URL shorteners are underrated.
Many people use them to do exactly what the term says: shorten URLs. These links are cleaner and smaller and make for easier sharing and clicking. But easier-to-use links are just the start. With URL shorteners, you can drive more click-throughs and make your campaigns more visually appealing.
But it's still tempting to simply copy and paste a long URL, especially if you have a large batch of links that need to be shortened.
You don't have to manually create those short links, though. With Zapier, you can automatically create shortened URLs every time you publish content, add new products to your site, track links in a spreadsheet, easily monitor who interacts with your links, and more.
Here are some popular ways to automate your URL shorteners.
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You'll need a Zapier account to use the workflows in this piece. If you don't have an account yet, it's free to get started. And if these workflows don't meet your needs, you can explore more in our App Directory or within the Zap Editor.
Create short links for your content and files
When you create new blog posts in your content management system (CMS), you can use a Zap to automatically shorten the published link for you. That way, every time you publish content, you can ensure your links are automatically available in a presentable, shareable format.
Create a new Bitlink each time you post to Wordpress
WordPress + Bitly
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When you're done with your latest blog post, you want to shout it from the rooftops! Let Zapier do some of the legwork for you so you can celebrate. With this integration you can create a new Bitlink every time you post to Wordpress. You can combine this with other Zaps to share your new Bitlinks to social media. Keeping everybody in the loop about your posts has never been easier!
Create Rebrandly for new WordPress posts
WordPress + Rebrandly
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Do you want to Rebrand your new WordPress blog posts? Turn on this Wordpress/Rebrandly integration, and whenever a new post is created, Zapier will automatically shorten the link with Rebrandly. It's a quick way to get your links ready to share.
Create bitlinks for new Tumblr blog posts with Bitly
Tumblr + Bitly
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Boost your online presence by effortlessly sharing your latest Tumblr blog posts with this convenient workflow. When you publish a new post on your Tumblr blog, a Bitlink will be generated using Bitly, making it easy for you to track clicks and share your content across various platforms. Enhance your audience engagement and save time with this simple automation.
Create Short.cm for new HubSpot blog articles
HubSpot + Short.io
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HubSpot is a great tool for creating new content and sharing it with your audience. Make that content even easier to share by creating shortened URLs for it. Each time you create a blog post in HubSpot, Zapier automatically creates a Short.cm short link for it. That way, you don't have to copy and paste the URLs yourself.
But what about when you save your draft content in Google Drive or other storage systems? For easier collaboration and sharing, you can use these Zaps to shorten the URLs of all your folder links, so team members can effortlessly access, review, and edit documents without having to navigate through lengthy or cumbersome URLs.
Create shortened urls for new Google Docs documents with URL Shortener by Zapier
Google Docs + URL Shortener by Zapier
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Create a shortened URL for your new Google Docs files, making it easy to share them with others. With this workflow, every time you create a document in Google Docs, the URL will be shortened using URL Shortener by Zapier. You'll save time and have a cleaner, more user-friendly URL for sharing, without any manual effort.
Create bitlinks for new OneDrive files with Bitly
OneDrive + Bitly
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Easily generate short and manageable links for your OneDrive files with this handy workflow. Whenever you add a new file to OneDrive, a corresponding Bitlink will be created in Bitly, making it quick and effortless to share your files. Save time and streamline your file-sharing process with this seamless automation.
Shorten URLs for your email marketing campaigns
Want to streamline your email campaigns?
By using any of these Zaps, you can shorten the URLs of every new campaign you create in your email tool. That way, you can make your email efforts more appealing and clickable—and easily share those links across social media platforms and elsewhere.
Shorten urls for new Mailchimp campaigns with URL Shortener by Zapier
Mailchimp + URL Shortener by Zapier
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Effortlessly manage your marketing campaigns with this efficient workflow, which kicks off when you create a new campaign in Mailchimp. It then shortens your URL using the URL Shortener by Zapier app, saving you time and ensuring a more polished appearance for your campaign links. Streamline your campaign management process and enhance your marketing efforts with this seamless automation.
Create a new Bitlink each time you send a Mailchimp campaign
Mailchimp + Bitly
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When you're using a lot of different apps, it can be a real drag to keep everything in one place. Zapier's got your back! With our Bitly integration, you can create a Bitlink to each new Mailchimp campaign that you send out. If you like, you can add an action to share these links on social media and track your campaign's progress outside of your mailing list! Keeping things streamlined has never been easier.
Add new Flodesk subscribers to segment, then shorten urls with URL Shortener by Zapier
Flodesk + URL Shortener by Zapier
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Easily manage your subscriber list and streamline your marketing efforts with this efficient automation. When a subscriber is added to a segment in Flodesk, the workflow will shorten the URL using URL Shortener by Zapier and send it to relevant campaigns. Save time and ensure up-to-date links in your marketing materials with this straightforward automation.
Automatically shorten links you store in a spreadsheet
If you work in spreadsheets, you can automatically shorten URLs as you add them to a Google Sheet or make updates to existing data.
Create Rebrandly links from a Google Sheets spreadsheet
Google Sheets + Rebrandly
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Are you looking for a way to create Rebrandly short links in bulk from a spreadsheet. With this Zapier integration, just add new links to your Google Sheets spreadsheet, and they'll be shortened with a custom Rebrandly short link.
