Google's URL Shortener
Jan/13/11 18:44
The Google URL Shortener at goo.gl is a service that takes long URLs and squeezes them into fewer characters to make a link easier to share, tweet, or email to friends. For example, the short URL http://goo.gl/l6MS is a convenient shorthand representation for the long URL http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/making-urls-shorter-for-google-toolbar.html.
Why use the Google URL Shortener?
People share a lot of links online. This is particularly true as microblogging services such as Twitter and Google Buzz have grown in popularity. With character limits in tweets, status updates, and other modes of short form publishing, a shorter URL leaves more room to say what's on your mind.
Our primary goal in making this service publicly available to all users is to harness Google’s global production infrastructure to provide users with the following benefits:
Features
Goo.gl short URLs are randomly generated, and the mappings of short URLs to long URLs are publicly accessible. Additionally, the short URL to long URL mappings are:
Why use the Google URL Shortener?
People share a lot of links online. This is particularly true as microblogging services such as Twitter and Google Buzz have grown in popularity. With character limits in tweets, status updates, and other modes of short form publishing, a shorter URL leaves more room to say what's on your mind.
Our primary goal in making this service publicly available to all users is to harness Google’s global production infrastructure to provide users with the following benefits:
- Stability - reliable service with good uptime
- Security - warning message if the short URL points to a suspected malware, phishing, or spam website
- Speed - fast resolution of short URLs (in a few milliseconds)
Features
Goo.gl short URLs are randomly generated, and the mappings of short URLs to long URLs are publicly accessible. Additionally, the short URL to long URL mappings are:
- Immutable - once created by you, no one else can change them
- Irrevocable - once created, they do not expire. Note, however, that Google reserves the right to remove any goo.gl short URL, for example for spam, security or legal reasons