What is bit.ly? We explain the online service

The Internet is made up of countless websites and each one has an address, also called a URL. This is where Bitly comes into play. Our guide explains what the service is all about.

Short and sweet: This motto also applies to URLs and bit.ly is helpful.

Bitly is a so-called URL shortener. What that is, we have explained here in more detail. Simply explained: URLs can be converted so that they are shorter and do not reveal the true address at first glance.

What is bit.ly and who uses the service?

Bitly is also a URL shortener and is the clear market leader in this segment.

• This is due in no small part to the fact that Bitly has been chosen as the default shortener on Twitter.
• Using Bitly is quite simple: go to bitly.com and enter the original URL in the central field. Then click "Shorten" to the right of it to get a shorter version.
• You can then post this anywhere you like. Shortened URLs have several advantages: For example, they make long URLs more "catchy", which can increase the click-through rate. Technical restrictions such as the maximum number of characters on Twitter are another important reason to shorten URLs.

Although the URL shortener remains Bitly's central feature, the site now also offers business services. These are partly paid and are intended to help websites such as online stores to achieve better results.