Use Google URL Shortener for Analytics

Google launched its URL shortening service through the Google Toolbar last year and this week gave it its own website. We recommend using it over the vast amount of free URL shorteners out there because it’s dependable (meaning it will work fast, and it will keep working on your old links), it protects against malware, and has a nice analytics dashboard. The analytics dashboard that you access through your signed-in Google account shows a list of URLs you’ve shortened in the past and provides performance stats (traffic over time, top referrers, and visitor profiles). We recommend using this on top of campaign tracking within your web analytics platform for an extra layer of measuring your various online marketing efforts. Work with your web analytics management team to get a strategy in place for tracking every link you put out there.