The screenshot above summarizes why you should avoid using free URL shortening services.
Someone in the Web Applications forum asked about the message that the free URL shortening service Shrinkster had on its home page:
“We’ll be back soon! We are temporarily offline due to abuse by spammers.”
This message was still being displayed at the time of writing this review.
The person then goes on to ask:
Does anybody know:
If it will come back online to make its URLs available?
Or if the existing short URL codes were transferred to another service?
What do you think?
This is what you risk happening when you use free services to shorten your affiliate links.
The services that such websites provide can, for whatever reason, be withdrawn at any time rendering your links useless.
People think of websites and domains as Virtual Real Estate. Your affiliate links are just as valuable and so should be protected.
Using a free URL shortener, is like giving your savings to a stranger and asking them to take care of your savings for a while. You don’t control the service.
Another reason why you shouldn’t use these services is because many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) don’t like them and can shut them down if, as in the case of Shrinkster, and many others, they are overrun with spammers.
And spam is a big problem with free URL shortening services. Because they’re free it’s very easy to abuse these services.
Not only are these services sometimes being shut down by their hosting companies, major websites such as Wikipedia, Facebook, Craigslist, MySpace can and do block certain URL shorteners.
And there’s just a host of other issues regarding the use of these services. To start a discussion about this is really like opening a can of worms but here’s another reason why you should avoid these services.
When you use these free services you’re promoting that company. You are denying yourself the opportunity to brand yourself and products/services you offer.
But what many people forget is that these services are only URL shortening services and so if you use your naked affiliate link, it will be revealed. These services are not link cloaking services.
Now, I admit, I’ve used services such as Bit.ly and TinyURL.com but that was before I understood the potential consequences of my actions. In the long-run, it just isn’t worth it.
However, when you use the Easy Redirect Script you’re in the driving seat. It’s a script that you upload to your domain and so you have complete control.
It’s very easy to use. In fact, you can be up and running in just 3 easy steps:
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Download the Easy Redirect Script
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Upload to your desired domain(s)
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Create your user name and password
Once you’ve completed these 3 steps you’re all set to create your redirect scripts in a matter of seconds. And you can relax knowing that you can edit your links when you want to, check your statistics and brand your links. Being able to do these things will help to dramatically boost your income from affiliate marketing. Click the link below for full details.
