Google URL Shortner VS Bit.ly URL Shortner

Posted by Pixelhead

Google just made its URL Shortning service available to the public at large. Prior to using Goo.gl I used the Bit.ly URL shortening service prior to jumping over from tiny.url.

Much like Bit.ly, with Goo.gl you can track the stats of your links which includes:

the number of clicks per link
countries the clicks came from
browser type
operating system
stats for all of your shortened links
also includes a 2d barcode for your link much like the one to the right.
all links shortened by Goo.gl and their stats are public knowledge and can be shared.

With Bit.ly You can:

Share your links in a number of ways to include sharing your profile, tweeting your links, or publishing on Facebook.
see the number of links per link
see the locations your clicks came
shows the time and day of your clicks
referrer of the links such as email, twitter or another site.
gives a 2d bar code for links as well.
Share or publish your bit.ly rss feed
Use the Bit.ly API key to give third party programs access to your account.
search for active links

From my view, currently, Bit.ly has a lot more going on, but one thing Goo.gl has is it is a Google property. As such, I am sure it will continue to evolve and offer more features.

Currently however, I will continue to use Bit.ly, but will keep my eye on the Google URL Shortening service to see what features are added in the future.

Written by Pixelhead on November 3rd, 2010 with comments disabled.
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52 comments

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DanM
#1. November 4th, 2010, at 11:41 AM.

I have never tried google shortner, but I use often bit.ly, and i have to admit that for the time being i wouldn’t want to change it.

Alex@Jocuri
#2. November 4th, 2010, at 4:10 PM.

I think you missed this on goo.gl :
* shows the time and day of your clicks(it has a graph where you can hover your mouse over it and it shows the hour when you had that number of clicks)
* referrer of the links (it has a referer tab which includes the link that redirected to your link).

But you can also keep in mind that it’s still beta(like the other 80% of Google’s products) and it might get new features. Maybe they will follow users requests and will implement the features that will be most requested.
Anyway, now bit.ly is still the best, that is until Google will revise their service.

By the way, this post seems rather familiar, I might have commented on it but didn’t make the cut for “Make some awesomely helpful comments, and links to non-blog sites can be given”.

Jocurile

Pixelhead
#3. November 4th, 2010, at 4:22 PM.

Alex, I liked your comment, so I kept it and gave you a link, but removed the link from the url field as I did not find a blog on your site. Thanks for info on the missed features.

Alex@Jocuri
#4. November 4th, 2010, at 6:11 PM.

Thank you for appreciating my comment, Pixelhead and thank you for the effort of putting a link out to me, although it’s broken

Mike
#5. November 6th, 2010, at 5:49 AM.

Thanks for sharing this with us, I will look into it some more. Do you know if it is still in a beta stage or has it already fixed all its kinks?
Thanks

Geo
#6. November 9th, 2010, at 4:20 PM.

Thanks for sharing, I would have never discovered this. Definitely for me seems like a clear interface and real-time stats make its way better then any others out there. What happens when I don’t want to reveal the number of clicks for the link??

Pixelhead
#7. November 9th, 2010, at 4:25 PM.

Geo, that maybe a good reason to use bit.ly instead of Goo.gle

Pixelhead
#8. November 9th, 2010, at 4:27 PM.

Mike, its not in Beta, but I am sure they will continue to tweak it.

internet marketing services
#9. November 10th, 2010, at 7:02 AM.

well thanks for sharing but i like tinyurl more then bit.ly but for every type of URL that some time gives you error bit.ly make it shorten to use easily.

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#10. November 11th, 2010, at 8:48 AM.

wow, this is new to me. I might try using google shortner next time. I didn’t know google created such application. Thank you for sharing this one.

christian women
#11. November 11th, 2010, at 10:37 AM.

At the moment, its only being used for Google Toolbar and Feedburner. Google just announced the new service as a sharing feature of Toolbar that will let you share a web page directly from Toolbar.

wiper blades
#12. November 12th, 2010, at 4:46 PM.

I didn’t know google created such application. Thank you for sharing this one.

Here Your Ads
#13. November 14th, 2010, at 12:39 AM.

Thanks for article, i dont use goog.le and byt.ly. I use private shortner url using my domain

Google OS
#14. November 18th, 2010, at 9:14 AM.

