Some time ago, Google launched its own URL shortening service – a service that turns long website links into shorter, more manageable ones – to not only help the site promote its own products through services like Twitter, but also help others with theirs. Dubbed Goo.gl, the service was previously available only with certain other Google services, including the Google browser toolbar, FeedBurner RSS service, News, Blogger, and Maps. But now, since last night, the service has its own website – http://goo.gl/ – where it can be used all by itself.
Google says its URL shorter is all about “stability,” “security,” and “speed.” Matt Cutts, a major Google player, had this to say about the service (spelling in context): “Google needed a url shortener for its own products where we knew the shortener wouldn’t go away. We also wanted a shortener that we knew would do things the right way… and that would be fast, stable, and secure.” That “right way” includes permanent redirects.
From the new goo.gl site, you can not only shorten URLs, but monitor traffic to your URLs after you shorten them. Google provides top referrers for each link as well as visitor profiles. “This can be a great way to better understand who’s interested in your links, how they’re finding them and when they’re reading,” the company says.
Thanks to various news sources for the Matt Cutts quote and for confirming the feature list!