Top 6 Advanced Features of URL Shorteners
One of the most amazing inventions in the digital marketing campaign is the URL shorteners. It all started in the early 2000s with a TinyURL shortener. Since then, we have had Google URL shortener (deprecated) and other top companies getting involved in the creation of short URLs for marketing purposes.
With these developments, there has also been the improvement of the features of URL shorteners. Digital marketers can now use some of the most sophisticated features to improve their marketing campaigns.
What are the Top Advanced Features of URL Shorteners?
In as much as there are tons of features that help digital marketers to maximize their digital marketing campaigns using URL shorteners, there are a few top features that stand out.
Here are the top six URL shortener advanced features:
1. Custom Domain
One of the top features that you should be eager to use when shortening your URL is a custom domain. This advanced feature allows you to tailor-make your domain to fit your business needs. You can add the name of your brand in your link if you want. You should do this because it increases awareness of the brand and boosts trustworthiness.
Here are some of the key benefits of having a custom domain:
- You can increase brand awareness as the potential buyers will know your brand name from the URL link shared
- You can make the ads cleaner and easy to read
- It is easy to set up
- You can configure multiple custom domains. However, this feature depends on the URL shortener that you are using
A custom domain is a premium feature that you will pay for. Read the best URL shorteners online tools article to find out the best link shortener for you.
2. API Integration
This advanced feature allows you to create short links from the company's servers directly. One of the reasons why you may want to opt to use this feature is that it is extremely fast. Within microseconds, short URLs are created.
The API integration works perfectly well for email marketers who want to reach their selected list of clients efficiently.
Some of the benefits of this feature include:
- It is excellent for affiliate marketing as it allows users of your website to create short links from your website
- You can also integrate it with other external applications for better results
- It generates short links very fast
- You have total control over the short links created i.e. you can edit or delete the short links at your discretion
3. Bulk Short Links
This advanced feature works perfectly well for businesses with multiple web pages. With this feature, you can create multiple short URLs at the same time. It saves you a lot of time needed for the creation of individual short links for each web page.
The benefits are:
- Users can create multiple links at a go
- The short links can be grouped into various categories. For example, if you have different marketing campaigns, you can name them and group the short links based on the marketing campaign under which they fall
- You can export the links into a single file
- The feature saves you a lot of time
4. Advanced Analytics
If there is a single feature that has been so helpful to digital marketers, then it is advanced data analytics. This feature provides marketers with a clearer insight into their labor. You can clearly see how the google shorten links are working. For example, you can know how many people have clicked on your links. The analytics break down the data and provide further insights such as geo-location. This means you can know the demographic of your viewers and plan your marketing campaign effectively.
The notable benefits of this feature are:
- It gives you an insight into the data of your viewers
- It interprets information that you need for marketing
- It saves you the time of breaking down the analysis
Depending on the company that you are using to create short URLs, you can also be given suggested action plans on the dashboard.
5. QR Code
One of the recent features defining the space of the URL shortener is QR codes. It is now possible to generate a QR code for your short link. This feature has been developed out of the existing use of mobile phones to access the internet.
Nowadays, mobile phones have applications that can read QR codes. Once you use such an application, you are redirected to the intended webpage.
The benefits of using QR codes are:
- Makes offline campaigns more effective
- You can reach a wider target audience (mobile users)
- You appear professional and trustworthy when you share QR codes with your potential market
- It saves you time
6. Password-Protected Short Links
If you do not want many people to access the short links you are sharing, you can use this advanced feature. This feature helps email marketers to target their audience and send them personalized offers. Once a short link is password-protected, the public cannot view it, and only the people with its password can access it.
The benefits of this feature are:
- It provides security to your sensitive marketing information that you intend to reach a few people
- The links do not expire
- You can control the audience that opens your short URL
When using this feature, you should be sure about your intended audience. The good thing is that you can change the password setting later and open it for the public.
Can I Get these Advanced Features in all URL Shorteners?
A clear answer to this question is NO. Not all the free URL shorteners have these features. You can only get these features from the best URL shorteners. Even with the best companies, you will find that most of these features are premium, thus, you should be ready to pay a little to enjoy these advanced features.
The features work well when they are guaranteed by the best URL shorteners in the market.