In 2012, a well-known brand had a big marketing campaign, invested millions in it, and sent out a short link en masse on Twitter. The problem was that the domain it was hosted on expired the day before the launch. All the clicks went nowhere. The result: a tarnished image, lost money, and silence instead of analytics. Stories like this are not a myth. In a world where every click carries weight, shortened links can either be your trump card or your downfall.
These 5 mistakes are classics of the genre. And here's why you're better off avoiding them:
1. Shorten links without analytics
Many people create short links just “to be pretty”. But if the service doesn't allow you to track conversions, geography, devices - you lose the most important thing: understanding the effectiveness. Always choose tools such as Surl.li, which give full access to statistics.
2. One reference for all time
Newsletter, Facebook, blog - and in all cases the same short link? That's a mistake. You won't know where the traffic came from. It's better to create unique shortcodes with different UTMs for each channel.
3. An obscure or repellent slug
surl.li/8Hf9K looks like a random set of characters and will cause distrust. But surl.li/springbonus already hints where it leads. People are more willing to click on the clear.
4. Using unverified services
There are dozens of shorteners, but many of them either add their own ads or do not guarantee stability. Well-known services can be overloaded or disappear suddenly. It's worth choosing those that have a focus on stability and transparency - like Surl.li.
5. Forgotten expiration date
Short links are also infrastructure. Sometimes they have a limited shelf life. If your link stopped working after a month and you didn't notice it - your audience will stumble upon a mistake. Regular checking of relevance is a must.
And lastly, an interesting fact: according to Campaign Monitor research, an e-mail with a short and branded link has a 39% higher CTR than one with a long and obscure URL. Imagine how much you can change just by the format of the link.
Remember: a short link is like a signature in an important email. It should be neat, clear and reliable. Otherwise, the whole point will be lost between a click and nothing.