Create Short.cm links when rows are updated in Google Sheets
Google Sheets + Short.io
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If you're keeping track of URLs in a Google Sheet, you might want an easy way to shorten the links, too. Use this Zap to create a short link in Short.com when rows are updated in Google Sheets. Each time someone adds or edits a long link in the Google Sheet, a short link will be created.
Shorten urls for new or updated Google Sheets rows with URL Shortener by Zapier
Google Sheets + URL Shortener by Zapier
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Effortlessly manage your spreadsheet data and links with this Google Sheets and URL Shortener by Zapier workflow. Whenever a new or updated row appears in your Google Sheets, the URL in the specified column will be shortened using URL Shortener by Zapier, making it easier to share and track. Enhance your data organization and link accessibility with this seamless automation.
The more you use your URL shortener tools, the more URLs you're going to have to track. That can become unwieldy, especially as your list of shortened URLs grows.
But with Zaps, it's easy to keep track of all your new links.
Automatically track new links in a spreadsheet to sort and find duplicates.
Add new Bitlinks to Google Sheets rows
Bitly + Google Sheets
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Keeping all your link information in one place involves a lot of tedious manual updating. With this Zap in place, though, you can skip the hassle by automatically adding each new Bitlink you create to a row in a specified Google Sheets spreadsheet. Keeping track of your links have never been easier!
Create Google Sheet rows for new bitlinks in Bitly
Bitly + Google Sheets
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When you create new bitlinks, you'll want to keep track of them on your spreadsheet. This integration helps by automatically creating a row on a Google Sheet when there is a new bitlink created in Bitly. It's never been easier to organize your links.
Use short URLs in your online store
Shortened URLs also help get you closer to the point of conversion. With Zaps, you can automatically create short links each time you add new products, update orders, or take payments.
Create a new Bitlink each time you add a product to Big Cartel
Big Cartel + Bitly
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Keeping your customers in the loop about your new products can be a time suck. Let Zapier do the busy work and create a Bitlink each time you add a new item to your Big Cartel store! You can combine these with Zaps to automatically share your Bitlinks to your social media accounts. Now you can kick back and watch the clicks come in!
Create alias URLs in Shorten.REST for new updated orders in Shopify
Shopify + Shorten.REST
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Create branded Shopify tracking URLs. Shorten and brand the tracking URL updated for each order. Use the branded short tracking URL when communicating with customers over eMail, Chat & SMS.
Create branded short URLs for new Quickbooks online payment records via Shorten.REST
QuickBooks Online + Shorten.REST
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Create a branded short URL for each payment received record for your QuickBooks Online account. Doing so allows you to easily share the branded short link to the payment received record via SMS, Messenger, Email or Chat Support with the customer or your team.
Monitor link activity
Link shorteners don't just give you shorter links; they give you better ones. You can use tools like Bitly and Rebrandly to track who interacts with your links. Use these Zaps to leverage that data.
Automatically monitor link activity for performance and engagement over time, and set up notifications to alert the team whenever a link hits a certain goal.
Post to Slack for each new domain referrer on your Bitlink
Bitly + Slack
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Using our Bitly integration, you can post on Slack every time we see a new domain referring your Bitlink. This is a great way to see who's posting links to your content. This is exceptionally useful for specific links that you want to stay on top of, like a link to a new press release or your latest single!
Send a Gmail email whenever a Rebrandly link reaches a number of clicks
Rebrandly + Gmail
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Don't need to act on a task until you get 500 clicks on your link? You won’t know if your link has hit 500 clicks without taking the time to check—that is, without this automation. Zapier can watch your Rebrandly link, and notify you as soon as your link hits that number. That way, you can go back to work, and get notified when you need to do that task.
Get Slack notification when Rebrandly links reach a number of clicks
Rebrandly + Slack
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You want to categorize your links based on how many users clicks on them, or take action on a page once its hit a certain number of clicks, but checking every link every day is time consuming. With this Zapier integration, you can automate the task and be notified in Slack automatically when a link reach the target number of clicks.
Share shortened URLs on social media
Social media presents one of the best use cases for shortened URLs, especially given length restrictions on posts. With short links, you can preserve character counts on social posts. Plus, you can brand shortened URLs so they're recognizable when other social media profiles share your links.
Automatically share shortened URLs (like events) to your own social accounts.
Post new Bitlinks to Facebook Pages
Bitly + Facebook Pages
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Nowadays, there are almost too many social media channels to keep track. Let Zapier do some of the busy work for you! With our Bitly integration, you can automatically post all new Bitlinks to your Facebook Page! Just create your links and let us do the rest.
Post new Eventbrite events to Buffer with shortened URLs
Eventbrite + URL Shortener by Zapier + Buffer
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Let your social media followers know about your new events right away. This Zap will automatically post your new Eventbrite events to Buffer, with shortened URLs. That way, you don't have to spend time manually shortening URLs before sharing them on social media.
Go beyond the basic benefits of URL shorteners
The advantages of URL shorteners are greater than just shorter URLs.
When you shorten your URLs with one of these apps, you'll drive higher click-through rates and have more data to better inform your strategies. And once you connect these apps via Zapier, you get even more done with less effort—all thanks to automation.
Get more value for the work you put in: when you shorten your URLs, you also shorten your to-do list.
This article was originally published in September 2020. It was most recently updated in November 2023 by Elena Alston.