Member Avatar for Kelly Burby

Hi Dani member can anyone throw light on the use of URL shortners. I mean if I use URL shortner is it going to be considered as spam ??

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Short answer: a URL shortener by itself is not "spam" — it is a sharing tool — but context and behavior are what matter. Search engines and anti-spam systems flag patterns (irrelevant or mass-posted links, paid link schemes, cloaked affiliate networks), not the mere fact that a URL was shortened. This explains why many replies in this thread leaned toward “not spam,” while others warned about trust and obfuscation. (developers.google.com)

Practical SEO note: many reputable services (for example, Bitly) issue permanent 301 redirects for their short links, and they state those redirects do not harm your site’s SEO — but always verify the redirect type for the provider you use. A quick check from the command line shows the HTTP status header (look for 301 vs 302): 

curl -I https://short.example/slug

If you want tracking, add your UTM parameters before you shorten the URL so analytics survive the redirect. (support.bitly.com)

Security and deliverability: shortened links hide the final destination, which is why attackers and spammers sometimes prefer them. That same opacity causes some users, forums, and messaging carriers or ESPs to distrust or block public shorteners; SMS providers and major messaging platforms often recommend branded short domains for business traffic. When sending marketing or transactional messages, use a verified, branded short domain and avoid shared public shorteners. (schneier.com)

Actionable best practices: use a branded short domain (trust and deliverability); pick a provider that issues server-side 301 redirects; show the destination or descriptive anchor text in forum posts (avoid pure obfuscated links, as warned); tag paid/affiliate links correctly and don’t spray the same short URL across hundreds of unrelated pages; monitor your short-link analytics and test redirects periodically. Also note that Google’s own goo.gl shortener has been deprecated since 2018 and its handling has changed over time, so don’t rely on legacy short services without checking their current status. (developers.googleblog.com)

Recommended Answers

All 13 Replies

Member Avatar for kapildeven89

No, I don't think so.

Member Avatar for Pinaci

No, it's not counted as spam.

Member Avatar for mayaestat

I think no

Member Avatar for DavidB

The use of a URL Shortener, by itself, is not spam. It is used for many legitimate purposes (e.g. - in Twitter, to keep tweets within the 140 character limit).

And they are offered by many different sources; in fact, even Google provides one (goo.gl). I don't think Google would offer a product that is considered solely a spam tool.

HOWEVER, if you submit a URL--shortened or not--to a multitude of sites, or post it all over the blogosphere, or post it in many forums and it is not relevant to the conversation taking place, then it will be considered spam.

As always, use good judgement and make sure the link you are submitting fits into the page to which you are submitting it.

Member Avatar for paulluis

No.I don't think so.it's counted as spam.

Member Avatar for johmny

I see that short url is used in twitter and youtube when some one sharing a link in a post and in description of youtube videos. So I do not think that it is not a spam.

Member Avatar for Kelly Burby

Well, thank you Dani members! your answers makes me reach to the point that using url shortner isn't considered as spam.

Member Avatar for markharris

No its not consider as spam

Member Avatar for James_28

No, its not spam

Member Avatar for Rakesh456

It is mainly used on micro-blogging websites like Twitter & it is not considered as spam.

Member Avatar for mamahadija

the url shortners like bit.ly do not create content so they are not considered spam, what can be considered spam are content syndication

Member Avatar for almostbob

the thoughts of those you send the link to:
this link is not google, but how do you tell (site IS a joke google)

anchor text does not match the uri of your site or the content of the message
= spam report,
more than a few spam reports, blacklist
url shorteners not such a good idea outside of twitter.
nobody should click obfuscated links

Edited by almostbob
Member Avatar for Kelly Burby

Thank you @dani members for your reviews as I have said that no it just not considered as spam, even if it consider as spam it is not going to pass penatly as redirection just doesn't pass penalty. :)

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