How To Use Bitly (Step By Step With Tips & Tricks) 2021

In this post you will learn how to use bitly and a free alternative , The Flipmsg URL shortener

In addition you will learn some tips and tricks to boost results

This is the Flipmsg URL shortener

How to shorten and customize links with bitly

This video will give you all the information you need step by step, if you want tips and tricks scroll to the bottom of this article.

To shorten your long URL with bitly:

1. Go to https://bitly.com
2. Go to the pricing tab and click ‘get started’ under the free plan
3. Click on the Google login button for quick sign up, or use a username and email

1. After you have created your account click on ‘create’ on the top right corner
2. A sidebar will open
3. Enter or paste your long URL
4. Click on the create button on the bottom of the sidebar

That’s it, you have created your first short link with bitly.

How to create a short link with Flipmsg Shortener

To shorten your long URL with Flipmsg Shortener:

1. Go to https://flipmsg.com/url-shortener.php
2. Enter or paste your long URL into the input box
3. Click on ‘make it short’

That’s it!, you have created your first short link with the Flipmsg Shortener.

How to edit link name with bitly

To edit your short link name with bitly:

1. Click on the link you want to edit (you can find all your links on the left sidebar)
2. Click on the ‘edit’ button, a right menu bar will open
3. Enter a new string (slug) as your custom name
4. The name will be changed successfully only if it’s available.

How to edit link name with Flipmsg Shortener

Option1  - Immediately after you have created your short link:

1. click on ‘change name’ button
2. Enter a new name
3. If the name is available, it will be changed successfully 

Option2  - from the members area:

1. Open a free flipmsg account or login to an existing account
2. Go to ‘my short links’ section
3. You will see a list with all your links
4. Click ‘edit’ on the link you want to change
5. Enter a new name
6. If the name is available, it will be changed successfully 

Short links created before you have opened a Flipmsg account will not be visible in your account.

How to manage many links in Flipmsg

Option1  - from the URL shortener main page:

Click on the ‘manage links’ button

Option2  - from the members area:

1. Open a free flipmsg account or login to an existing account
2. Go to ‘my short links’ section
3. You will see a list of all the links you have created

How to view link stats with bitly

Option1  - from the browser address bar:

1. Enter your short link in your browser address bar
2. Add ‘+’ to the end of the link

For example: 

https://bit.ly/fds34fsdf+

1. This will take you automatically into your account and will allow you to view the stats of your link.
2. If you are not logged-in you will need to log-in to your account first.

Option2  - directly from the bitly website:

1. Go to https://bitly.com
2. Make sure you are logged in to your account
3. Click on the link you want to examine

You can see:

1. How many clicks you received over time,
2. Who is the top referrer? 
3. Total clicks
4. How many clicks you have received from each country.

How to view link analytics with the Flipmsg shortener

Option1  - from the main tool page:

1. Go to https://flipmsg.com/url-shortener.php
2. Click on ‘visit link stats’
3. Enter your short link (full link)
4. Click on ‘get stats’
5. You will now have full stats for your link

Option2  - from the members area:

1. Open a free flipmsg account or log-in to your existing account
2. Under ‘my shortlinks’ section
3. You can see a list with all of your links
4. Select the one your want to examine
5. Click on ‘view stats’
6. This will give you full stats for that link

Now let's talk about some tips and tricks

Using Polls

You can use poll links to generate a short link that also acts like a poll.

You set a question or a call to action as the poll title.

You set a few answers or options for the users to choose from.

You can determine a different redirection location for each individual answer or option.

This is helpful if you want to segment your traffic based on the answer or an option that the users selected.

You can use poll links to segment your traffic by:

1. Gender
2. Interest
3. Intention
4. level of income
5. Education
6. Location

And more..

Redirect users from one poll to another

You set a link to another poll as the destination to an answer/option.

When a user selects an answer/option he will be redirected to another poll.

This way you can create a multi question poll.

The last poll will redirect the user to its final destination, which can be an optin page, a sales page/funnel or even an affiliate link.

You can start now with poll links

Here you can see the poll results:

Set your own branded domain for your links on bitly

Did you know that you can create branded links with Bitly?

To do so you need to upgrade your free account to the monthly $29 paid subscription.

Branded domain links can boost your CTR by 15%, and increase brand awareness

To use branded links in bitly watch the following video:

Build an Affiliate Business while redirecting traffic

With the Flipmsg URL Shortener and poll links  you can drop affiliate cookies on your link visitors and build an affiliate business.

How does it work?

1. You create a regular short link or a poll short link.
2. You send traffic through your link
3. Affiliate cookies are dropped on your visitors
4. Cookies are active for 60 days
5. If users open a free flipmsg account during this time period they will automatically join your affiliate business as new referrals..
6. You earn lifetime affiliate commissions on your referrals.
7. From account upgrades (business account), coins and ad credits, up to 30%.

Poll links will work better for this purpose, because users land on a poll page (intermediate page), this page has a link to the flipmsg website at the bottom of the poll.

If users want to use the poll tool they will want to open a flipmsg account.

This is a great way to gain referrals, just by creating polls.

Another way is just to recommend flipmsg on your blog or youtube channel, and link to the home page by using a short link.

All the visitors will land on https://flipmsg.com or https://flipmsg.com/signup.php

Use short links for your affiliate links

You can use short links to track clicks on your blog or youtube channel affiliate links, this way you can track exactly how many users clicked on each individual affiliate link.

No need for google analytics, or wordpress plugins that will slow down your blog.

With youtube you don’t have any other option.

Remember, if you are using the Flipmsg URL shortener, you are dropping affiliate cookies on your link visitors.

If they are joining flipmsg, they will also automatically join your online business as new referrals, and you will earn lifetime affiliate commissions.

So you have twice the potential to earn, short term and long term.

In addition you can assess the quality of your traffic and get a traffic quality score.

Conclusion

Bitly is a great tool and you can use it if you like it, but if you want a bit more flexibility you should check out other options, like the Flipmsg Shortener and Poll links.

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