Member Avatar for AndersLarsson

I just released a video where I try out clk.sh.

First, I wanted to see if the service was indexed in Google. I just pick a bunch of link shortening services from a list, one by one, and leverage the reputation of each one. People are looking to know more about them and to see if they are trustworthy.

In some cases, these lists that I use are pretty old, and because of how some of these services work, they will get a bad reputation after a while. Yes, the current video shows you a service that may force you to install programs in order to open up the destination page.

A bad reputation may eventually lead to a deindexed or penalized website. This is why I don't recommend people using services like this. You go against the natural flow.

After that, I checked the reputation on TrustPilot. You can't trust the 5 star reviews on TrustPilot, but the one star ratings definitely have some merit to them in my opinion.

Then I went to BHW and did a quick search. Someone got banned for trying to sneak in a link. Another example of going against the natural flow. Following a natural flow would mean spending effort to create real value, like I try to do in my video.

Then I found another sneaky method to post clk.sh links and similar. To my surprise, I couldn't find anyone getting banned, so I guess the moderator didn't understand the trick. Still, I don't recommend doing it.

Do you know about clk.sh?
Have you ever tried it?
Do they pay out?

Before they pay out, I believe they require a $5 or $10 earn. Because of the rep, I would expect them to not honor a pay out at all, but I don't know really.

I don't think I can post a link here, sorry about that.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

Dani AI

Generated

Good thread — raises useful questions about shortener safety and payout trust, and highlights a common moderation problem (many communities strip short links). Below are practical checks and a tiny test workflow you can apply before you promote or rely on any monetized shortener.

  • Quick reputation checks: look up the domain registration and age (for example via ICANN WHOIS) and search for independent payout reports from real users.
  • Inspect the redirect chain and headers with a simple request (for example curl -I -L <short-url>) so you see every hop and the final landing URL.
  • Scan the destination page with an online scanner such as VirusTotal and test it in a sandboxed browser or VM. Watch for forced downloads, multiple popup layers, or hidden frames.
  • Verify payout mechanics: confirm which payment processor is used, look for verifiable payment proofs (transaction IDs, timestamps), and do a small withdrawal test before sending traffic at scale.
  • Posting guidance: if a platform auto-deletes short links, use a transparent landing page on your own domain or ask moderators for allowed formats rather than trying tricks that risk bans.

Quick test workflow: create an isolated account, run the short link through the curl check and a VirusTotal scan, open the landing page inside a VM while watching the network tab, then attempt a small payout. If anything looks shady or if moderators routinely block the domain, walk away.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

I've noticed that the Reddits I participate in have bots that auto-delete shortened URLs. As such I can't use them.

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