How to Shorten a Link on Twitter

Putting a long, messy link in your tweet can sometimes feel like trying to solve a puzzle that's missing a few pieces. While Twitter automatically shortens every URL for you, learning how to create your own custom short links unlocks essential branding and tracking abilities that can seriously sharpen your social media strategy. This guide breaks down exactly how Twitter's link shortener works, why you should use a custom one instead, and the step-by-step process to create branded, trackable links that get more clicks.

Why Bother Shortening Links for Twitter?

If you've used Twitter (now X) anytime in the last decade, you've probably noticed that the platform automatically shortens any link you paste into a tweet using its own `t.co` service. This means a URL that's 100+ characters long and a URL that's just 15 characters long will both end up taking exactly 23 characters of your tweet's space. So, if character count is no longer the main issue, why go to the trouble of using an external link shortener? The reasons have shifted from necessity to strategy.

1. Analytics and Performance Tracking

This is the most significant reason. When you use Twitter's automatic `t.co` shortener, you get virtually no data on who is clicking your link. You can see how many engagements a tweet gets, but you can't isolate the link clicks. Using a third-party link shortening service like Bitly or Rebrandly changes the game completely. These tools provide a dashboard with powerful analytics, allowing you to track:

• Total Clicks: The exact number of people who clicked your link.
• Geographic Location: See which countries or even cities your clicks are coming from.
• Referral Sources: Understand where your traffic originates beyond just seeing "Twitter" - was it from a specific search, profile, or app?
• Click-Through Patterns: See what times of day your links are most popular, helping you optimize your posting schedule.

Without this data, you're essentially posting in the dark, hoping your content resonates but never truly knowing what drives traffic. With this data, you can make informed decisions about your content strategy.

2. Branding and Customization

A generic `t.co/xyz123` link does its job, but it does nothing for your brand. A custom short link, on the other hand, acts as a tiny billboard for your business. Most link shortening services allow you to create a "branded link" or "vanity URL." There are two main ways to do this:

• Customize the "Back-Half": Instead of a random string of characters like `bit.ly/9jKs7hL`, you can change it to something readable and relevant, like `bit.ly/fall-sale-preview`. This instantly cues your audience on what to expect when they click.
• Use a Branded Short Domain: For a more professional touch, you can use a custom short domain that reflects your brand. For example, The New York Times uses `nyti.ms`, and Amazon uses `amzn.to`. Seeing a link like `yourbrand.co/new-blog` adds a significant layer of trust and brand reinforcement.

A clean, branded link looks professional and intentionally crafted, which separates you from spammy or low-effort accounts.

3. Trust and Transparency

Let's be honest - some long URLs look incredibly sketchy. A link filled with a long string of random letters, numbers, and affiliate tracking codes can make users hesitant to click. They don't know where it will take them. In contrast, a customized link like `yourbrand.co/great-offer` feels safer and more transparent. By telling people exactly where the link is going, you increase their confidence and, in turn, your click-through rate.

How Twitter's Built-in t.co Link Shortener Works

Before creating your own links, it's helpful to understand what's happening behind the scenes on Twitter. The `t.co` service is more than just a character-saver, it's also a security mechanism.

Here's the process:

1. You paste any URL - long or short - into the tweet compose box.
2. Twitter immediately processes this link through its `t.co` service.
3. The URL is replaced with a new, shortened `t.co` link. This link will always take up exactly 23 characters for HTTP links and 23 for HTTPS links.
4. When a user clicks on this `t.co` link, Twitter first checks it against a list of potentially dangerous websites. If the site is flagged for malware, phishing, or other security risks, Twitter will display a warning to the user.
5. If the link is safe, the user is seamlessly redirected to the original destination URL.

This is a solid system for protecting users and standardizing link presentation, but as we've covered, it offers no strategic benefits to you as a marketer or brand builder. For that, you need to use an external tool.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Custom Short Links

Ready to start making links that work for you? It's a surprisingly simple process. We'll use Bitly as our primary example since it's one of the most popular and has a generous free plan, but the steps are very similar across other platforms like TinyURL or Rebrandly.

