QR image

Google launches Url shortener as a website on Thursday, September 30, 2010.  Previously, we already had Google Toolbar and FeedBurner that was being used for url shortening, but it was limited to to the Toolbar and FeedBurner only. Alternatively, we had an option to use Google url shortener using Firefox addon or Chrome extension. But the url shortener is now with a standalone site : goo.gl

Now, goo.gl can now be used  to shorten any web link or url with a simple one-click by accessing the goo.gl site directly.  Google claims, this is the “stablest, most secure, and fastest URL shortener on the web.” Quoting from the official blog, this url shortener should have  :

  • Stability: We’ve had near 100% uptime since our initial launch, and we’ve worked behind the scenes to make goo.gl even stabler and more robust.
  • Security: We’ve added automatic spam detection based on the same type of filtering technology we use in Gmail.
  • Speed: We’ve more than doubled our speed in just over nine months

All you need to do to shorten a long url is to enter goo.gl into your address bar and hit Enter. You’ll get a quite simple interface. Just put your long url in the box provided and click on “shorten”- Wooo, you are done!


What’s Unique about goo.gl , Google’s url shortener :

This new Google’s url shortener comes with few new features. One of the most unique thing is that, if you are signed-in to your Google Account, you’ll have full list of the urls with you that you have shortened in the past. You can also check the details of the shortened url by clicking  the “details” link next to any shortened URL listed there. By clicking on “details” link, one can “ find public, real-time analytics data, complete with traffic over time, top referrers, and visitor profiles.”

This can be proven to be  a great tool  to  help users understand who’s interested in the links shortened and how & when users are finding and reading it. Google’s url shortener will also protect users against phishing, spam and malware because Google has claimed ( official blog ) to use the “same industry-leading technology, they use in search and other products”  in goo.gl url shortener.

What’s expected next for Google’s goo.gl url shortener :

As of now, there is no official API for url shortening but there are some extensions for few browsers like Chrome ( goo.gl URL Shortener for chrome, Shareaholic for Google Chrome) & Firefox ( goo.gl lite).  Google has also announced about it’s plan to release an official API for goo.gl in the future in it’s official blog. The official API  would be used to shorten/expand URLs,  and view analytics of the url from directly within user’s own applications.

According to a tweet by Mattcutts, who is the current head of Google’s Webspam team,one can get a QR code by simply adding “.qr” to the end of any goo.gl shortened URL.

Taking an example, the shortened URL: goo.gl/84BZ , is the shortened link for this post.

Adding “.qr” to the end of the url will give the image labeled – QR image, which is a QR code : goo.gl/84BZ.qr

Who else is “in the run” ?

According to tech crunch, Twitter has started to work out for shortening all links with t.co link shortener and Facebook is also in this run. However, bit.ly, still seems to be very much popular in spite of these many competitors.

Comments – Most welcome! ;)

References : Official Google blog, Tech crunch