Shorten And Track Links With Bitly

Bitly is a versatile tool that allows you to shorten long URLs, making them more manageable and visually appealing in your social media posts. It also provides detailed tracking information, helping you monitor the performance of your links. Here’s how to set up, customize, and use Bitly in SmarterQueue.

📌 In This Article

• How To Connect And Manage Your Bitly Account
• How To Use Custom Bitly Domains
• How To Shorten Links Using Bitly In Your Posts
• How To Track Link Performance With Bitly
• How To Turn Off Bitly Tracking For Specific Posts
• Common Questions

How To Connect And Manage Your Bitly Account

1. Navigate to “Link Tracking”
   • From your SmarterQueue dashboard, go to "Settings”, and then “Link Tracking”.
2. Connect Bitly
   • Click the “Connect” button under "Connect Bitly Account" and follow the prompts to authorize SmarterQueue to access your Bitly account.
3. Set a Default Bitly Account
   • After connecting, scroll down under “Bitly Preferences” and choose your Bitly account as the default for all link shortening. This ensures that all links are automatically shortened using your Bitly account.
4. Manage Multiple Bitly Accounts
   • If you manage multiple Bitly accounts, you can add them here, then toggle “Customize per Profile” on and assign each account to specific profiles, allowing you to track links separately for different brands or campaigns.

How To Use Custom Bitly Domains

1. What Are Custom Bitly Domains?
   • Custom Bitly domains allow you to brand your shortened URLs with your own domain, giving your links a more professional and recognizable appearance.
2. Set Up a Custom Domain
   • Follow Bitly’s instructions to set up the custom domain and link it to your account. You can find detailed steps in their help article here.
3. Applying Custom Domains Automatically
   • Once your custom domain is set up, it will be available under “Link Tracking” in your “Settings” and you’ll be able to set it as the default link-tracking solution for some or all of your connected profiles. 

How To Shorten Links Using Bitly In Your Posts

1. Create or Edit a Post
   • When creating or editing a post in the Post Editor, paste your long URL into the text box.
2. Enable Bitly Shortening
   • Ensure that you have a valid Bitly shortener selected under “Link Tracking” in your “Settings”.
   • Next, in the Post Editor, go to the Link Box (visible after adding a link to the post), click “Edit” and check that the "Use defaults" option is enabled in the “Bitly Settings” dropdown.
3. Using Bitly with Multiple Profiles
   • If you’re posting to multiple profiles, you can select different Bitly accounts for each profile under “Link Tracking” in your “Settings”, to keep your link tracking organized.

How To Track Link Performance With Bitly

1. Access Bitly Analytics and Analyze Trends
   • After publishing your links, track their performance directly in your Bitly account. Access detailed analytics, including the number of clicks, geographic data, and the platforms where your links were clicked.
   • Use Bitly’s analytics dashboard to analyze trends, optimize your link strategy, and identify which links are driving the most traffic.
2. Check Bitly Click Data in SmarterQueue
   • SmarterQueue offers click data from Bitly in our Analytics. You can find data on clicks in “Published Posts” in the Queue and the “Analyze” section.
3. Integrating Bitly Data with Other Tools
   • You can integrate Bitly’s data with other analytics tools or export it for further analysis, helping you gain deeper insights into your social media performance.

How To Turn Off Bitly Tracking For Specific Posts

1. Why Turn Off Bitly Tracking?
   • In some cases, you might not want to use Bitly tracking, such as when sharing sensitive information or internal links.
2. Disabling Tracking
   • In the Post Editor, disable Bitly tracking for individual posts by clicking "Edit" in the Link Box and selecting "Do not use Bitly" from the "Bitly Settings" dropdown. This will use the full, original URL.
   • In "Settings," go to "Link Tracking," then "Bitly Preferences," and select "None" from the "Default Link Tracking" dropdown to disable Bitly tracking for all future posts until re-enabled.
3. Impact on Analytics
   • Turning off Bitly tracking, whether for individual posts or across all future posts, will prevent you from gathering click data and other analytics for those links. Consider disabling tracking only when analytics data isn’t needed.

Common Questions

1. Can I use different Bitly accounts for each social profile?

Yes, you can connect multiple Bitly accounts in SmarterQueue and assign them to different profiles. This is useful for managing separate brands or campaigns.

2. What happens if I exceed Bitly’s rate limit?

If you hit Bitly’s rate limit, SmarterQueue will use a placeholder link until your Bitly account is ready to shorten URLs again. It’s advisable to monitor your usage if you frequently shorten large volumes of links.

3. What if my Bitly plan allows for a limited number of links?

If your Bitly plan limits the number of links you can shorten, it's important to monitor your usage to avoid hitting the limit. Once you reach the limit, SmarterQueue will stop shortening new links with Bitly until the limit resets or you upgrade your Bitly plan. In such cases, you may want to prioritize which links are shortened or consider connecting an additional Bitly account.