Need to shorten that huge, unsightly (and unwieldy) URL? Then use Bitly, one of our favorite URL shorteners. Here's a quick slideshow that walks you through the Bitly process, courtesy of the MarketingProfs Affiliates Program.

1. HOW TO USE BITLY
(A URL SHORTENER)
September 26, 2012 Quick Tips for MarketingProfs Affiliates

2. What you’ll learn
 bitly
 Why use it?
 How to use it.
 How to track your results with bitly.

3. Two reasons to use bitly
1. bitly gives you metrics. When you shorten your links into bitly URLs, you’ll
be able to see how many clicks they’re getting.
2. Twitter only allows 140 characters per tweet. bitly offers a way to take
those long URLs you’d like to share via Twitter, and shorten them.
 Here I’ve put a long URL into Twitter,
and it has used up 119 characters.
This doesn’t leave much room to say
anything about the link in my tweet.
 If someone RTs this, they won’t have
space to say anything about it either.

4. How to use bitly
 Sign up at www.bitly.com
 Or, without signing up, you can
paste a URL in the field on the
home page, and get a shortened
link. (However, we recommend
creating an account. You’ll see
why in a minute.)

5. How to use bitly
 I’ve created an account. Each time I log in, I see this page.
 Here is the long URL I want to shorten – a monster, eh?
http://www.marketingprofsu.com/course/2064/social-media-
marketing?utm_expid=31364234-
7&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketingprofsu.com%2Fcourse%2Flist%2F
 I click on the field (where the arrow is), and paste in the long URL.

6. How to use bitly
As soon as I hit
enter, bitly has
taken the link and
shortened it.
Click on the
shortened link to
copy it.

7. How to use bitly
 Now, we can take our shortened link from bitly back to Twitter, and
enter it in the tweet field.
 Here is a screenshot where I’ve put the
shortened URL into Twitter.
 I now have room for a description and my
affiliate promo code.
 If someone RTs this, there is some room for
them to add their own thoughts too.

8. How to track response to your links
 So how can you tell if anyone clicked on your shortened link that you
broadcasted through Twitter? Two steps:
This tells you how
many people
clicked on other
shortened links
1. You’ll need to that started with
have created an the same URL.
account with bitly
to see this page.
2. Just click “Stats”
to view your
metrics. Easy!
This tells you how
Your latest shortened many people
links are here. saved the link.
This tells you how many people
clicked on your shortened link.

9. More information about bitly
 If you need help with bitly, click “Help” in their footer, or go to:
http://support.bitly.com/knowledgebase
 Good luck with posting your affiliate tracked links!
 Feedback? Suggestions? Questions?
Write to us at partners@marketingprofs.com