Step 1: Choose Your Link Shortening Tool

A quick search will reveal dozens of options, but most people stick with a few trusted names. Here are a couple of great choices:

• Bitly: The industry standard. Its free plan offers custom back-halves and solid analytics for up to a certain number of links per month. A go-to for many social media managers.
• Rebrandly: As the name suggests, its focus is heavily on branding. It makes setting up and using a custom short domain very straightforward.
• TinyURL: One of the originals. It's no-frills and fast if all you need is a shorter link without complex analytics or branding features.

Step 2: Sign Up and Set Up Your Account

Head to the website of your chosen tool (e.g., bitly.com) and create a free account. This usually just requires an email address and a password. Signing up is what gives you access to the analytics dashboard and the ability to organize and edit your links over time.

Step 3: Create and Customize Your Short Link

Once you're in your dashboard, the process is incredibly intuitive.

1. Find the "Create" button. In Bitly, it's a prominent button usually in the top left corner labeled "Create new" ->, "Link".
2. Paste your long URL. Copy the full URL from your website, blog post, or landing page and paste it into the "Destination" field.
3. Customize the back-half. This is where the magic happens. After you paste the destination URL, the tool will automatically generate a random short link like `bit.ly/4xJkLp8`. You'll see a field where you can edit the back-half. Change the random string to something descriptive and easy to remember. For example, if you are linking to a blog post titled "10 Best Social Media Tips for 2024," you could customize the back-half to `10-social-tips-2024`.
4. Save your link. Hit the "Create" or "Save" button, and your new custom link is ready to go.

Step 4: Share Your Link on Twitter

All you have to do now is copy your newly created short link and paste it into your tweet. The great part is that Twitter will still cloak it behind its `t.co` service for security, but when a user clicks it, they will be redirected through your custom short link first - logging the click in your third-party analytics dashboard - before landing on the final destination page. Your link will appear exactly as you created it (e.g., `bit.ly/10-social-tips-2024`) in the tweet for all to see.

Here's how it looks:

Before (unwieldy):

“Check out our new guide to social media marketing! It covers everything you need to know a website.com/blog/categories/social-media/article=a87dh4j?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social”

After (clean and branded):

“Check out our newly updated guide to social media marketing for 2024! Get all our best tips at `bit.ly/social-guide-2024`.”

The second option is cleaner, more trustworthy, and infinitely more trackable.

Advanced Strategies: Go Beyond a Simple Short URL

Creating custom back-halves is a huge step up, but there are a few more things you can do to get even more value from your links.

Use UTM Parameters for Deep Tracking

UTM parameters are simple tags you add to the end of a URL to tell analytics software - like Google Analytics - more about a click. Before you shorten your link, add these parameters to your destination URL. The essential ones are:
- `utm_source`: Where the traffic came from (e.g., `twitter`).
- `utm_medium`: The type of link (e.g., `social`, `cpc`, `email`).
- `utm_campaign`: The specific campaign you're running (e.g., `september_launch`).

Your full URL might look something like this before shortening:

https://www.yourwebsite.com/landing-page?utm_source=twitter&,utm_medium=social&,utm_campaign=q3_promo

When you shorten this link, all that data is embedded within it. Now, when you look at your Google Analytics, you can see exactly how your `q3_promo` campaign on Twitter performed, allowing you to prove the ROI of your social media efforts.

A/B Test Your Copy

Want to know which type of tweet drives more clicks? Create two different custom short links that point to the exact same destination page. For example:

• Link A: `bit.ly/amazing-deal-q3`
• Link B: `bit.ly/save-big-q3`

Use Link A in a tweet with one style of copy and an image, and use Link B in another tweet with different copy and a video. By checking your Bitly dashboard, you can see exactly which tweet - A or B - got more clicks. It's a simple, fast way to learn what copy, creative, and calls-to-action resonate most with your audience.

Final Thoughts

Shortening a link for Twitter has evolved from a simple need to save characters into a powerful strategy for brand building and data analysis. While Twitter's automatic `t.co` shortener is a functional tool, using a platform like Bitly or Rebrandly gives you control over optics, builds trust, and provides the essential analytics you need to make smarter marketing decisions.

Juggling all these custom links, UTM parameters, and A/B tests on top of scheduling posts for multiple platforms can quickly become overwhelming. This is where a modern, streamlined social media management tool is indispensable. We built Postbase to simplify this entire workflow. You can plan all your content in a visual calendar, schedule posts with your custom-shortened and trackable links, and see all your analytics in one clean dashboard - all without the clunky interface of outdated tools.