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How To Shorten and Cloak URLs
By Erin | October 21, 2008
With Twitter all the rage these days, we find ourselves living in a 140-character box (at least those of us who follow the “rules” and refrain from back-to-back tweeting to get a longer message). The way I see it, we’ve all become text contortionists!
While I’m guessing the common abbreviations, like BRB and LOL, began their careers more as lazy shorthand than an enforced length limitation, such is not the case for links. After all, we would normally just copy and paste them from the address bar. Who cares how long? Well, except for when they get chopped up by email clients.
But now, in addition to the disguise factor, we have to shorten them. As you’d expect, this has led to the proliferation of sites providing this service, from the originals (think tinyurl and snipurl) to newcomers, like budurl and MyFavUrls with advanced features such as tracking and expiring links. Then you have the listbuilders, like the annoying ViralUrl.
The problem with these options is it’s hard to tell at a glance where they’re going to take you, and a lot of folks simply won’t click on gobbledygook (wow, the spell checker knows that word!).
I know, I know. I hear you saying, “But, I can choose an alias; I don’t have to accept their randomly generated stuff.” Of course, you’re right, many do offer that option. Thing is, you still lose your branding by having the shortened URLs originate from a site other than yours.
Sure, you can install a MySQL database application on your server and use that instead, or if that freaks you out, you can upload a new folder and/or file for every affiliate promotion. As a software developer, the first doesn’t phase me a bit, but I understand how it’s not for everyone. And the second is a PITA.
It’s for these reasons that I’ve been using a different technique. I seriously haven’t seen this anywhere else. It’s been my little secret. But it wasn’t completely intentional; I’ve been meaning to share it for some time. I just needed to sit my butt down for a few days and spill my guts! Finally, it’s ready and you’ll discover the coveted method in my new “Make It Mine” report.
Inside, you’ll also find a link to the customer-only affiliate program where I split the sales with you. So, you’ll receive the full amount, direct to your paypal account, on every other sale! That means, with only two referred sales, the report is basically free! Everything after that is just icing on the cake (not to mention the improved click-thru rates you’ll enjoy).
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