Easily Create a Personalized URL with Yourls

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When writing a blog post, Facebook update or tweeting, I often post links.

Sometimes these links are affiliate links.  Links to other blogs I like, or links to software I’m recommending.

The problem is sometimes these links are too long to post on services such as Twitter. When your space is limited it’s ideal to have a short link you can post.

Also, when I’m posting a link I want to be able to view statistics for that link.

Are people clicking on this link?

What services are getting the best response?

What time of day is the best for posting these links?

There are several services out there that offer link shortening.

You may have heard of some of them like bit.ly and linkshfter.com.

I have used both of these services in the past and continue to use them.

However, I’m always looking for alternatives. The reason I’m looking for an alternative is because I’m worried about what would happen if one day one of the sites went belly up.

I would lose all my links.  I would also lose all my statistics.

Now I know I’m probably worrying a  little too much, but I like to have a little more control over links I post. After all, I rely on some of these links to generate income for me.

In order to find an alternative, I started searching using Google. I came across free software that looked interesting. The software I found goes by the name of Yourls.

Anyone could download a free copy and install it on their website.

In order to test this out I first purchased a new domain name at Namecheap.com.

I set up my hosting on Hostgator for this new domain and installed the Yourls software.

The software was really easy to set up and I had it installed in under five minutes.

So far I’m really impressed with the interface of the software.

Yourls Interface

I have my own unique domain name that I use for my link shortening. Also the statistics available to me, quite frankly are better than some of the statistics I have with the other link shortening services.

Here is an example of the link I created using my new domain and the Yourls software.

The link below is a shortened link to a 7 day free trial of my favorite keyword research software, Market Samurai.

http://etlikes.me/marketsamurai

If you’re looking for a little more control over the shortened links you create for your blog, Facebook and Twitter, you may want to look into Yourls.

The software is free to download and install and will run on your own domain.

Your only expenses will be a domain and hosting. You can get both of these for cheap at Namecheap.com (domain) and Hostgator.com (hosting).

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.