Twitter users share relevant links with their audience to drive traffic to their blogs, websites, product referral pages, etc. Hence, marketers, influencers, and big brands leverage the Twitter platform to gain revenue.
Some URLs are lengthy in characters and seem hard to read for users. In this article, we will help Twitter users to find how to shorten a link for Twitter with step-by-step instructions. You will explore more useful tools to generate shortened URLs.
How to Shorten a Link for Twitter
To generate a shortened link, Twitter uses its service called t.co. Even if the links posted have more or fewer characters than 23, the t.co service will adjust its length to 23 characters. Users only have to paste the links into their desired location on Twitter.
How Do I Use Twitter Link Shortener?
Here are instructions on how to use the Twitter link shortener on a mobile device and the website.
- Either paste or type the link into the Tweet section.
- Twitter will alter the URL and will reflect the size of 23 characters.
- Click on the post button.
Can I Use Another Link Shortener on Twitter?
Users can track limited metrics such as link clicks only. Also, all shortened links appear with the same domain. If people want to create their customized branded links or gather more data related to the shared links, they can choose other link shorteners such as bitly, Buffer, TinyURL, etc.
What’s the Best URL Shortener for Twitter?
The Best URL shortener for Twitter is its in-built service. This service provides limited benefits. We are also recommending some popular link shorteners that provide more metrics to understand the audience behavior.
Twitter’s Link Service
The best feature of using this URL shortener is that it warns users before they can open harmful links.
Are T.Co Links Safe
Yes, t.co links are entirely safe. A Twitter link shortener is one of its most secure services. When the link is unsafe, Twitter shows the warnings about the site it could link to. Hence, this link shortener alerts users in advance.
- May steal your personal information.
- It is violating Twitter’s terms of service.
- May collect your information for spamming.
- Can install malicious software on your devices.
T.Co Links Not Working in chrome, Firefox safari, or mobile app? What to do
Implement the following steps.
- Reload your URL a few times and check whether it’s taking you to the desired destination.
- iPhone and iPad users can force quit the safari browser.
- Restart your device.
- Update the Twitter app to its latest version.
- Switch to a different browser if one doesn’t work.
- Chrome and Safari users can clear their cache data.
- Frequent updates on Apple devices help users improve their device performance.
Bitly
Bitly was the tool that allowed people to track their link metrics. It’s a mighty URL shortener that creates customized branded links for a Twitter page with a mix of random letters and words. You just have to paste the URL into the box to shorten links. Copy the shortened link anywhere you want.
TinyURL
With a Tinyurl free account, you can create Short and customized links ( or branded short links) along with viewing their entire history. You can Track shortened links and get information like frequent times and how much traffic is coming from which devices and specific regions. Just copy the link and share it after shortening.
Ow.ly
Earlier, Ow.ly was available as an independent tool. Now, the creators, for their user’s security, have integrated this site into the Hootsuite ( social media management application) dashboard. Shortening and tracking clicks is an easy process here. Its free version provided by Hootsuite provides users unlimited access to this URL shortener. To access more features, you can switch to a premium plan.
Buffer
You can create a customized shortened link that you can post on Twitter or other platforms directly from Buffer. It is a prevalent social media network management tool that can help users schedule their posts. You can start with its free plan in the beginning.
Does Twitter Automatically Shorten URLs
Yes, Twitter has its link shortening service, i.e., t.co, which converts links into a character limit of 23. It’s available for free, in-built within Twitter, and uses an automatic process to analyze and shorten links posted on tweets, Direct messages, and replies.
How does link shortening work?
When any user posts links inside the tweets, DMS, and replies, hit the enter button. Twitter processes it automatically and adjusts its character limit to 23. The shortened link appears with the domain name http://t.co. When Twitter users click on the links posted, they will reach the destination URL.
Why does Twitter have its own link shortener?
Twitter provides the free URL shortening service due to the following necessary reasons.
- To fit the relevant information into the 280-character limit – Twitter provides limited characters to post tweets. Long URLs occupy more space inside tweets. Users get fewer characters to post the desired information. That’s why a Twitter link shortener will convert a long URL into a short link without changing its destination.
- To measure the total clicks obtained by a tweet– Twitter employs a link shortener to measure total clicks. This metric assists in counting click through rates which signifies how much people are engaging with a particular post. Hence, Twitter can compare which tweets users find more interesting to click. The total clicks metric helps users to explore which content receives the most attention from their audience.
- To check shared links against malicious sites – Many posted URLs may belong to malicious sites. Cybercriminals create such sites to steal users’ sensitive data, make phishing attacks, and put malware on their devices. Twitter’s link service will analyze links whether they are part of these harmful sites. Twitter warns users through the error message below the shortened link before clicking on it.
Can I opt out of link shortening when I post links on Twitter?
No, You cannot opt out of the Twitter link shortener service when posting any link on its platform. It’s an automatic service and necessary for every user to go through. Twitter uses this for users’ safety.
Can I still use a URL shortener (like bit.ly) to shorten links?
Yes, you can shorten links by using any link shortening services like bit.ly, TinyURL, etc. When you are sharing links on other platforms, you can choose any URL shorteners. Twitter’s link service is valid only for its platform. Twitter will still apply its t.co service even if you use other link shorteners.
