mashable.com
Your 140 characters are precious. Nobody wants to waste valuable Twitter type on extra-long hyperlinks; that’s why shortlink generators like Bitly are indispensable to tweeters in the know. And even though Twitter now has its own shortlink service, Bitly has stayed one step ahead by offering detailed data analysis on every link you share.
As the world’s largest URL shortener, Bitly converts tedious links into bite-sized “bitmarks,” perfect for character-sensitive microblogging platforms like Twitter.
But if you’re only using Bitly to generate shortlinks, you might be missing out. Bitly also personalizes your links, bundles URLs by theme, automatically generates bitmarks for your blog and more.
Check out these seven ways to get the most out of Bitly.
1. Monitor your stats.
Bitly’s 2012 redesign may have annoyed some users, but it added a number of snazzy analytics features that monitor the popularity of your links. Each bitmark acts as a smart bookmark that keeps track of your link’s shares, clicks and saves. On your “Stats” page, you can see how many people have clicked on or shared your link; click on any individual bitmark for more detailed analytics, including how your link has performed over time and which websites are driving traffic.
Plus, keep an eye on your competition. Put a “+” sign at the end of any bitmark to see the stats for that link.
2. Make it your own.
This summer, Bitly launched Bitly for Feelings, a bookmarklet that generates shortlinks with attitude. Use “luvit.me” for links you’re obsessed with or “loath.es” for links you hate (and want others to hate, too). Not to worry, there are WTF and LOL-appropriate links, too.
Also, customize your bitmarks using your own domain name, if sharing with “yaythis.me” isn’t your cup of tea. The New York Times, for example, has “nyti.ms.”
If you want to change the randomly generated letters and numbers at the end of the generic bitmark, just click on the pen tool to enter your own text.
3. Bundle your links.
Bundle a number of bitmarks by theme — recipes, DIY projects, awesome cat memes, whatever — into public or private lists. Keep them for yourself or share them with friends; you can invite up to 12 people to curate a list with you. Curators can comment on individual links, and any user can comment on the bundle if it has been shared publicly.
Plus, connect Bitly using one of your social media networks to see what your friends are sharing. Their links will pop up in the “My Network” tab.
4. It knows what’s important.
Last year Bitly launched Realtime, an interactive app that scans all the links generated by Bitly and shows you what’s hot in real time. Filter them them by social network, location, language and topic. Realtime curates content based on the number of clicks a link receives, showing you the most tantalizing links at any given moment. It’s like a Twitter feed, except you’ll only see what’s trending.
Bitly’s real-time tracking also makes it a great tool for business analytics, allowing you to see what content is generating the most clicks and shares — and what users are reading when they’re not clicking your links.
5. It works on your phone — and in Chrome.
Use the Bitly iPhone app to generate shortlinks or check your stats on the go. You can also log in to access your bundles and read articles straight from the app, in Reader mode. There’s also a Bitly plugin for the Google Chrome toolbar that shortens URLs and checks your stats without leaving the page you’re on.
6. Link it to your blog.
With Bitly’s plugin for WordPress, you can automatically generate a bitmark for every new blog post you publish and spread the word that much faster. Also, add a Bitly sidebar widget to your blog to display your most popular bitmarks or links, filtered by search topic. Finally, integrate Bitly with Buffer, Hubspot and Twitterfeed.
7. Use shortcuts.
The Bitly blog features a list of killer ninja tricks so users can access their content at lightning speed.
Check your stats while viewing your bitmark list by hitting Shift-I, or press P while a bitmark is highlighted to quickly change its privacy settings. The K and J keys will toggle through your bitmarks, or add a note by pressing N. Hit T to edit the title of your shortlink. Check out the blog for more.