked far better.

3. www.thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com
Faboo! I love this long URL. Unfortunately, I think that despite its good sense of humor and intentions, it probably loses a lot of its branding by being fed into URL shorteners more than any other single domain on the web!

4. www.leesfamousrecipechickenofcincyandky.com

This long, unsaveable URL is no longer in commission. Perhaps if they had used a good URL shortening services the site would have got enough visitors to pay for itself ...

5. www.kerkenenmensenmeteenverstandelijkehandicap.nl

This is a Dutch site - it isn't a purposefully made gobbledegook URL. Again, this site is no longer with us in web-land (or perhaps has simply been moved to a more manageable URL!).

And just for fun ... this URL is certainly saveable with a URL shortening service. This is why they were invented!

http://www.realtytrac.com/MapSearch/MapSearch/MapSearch.aspx?
zipcode=70471&zipOnly=true&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0&Submit=Submi
t&#eyJCYXNpY1JlcXVlc3QiOnsiWmlwIjoiNzA0NzEiLCJDb3VudHlDb2RlIj
pudWxsLCJDaXR5IjpudWxsLCJBZGRyZXNzIjpudWxsLCJQYXJjZWxOdW1iZXI
iOm51bGwsIlByb3BlcnR5SUQiOm51bGwsIkV4YWN0WmlwIjpmYWxzZSwiU2VhcmNoVHlwZSI6M30sIkFkdmFuY2VkUmVxdWVzdCI6eyJQcm9wZXJ0eVRhYlR5cGUiOjQsIkRhdGFiYXNlVHlwZSI6MCwiUHJvcGVydHlUeXBlIjpudWxsLCJQcmljZUZyb20iOm51bGwsIlByaWNlVG8iOm51bGwsIkJlZHJvb21Db3VudEZyb20
iOm51bGwsIkJlZHJvb21Db3VudFRvIjpudWxsLCJCYXRocm9vbUNvdW50RnJv
bSI6bnVsbCwiQmF0aHJvb21Db3VudFRvIjpudWxsLCJTcXVhcmVGZWV0RnJvb
SI6bnVsbCwiU3F1YXJlRmVldFRvIjpudWxsLCJGcm9tRGF0ZSI6bnVsbCwiVG
9EYXRlIjpudWxsLCJTb3J0RmllbGQiOjksIlNvcnRPcGVyYXRpb24iOjEsIlJ
lY29yZHNQZXJQYWdlIjoxMCwiSW5jbHVkZU9ubHlTdXBwbGllcnMiOltdLCJF
eGNsdWRlU3VwcGxpZXJzIjpbXSwiSW5jbHVkZVN1cHBsaWVyc0J5VHlwZSI6W119LCJDdXJyZW50UGFnZSI6MCwiUmVzdWx0VHlwZSI6MCwiSXNNYXBWaXNpYmxlIjpmYWxzZSwiWm9vbUxldmVsIjoxNCwiTWFwUG9zaXRpb24iOm51bGwsIklzSW50ZXJhY3RpdmVSZXF1ZXN0IjpmYWxzZSwiQ2hlY2tlZFR5cGVzIjpudWxsLCJJc0Jhc2ljU2VhcmNoUmVxdWVzdCI6dHJ1ZSwiT2ZmZXJFbmFibGVkVmVuZG9yTmFtZSI6bnVsbH0=

Fighting the Short URL Spam Peak

As a society, we've gone through the five psychological stages of change with spam. First it was denial, when everybody knew these messages were a pain but the authorities denied there was any issue. We got angry; we tried to bargain with the spammers, we were fearful of what would happen if spam levels kept increasing ... until now we have come to a sort of tacit acceptance of spam. We joke about its existence, laugh at the crazy people who think we believe that 'organs' can be enlarged with a failsafe cream, and the 'Nigerian princess' meme has worked its way into household conversation. But spam is not something that should just be accepted; it is actually a major method for spreading viruses and committing identity theft. Recently, spam sent via short URLs reached an historical peak. So, what are the URL shorteners doing about it? And what can you do about it?

The Short URL Spam Problem

Even at the beginning of 2010, spam sent with URL shortening services was still a minor problem. In April, there were a few blips on the radar as spammers began testing out the possibilities of spreading links with short URLs. In May, 0.5% of all spam email messages used shortened URLs, but in June the number skyrocketed to 2.5% and has remained high ever since.

Top URL Shorteners Take the Solution Into Their Own Hands

Reputable URL shorteners have been taking the problem into their own hands; telling spammers that their accounts will be suspended automatically after more than one violation. The target domain will be blocked from use with the shortening service, and if it is a revenue sharing URL shortener, the user account and any payouts would be suspended.

How users can help

There are two main ways that users can help prevent spam in general, and prevent becoming the victim of virus-laden spam:

Report spam that you receive to the URL shortening service. They will have the ability to block domains. Yes, this action is a drop in the ocean ... but if everyone does it, the spammers efforts will be seriously hampered.

Preview your short URLs: Use a URL un-shortening service such as PrevURL to check on links from people that you are unsure of ... or simply don't click links from any person that you don't personally know!

Long URLs vs Short URLs - Let the Battle Begin!

There is now over a zettabyte of information on the web. There are thousands of new pages added every day. And every single one of those needs to have a URL! Even those who are relatively URL savvy - following best practices and protocols such as including both your company name and a description of your service, using hyphens where necessary and being memorable - may not be aware of some of the intricacies associated with URL length. Today we draw battle lines and some rules of war, and see who'll win ... long URLs, or short URLs?!

Readability

In the war between long and short URLs, it isn’t easy to determine who'll win the readability battle. Here are some of the factors that play into the readability of a particular URL:

• Whether it is hyphenated or not
• Whether the URL forms an intelligible sentence or 'story' of some kind. For example, www.whatchildrenreallywant.blogspot.com is long, but more readable than www.w4tyh41111.ca
• Whether you capitalise the start of words

If you’re choosing a URL for your main business domain name, obviously memorability is key. This doesn’t always directly relate to URL length - long URLs are not necessarily more difficult to remember than short ones. If your URL rolls off the tongue and doesn’t include any 'mean tricks' (like replacing the word 'for' with the number 4), it will be memorable. Another draw!

URL Length for link sharing

There are some great URL shorteners available on the net, with ultra-fast interfaces, built-in image servers, interactive features, robust servers and even revenue generating potential.

When you're sharing links in a Facebook status, an email, and especially in a Tweet, you'll most likely be deep linking to a page other than the site's home page. If you're linking to a blog post, you may even have the entire post title hyphenated out in the URL. If those enormous addresses even fit in a Tweet, they look messy and sometimes even intimidate people so much that they choose not to click on them. When long URLs are shared in an email, if they run over a line break some email clients will not preserve the link, making people copy and paste. Short URLs are the clear link-sharing battle winner!

Most of the time URL length is not the only consideration - apart from when you're trying to share links with people online! Both long and short URLs work well in different situations - match your length to your task.