Shorten URL’s and Measure Click’s With Twurl.cc

Many of you may have come across links posted in various places named tiny url. The link shortening service is used in Twitter where users are limited to 140 characters. URL shortening services makes sense but by using twurl.cc you have additional benefits.

Twurl.cc was created by Return, an internet consultancy company in Portland Oregon. Using Twurl.cc you can shorten URL’s and in addition you can also view how many times the link has been clicked. If the link you leave directs users to a third party site you don’t have to wonder if anyone clicked on your link. After signing in using openID the user can create a twurl and view how many times it was clicked from a simple interface.

One way that twurl.cc can be used is for a form of a/b site testing. This isn’t the only tool that you would use of course but it clarifies which links on a page seem to get the highest click through. Let me explain:

When you access Google analytics and view the site overlay of a page you can see which links users are clicking on. This information is good for viewing common traits of user behavior on a site page. One shortcoming of the overlay is that it doesn’t differentiate which link was clicked if there are two or more links to the same destination. The problem is solved with twurl.cc by converting each pages duplicate link to a twurl.cc URL you can see in real time which links are being used the most. This isn’t the only use mind you, its just one simple example.

Linking data is valuable for internet marketers. Using twurl.cc is simple and it gives the user valuable information. One addition that I think would be awesome is to create a Firefox add on that simplifies the process of generating the twurl. Since I am not the best one for the job I can live with what is available, it adds a lot of value. How would you use twurl.cc?