Bit.ly Provides Shorter URLs with Advanced Traffic Tracking

Link-shortening services like TinyURL have become nearly ubiquitous in space-restricted places like email, Twitter, and mobile sites—which is why it’s odd it’s taken so long for a similar service to offer traffic tracking, thumbnail caching, or other advanced services. Free URL shrinker Bit.ly jumps into that void with a slick set of features. The site remembers the last 15 links you shortened on your landing site, and it stores a thumbnail graphic of each link on its own space. Obsessive traffic-watchers can see how many have clicked through their links, where they found them, and compile all that data from simple XML or JSON feeds. There’s a handy bookmarklet for quick Bit.ly conversion, and the developers are working on geo-locating features for the near future. All in all, a viable link-snipping service for web workers and info geeks.