I am very thankful I came across with your site because it is very insightful and I now learned new knowledge. Web addresses can now be shortened and I am shocked that these inventions are created. But what’s the importance of this, by the way? Thanks!

Seo Calgary
#15. November 19th, 2010, at 5:46 AM.

Nice post. I have been using bit.ly url shortner ever since and I haven’t tried google url shortner yet. As of now,I might just use bit.ly because it has obviously more to offer. However, I’ll be looking forward to more features that both google and bit.ly can offer. Thanks for sharing..

Gab “hours Fitness” Emman
#16. November 19th, 2010, at 9:12 AM.

I think i ll go for bit.ly. i have used it its been delivering effectively so far. thanks

Jeff Owen
#17. November 19th, 2010, at 9:14 PM.

I just recently started using Googles URL shortener and I like it. I believe there are too many out there but I’ll continue to use Google for everything if I can

Dynamic IT Solutions
#18. November 21st, 2010, at 4:21 AM.

I still think I prefer the “look” of bit.ly links better than goo.gl but if Google add more features in the future than I’d probably change.

cordless iron
#19. November 21st, 2010, at 8:45 AM.

Thanks for this Pixel, over the years I’ve used tinyurl and Bit.ly pretty much randomly – didn’t make much use of their other features. Does the google shortner come as part of your Google account – or do I need to sign up elsewhere?

Cheers

Deera,

General Knowledge Questions
#20. November 25th, 2010, at 8:01 AM.

I just tested the URL shortener and I am really impress how it works, for an instance, a very long URL would turn into 5 characters only. But like they’ve asking, what’s is its importance? Are they really necessary?

Bronze Kitchen Faucets
#21. November 25th, 2010, at 8:24 AM.

I now know why URL shortener are launched its because of Stability – ensuring that the service has very good uptime, Security – protecting users from malware and phishing pages and Speed – fast resolution of short URLs. Thanks for sharing!

Coach Coupons
#22. November 27th, 2010, at 3:02 AM.

Thanks for the info, I had no idea google had this going on. I am also using Bit.ly currently, but I guess I will start experimenting with google after they add some features to it which Bit.ly does not have. Thank you again.

Info Tech
#23. November 27th, 2010, at 4:47 PM.

I never use the Google URL Shortner, so far I only use Bit.ly URL Shortner. Thank you for informing this.

Bulk Solids
#24. November 30th, 2010, at 8:35 AM.

I’ve been using Bit ly as one of my SEO tool ever since I started my SEO campaign and I could really say that it’s a big help for me. But I guess I would give a try the Google url shortner and see what it has to offer and if it’s better than the bit ly then why not consider changing my old ways. Great post. Thanks for sharing this out.

netbook
#25. November 30th, 2010, at 11:00 AM.

i just started using bit/ly shortener, its amazing. Even on my iphone it works.

public relation firms
#26. December 1st, 2010, at 7:28 AM.

I’ve been using Bit.ly URL Shortner for quiet long now. I’ve been satisfied with its features and I am already comfortable using it. But of course I will try this Goo.gl and have my comparisons. I will choose shortner that I know will be more convenient to me.

Indiancinemanews
#27. December 2nd, 2010, at 10:22 PM.

I go with bit.ly itself, because it has a user tracking option, which helps me a lot. Thanks

tom
#28. December 3rd, 2010, at 6:01 AM.

Great post. I haven’t tried out this Google URL Shortener. I’ve been using bit.ly for quite some time now and it’s doing okay. Maybe i’ll be checking out Google’s version of the URL shortener after a few months when they have added more features to it.

Short Url Redirection
#29. December 3rd, 2010, at 12:26 PM.

If you want to spend a few bucks I recommend using clicky.me which is integrated with Clicky Web Analytics. Short Url Redirection

Larry
#30. December 3rd, 2010, at 4:35 PM.

The shortener from Google is nice, considering stats are provided. I wonder if it can improve indexing new pages though.

Ryan
#31. December 7th, 2010, at 11:33 AM.

I use google url shortener simply for the fact that it is more recognizable for less tech oriented people as many of my clients are.
Bit.ly may have more features but Google has the brand identity.

Motorverzekering vergelijken
#32. December 7th, 2010, at 3:26 PM.

