In order to subscribe to a URL shortening service and find it successful for your online marketing campaign, you must understand the benefits and consequences of using such services in a case by case basis ( tweet by tweet basis for twitter fans ). In this blog we will be covering when to use the services, when to avoid them and when to compromise between the two. We will discuss this while keeping in mind the importance of search engine optimization and how you can improve your marketing efforts.

Any good SEO expert will tell you the same thing. Stick to the fundamentals and you will see results. One of the fundamental rules when creating links to your site is the use of user friendly keywords in your link text. This is easy when posting links in HTML because you can choose to link any text of your choice to any webpage you want. You can easily select a word and link it to a page. Unfortunately though we are often faced with posting direct links without the help of HTML. In this case we are faced with the decision of whether or not to use a URL shortening service.

The use of URL shortening services is on the rise and can be easily seen when visiting twitter.com. They are the links that usually look something like this: http://tinyurl.com/lyaz6y, http://budurl.com/7ma6, or http://bit.ly/nd8bk. The use of these services are a growing phenomenon with sites such as Tinyurl.com and budurl.com. Sites like these have helped and hindered companies who are working hard to promote their companies online. They allow one to post short links, avoiding the use of long dynamic URL names. The use of such shortened URL’s will thus help problems often associated with long dynamic URL’s such as the lack of readability, difficulty with page layout, and maximum keystrokes allowed ( such as with twitter’s 140 character limit ). In these cases the use of these services can help, but will come at a price to your seo efforts.

1. Before posting, ask yourself the question: Is this page I am linking to a dynamic URL or a static URL? If your answer is dynamic, you are probably out of luck because your URL will most likely not be keyword rich, and your URL is not helping your SEO efforts. On the bright side, you will likely be able to use the URL shortening service to concentrate on the extra space the service allows. You can now focus on your pitch to entice your readers to visit this link. Your pitch must in this case be targeted towards your specific keyword to make it relevant to the shortened URL you have posted. Because the link is not specific on what page they are about to see, you are going to have to be smarter in your choice of words and accept that some of your readers may be hesitant on clicking on your link.

2. If your link’s URL is static, ask yourself this question: Are my site’s filenames optimized? If they are your URL will probably look something like this.

http://www.sabaseo.com/seo-services.html.

This link is obviously targeted to the keyword seo services. By posting this link the way it is, you have just created a relevant link that will target your keyword, while avoiding having to re-direct your site through a 2nd party. This link will have a lot higher ranking and will be trusted by your readers. They will know what to expect when clicking to follow your link. In this case, they know that SABASEO is the company, and the information they will access will speak about seo services.

By targeting specific keywords and keeping your site structure simple without many subfolders, you will be able to have optimized URL addresses that will be short, simple, and will not need any type of URL shortening services. These links will be stronger and will rank higher because they will not have to be redirected.

Avoid dynamic URL structures whenever possible and use relevant keywords in your pitch. The best links or tweets will be the ones that are highly targeted and have both the pitch and URL optimized. To optimize your site structure and make sure that it will help you in your marketing efforts, contact us. We can help you put together a keyword strategy for your site, and can optimize every aspect of your site to ensure compatibility, SEO friendliness, and future online growth.