The Benefits of Short URLs
Published November 26, 2024 · GoTo.now Team
TL;DR - Long web addresses are hard to share, easy to break, and impossible to measure. A short URL fixes all three. It looks better, it fits anywhere, it can be fixed after you share it, and it counts every click for you. And with GoTo.now it costs nothing.
Key points
- Short links get more clicks because people can read them and trust them
- They fit in texts, bios and printed flyers where long links break
- You can change where a short link points - Even after it's printed
- Every click gets counted, so you know what worked
- A free QR code comes with every link
Copy a product link from any online store and look at it. It's probably longer than this sentence. Now picture that link in a text message, on a poster, or read out loud on a podcast. Not great, right?
That's the whole reason short URLs exist. Here's what they actually do for you, and why so many people never go back to sharing raw links.
People click links they can read
Would you tap a link that looks like example.com/cart.php?id=8827&ref=xj2!9? Most people won't. It looks messy, and messy links feel unsafe.
A short link like goto.now/summer-sale does the opposite. It tells you where you're going before you tap. That small bit of trust shows up in the numbers: readable, branded links get around a third more clicks than random strings of letters.
There's a bonus here for your brand, too. When you pick your own ending - Called a custom back-half - The link itself becomes a tiny ad. You can set one up free with branded links on GoTo.now.
They fit where long links don't
Some places just don't have room for a 200-character web address:
- Text messages. Long links push an SMS into two or three messages. That costs more to send and looks broken on some phones.
- Social bios. Instagram and TikTok give you one link line. Make it count.
- Print. Nobody types a long URL from a flyer. A short one, they might. A QR code, they will.
- Spoken words. Try reading a tracking URL out loud on a radio spot. Now try "goto now slash deal." Done.
Short links go anywhere text goes, and they carry a scannable QR code for everywhere else.
You can fix a link after you share it
This one surprises people. When you shorten a link, the short link points at your long link - Not the other way around. So if the destination changes, you just update the short link. Every copy of it out in the world follows along.
Printed 5,000 menus and then switched menu software? Posted a link in 40 places and the page moved? With a raw link you'd be stuck. With a short link you change one setting and everything works again. Nothing gets reprinted, nothing 404s.
Every click becomes something you can learn from
A raw link tells you nothing after you share it. A short link keeps score.
| What you see | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Total clicks | Did this campaign work at all? |
| Where clicks came from | Was it Instagram, email, or the poster? |
| Countries and cities | Where your audience actually lives |
| Devices | Are these phone people or laptop people? |
| Humans vs bots | Real interest, minus the noise |
You don't need to set anything up. Make your links with a free account and the numbers are just there in your private dashboard, updating in real time - Visible to you and nobody else.
That data answers real questions. Which of your three posts drove the sales? Did the flyer in the north side of town beat the one downtown? Guessing ends when counting starts.
They're safer than they look
Short links got a bad name years ago because scammers hid junk behind them. Fair concern - But it's a solved problem here.
Any GoTo.now link can be checked before you click it. Paste it into the link checker and you'll see exactly where it leads, without visiting it. Links that point somewhere nasty get reported and shut down. That's more transparency than a long link full of tracking codes ever gives you.
The benefits add up fast
Each benefit on its own is nice. Together, they change how you share things online. Your links look cleaner, so more people click. They fit every channel, so you post everywhere with one link. They're fixable, so mistakes stop being expensive. And they report back, so next month's campaign is smarter than this month's.
The best part: none of this costs anything. Paste one long, ugly link into GoTo.now and see what comes back. Ten seconds from now you'll have a link that works harder than the one you started with.
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