Twitter has it’s own shortener doesn’t it? I like that one alot too. But in the end does it really matter which one you choose? They’re all pretty useable and fast anyway. The stats might differ, but there are better ways to check traffic imo.

Greets,
M. Vergelijken

Feber Octavianus
#33. December 7th, 2010, at 5:49 PM.

i use feedburner as my blo’s rss. and it’s connected with my twitter account. and so my twitter conect to my facebook also.
when i post new article on my blog, feedburner post it to my twitter and then to my facebook.
the question is, “is google have a deal with twitter or what”

Jen
#34. December 11th, 2010, at 3:50 AM.

I think Bit.ly still has an edge over Goo.gl. Bit.ly features such as referrer of the links is important to me. I need these stats to track sales venue and also encourage repeat business.

Simon
#35. December 14th, 2010, at 4:51 PM.

Sorry that question was typed wrong, I meant to say “Are there any SEO benefits to having a url shortened”

Pixelhead
#36. December 14th, 2010, at 7:43 PM.

I don’t believe there are any SEO Benefits Simon..I use shortened links with Twitter. I have heard of people using them when they are promoting affiliate programs and they want to hide their affiliate links.

Simon
#37. December 15th, 2010, at 4:54 AM.

Thanks for your response, Pixelhead, ok so for promoting affiliate programs and hide the links, got it

Makk
#38. December 17th, 2010, at 11:23 AM.

Still a long way to go for Goo.gl coz Bit.ly still has most of the market share.

But I am sure they will pick up just like their emailing service picked up….

K-3 Visa
#39. December 17th, 2010, at 1:16 PM.

SEO has allot of benefits. If your blog ranking improve then you will earn allot of money.

Web Design Florida
#40. December 24th, 2010, at 4:44 AM.

I have used Bit.ly URL shortner but never tried Google URL shortner. As the service is from Google, it will be surely better than the others and I’ll definitely use it.

Jenie
#41. December 24th, 2010, at 6:40 AM.

I have always used bit.ly but with google offering a new url shortner is exciting me a lot. Hoping to get more enhanced features in coming versions.

Jenny

Football Manager 2011
#42. December 26th, 2010, at 9:57 PM.

Actually I use Google Url Shortner principally for the stats and for Google’s name..

Mike Plogas
#43. December 27th, 2010, at 5:39 PM.

I preffer bit.ly. You can’t match those statistics.

plastic welding machines
#44. December 29th, 2010, at 7:29 AM.

I never use shorten URL before and must try goo.gl after reading your post. Thanks for sharing.

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#45. December 31st, 2010, at 5:43 AM.

Really Google is the king of king in all search engine. I can be do any thing to check out a better result.

Josh
#46. December 31st, 2010, at 10:46 AM.

I’ve just started looking at moving to google’s url shortener to try and keep everything in the one place, ie analytics, webmaster tools etc.

akA
#47. December 31st, 2010, at 3:33 PM.

I think Bit.ly still has an edge over Goo.gl. Bit.ly features such as referrer of the links is important to me. I need these stats to track sales venue and also encourage repeat business.

Argon
#48. January 4th, 2011, at 7:42 AM.

The shortener from Google is nice, considering stats are provided. I wonder if it can improve indexing new pages though.

Displaysnframes
#49. January 5th, 2011, at 10:06 AM.

You learn something new everyday, i didn’t know google had a url shortener. I always use tiny url, for twitter etc. I didn’t even know you could get stats on how well the link was doing. Great post and thanks for the info!

Degree In Canada
#50. January 20th, 2011, at 11:43 AM.

Great post..this is new for me..I had no idea google had this going on….I just tested the URL shortener and I am really impress how it works, I’ll be looking forward to get some more info…Thanks for sharing this useful information……

Chuck
#51. January 24th, 2011, at 10:51 PM.

Those URL shortening services often get harder to trust after more and more dishonest people use it. Google will surely find ways to prohibit the more ruthless of those out there.

Graphics Display
#52. January 26th, 2011, at 8:43 AM.

Ooops! Nice one! Honestly, I have never tried or even heard google shortener. I use often bit.ly as my url shortener. However, I just see that both of them are pretty much the same, so extremely easy to use the service and almost has similar features. Well, maybe I could see the difference when I have tried google shortener. Thanks you for this informative post.

Cheers,
Geoffrey Hourani