First, URLs are the things you type into your browser address bar to go to a certain page on the internet. Usually they start with www.

So you want to send someone to a page that describes the Micro Cellular Theory of Space and Time. Here is the URL you would give them:

www.randomgemz.com/
wordpress/micro-cellular
-theory-space-time

A little hard to tell that to someone over the phone, or to put in a text message, or to include in a letter and expect them to type it in exactly (if they don't type it exactly, they will get an error page).

Using the Good News URL shortener, that would change to something similar to this:

jb.hopto.it/v1

Much better!

That will fit in a text message and would be much easier and reliable for a person to type into their browser.

Try it out. Click the link above and see how fast you are forwarded to the desired destination.

Preview URLs

What if you believe someone will be apprehensive to go to that link, since they are unsure of where it will take them? Simply add an = symbol to the end and it will take them to a page showing the destination link. Problem solved!

Try it out! Click the following: jb.hopto.it/v1=

Fully Brandable

So you want something a bit more customized to your application.

With the Good News URL Shortener you can customize the shortened URL!

You could change the link above to use custom parameters and end up with this:

theory.hopto.it/time

Now you have a shortened URL branded to your needs.

And, if you had another article, you may want to use something like this:

theory.hopto.it/space

Keep the same branded subdomain and change the slug to match the content.

Click for more info on this custom URL shortener.

Custom Domains

Custom domains allows you to use your own domain in place of hopto.it.

With a premium account, you can have as many custom domains as you like. It is a Bring Your Own Domain system. You would purchase the domain at your favorite registrar and use their DNS managment to point the A record to the IP address specified.

This allows the most flexibility. You have all top level domains available to you enabling you to get the domain that fits exactly rather than limiting your choice.

When using a custom domain, there would be no need for the subdomain as your account is determined by the domain itself. From the example above, you may have something like:

theory.vg/time

Click for more info on custom domains.

But did it get clicked on?

Good question. You sent that URL to a person or a group of people, how many actually visited that web page?

What you may find somewhat unique about this URL shortener is that you can look at a report on how many times the URL was clicked!

So, you send someone a link to a video on Youtube. Wouldn't it be nice to know if they actually went to the page to view the video?

Now you can!

Detailed Reports

Reporting on clicks is fully detailed. You will know when and where a link was clicked on.

Date and time and location is recorded and included in the report for each click.

Complete with visual graphs to show trends for the past 6 months.

Conversion Tracking

So you know that someone clicked a link to go to a certain page. However, did they take a certain action? Purchase a product? Sign up for a news letter?

With a premium Good News account, now you can know!

Simply place the conversion pixel (a hidden single pixel image) on the confirmation/Thank You page and the action will be tracked!

Great for use as a simple affiliate tracking mechanism! Simply assign an affiliate there own shortened link and you can track clicks and conversions that they generate.

Bookmarklet

Simply drag the provided bookmarklet into your bookmarks bar to use on any site you visit. When on a site that you want to generate a short link for, just click or activate the bookmark and you will be able to generate the link without leaving the page all automatically without having to copy and paste the URL.

Works on mobile!

Click for More Info

Messaging

Another issue is, you would like for the recipient to be able to contact you, but you would prefer to keep your email address private. Now there is a simple solution.

In the example above, if you were to remove the last part of the URL so that it was just a1j.hopto.it, the person would be taken to a page with a simple form that they could submit that would allow them to send you a message.

This keeps your anonymity while allowing you to receive replies straight to your email in-box.

Note: This feature is optional.

Editable

All destination URLs are fully editable on existing shortened URLs. (Premium feature). This means you can change your existing short URL from pointing to one target URL to pointing to a new target URL.

Dynamic QR Codes

Premium accounts allow you to generate an unlimited number of QR codes for mobile scanning. You have the option to select different sizes and colors.

The QR codes are Dynamic in that you can change the destination of an already existing and printed QR code.

QR codes have full tracking. Know how many times the QR code was scanned, where and when. You can also tie the QR codes to conversion tracking.

Developer API

Premium accounts come with a full featured developer API that will allow you to create short URLs programmatically. The API is unlimited use.

Features:

• Unlimited Use
• Pass any URL to the create endpoint and receive the shortened URL in response.
• Customize shortened URLs.
• Generate dynamic QR codes programmatically.
• Update target destination for existing short URLs or QR codes.
• Enable and Disable Shortened URLs and QR codes.
• Set and edit expiration dates for shortened URLs and QR codes.

Are there any restrictions?

Yes! The following rule MUST be adhered to at all times:

No spam! No spam! No spam!

If you include a shortened URL in an email communication, the recipient of that email must have agreed to receive that email from you.

No Exceptions!

Sending to any type of Safe List is not acceptable.

Click Here if you need to report receiving a hopto.it link in an unsolicited email.

Additionally, there are restrictions on what domains you can link to. Links to pornographic or adult dating sites, gambling sites, illicit drug related sites, and any type of malicious site is strictly prohibited.

With that said, let's get started shortening your URLs!

Screencast Tour and Explanation of Use.