Have you noticed how sometimes URL's are so long that you certainly could not read them out to people and they are difficult to type in, with some being twenty or more numbers or letters long?
When you are sending a link to someone wouldn't it be much easier to send a link that is short and makes sense?
Well here are the five tools that I recommend for shortening your URL's in your newsletter, email's or blog posts:
- Link Generator is a paid for product use all the time to make customised URL's that make sense
- TinyURL is a free service which is easy to use - the only downside is that the short links it creates for you are numeric so don't give you the opportunity to reinforce your brand name
- URL.ie is a free service you can use which will truncate your long URL - you can request a customised URL though this will be for a fee - a great service for those of us in Ireland who want a "dot ie" for their short url
- SnipURL is a great free tool - and my preferred of all the free services - you can create a free online account and shorten your URL's to words that make sense - and therefore enabling you to make sure the URL's are branded. What is even better is that the service also holds a record of all your URL's that you have shortened so that you can amend them should you need to change them in the future
- Faceto.us is a new online free tool to help you customise and brand your Facebook ID - it's the brain child of David Petherick and I came across it on David's blog. And how did I meet David? Well he posted a really helpful comment on a recent article I wrote about LinkedIn and Facebook. Another great new network contact and new Facebook friend I've met through blogging! As an example, my Facebook ID has been shortened to www.faceto.us/krishna which is easy to remember and easy to understand when speaking it out loud to people. I highly recommend you go and register your shortened Facebook ID today with a branded Faceto.us URL and continue to build your personal brand online.
Note: Additional resources that you may find of help:
1. this review and comparison of several free short URL tools
2. a PHP script you can purchase to create shorter URL's under your domain name (I have not tested this).
Tags: Digital Biographer, David Petherick, Faceto.us, Facebook, LinkedIn, personal brand, shorter urls, SnipURL
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