How to shorten a Link: 4 ways (Free, branded, AI, API)

So, you have a long, unwieldy link on your hands.

Luckily for you, there are a few ways to make a messy URL manageable. It just depends on what you need.

Want to know more about URL shortening and how it works? Keep scrolling; you’ll find everything you need to know below.

“How do I shorten a URL?” The right next step for you.

Shortening a link can be as simple as pasting your URL into a free tool. It can also involve custom automations and an API connector capable of shortening thousands of links each month.

Look for the section below that matches your situation…

How to shorten a URL for free

Your situation: “I need a shortened URL. Please don’t make me create an account.”

What to do: Head to Rebrandly's free URL shortener. Drop your link into the tool and click Enter. You’ll get a tidy link back, no email capture or account creation involved.

This is best for those who have never thought about shortening a URL before and just need to clean up one specific link.

For example, if you…

• Run a small Etsy business and need a clean link for your Instagram bio
• Operate a solo writing agency and want to link your portfolio in your email signature
• Think Rickrolling is still hilarious and want to ensure your friends don’t see it coming

…then our free URL shortener is for you. Have fun and enjoy a cleaned-up link. This one’s on us.

How to create a branded short link

Your situation: “I want a shortened URL that my audience will trust.”

There are a bunch of free URL shortening services out there (ours included) that can turn an unwieldy link from this:

https://badlink.com/home?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=not_well_thought_out

…into this:

generic.link/abc123

This is what we call a shared shortener domain. For example, rb.gy or bit.ly.

In some scenarios, a shared domain is just what you need. In most instances, it can work against you.

Consider a dental clinic trying to re-engage clients who missed their last cleaning. Because the clinic already has each client’s information, they launch an SMS campaign offering a 10% discount on cleanings booked using a specific link:

https://wearedentists.com/past_patient_discount?utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=annual_cleaning_10

Because every character counts, the clinic used a free URL shortening service to shorten the link.

Here’s what happened:

• Some carriers blocked the text
• Spam filters tucked it away in hidden folders
• Clients didn’t trust (or click) the unfamiliar link

The clinic wanted to remind former clients of the fantastic cleaning they previously received and, in doing so, encourage them to book another. Instead, it sent an unexpected text with a generic, unfamiliar URL.

Would you click that link? Probably not.

What to do: This is where a branded link comes in handy. First, it’s short. Second, it’s instantly recognizable and easily connected to your brand.

So, when the clinic shortens that discount link, it becomes something like:

https://mydentist.co/cleaning.

…which is much more likely to be clicked and much less likely to be shrugged off as spam.

It doesn’t cost you anything to get started: Rebrandly’s free plan includes one custom domain, so you can test how branded links compare against shared domains.

Shorten a link in 4 simple steps:

1. Copy the full web address you want to shorten
2. Go to Rebrandly.com and create an account
3. Paste the long URL into the input field and choose your branded domain
4. Type a custom back-half to personalize the link

How to shorten a link using AI

Your situation: “I’m tired of managing a million links. Can’t AI do it for me?”

Let’s talk about Greg, an email marketer for a popular kitchenware brand (and who we definitely didn’t make up to illustrate our point).

Greg creates all kinds of campaigns. He writes a bi-weekly newsletter and shares regular new product round-ups; he sends out coupon codes and sets up nurture sequences to drive repeat customers.

His newsletters alone feature 20-30 links. And those new product round ups? Sometimes more. None of that includes one-off sends or seasonal deals.

You don’t need to do the math to know that’s a lot of links.

Greg was hired to run email marketing. But somehow, he spends more time generating, maintaining, and tracking links than he does writing emails.

Sound familiar?

What to do: Connect Rebrandly’s MCP to your preferred AI assistant. With some basic prompting, you can create new links and manage old ones, all while keeping a close eye on how they perform.

Where Greg once spent hours manually creating, documenting, and tracking links like the following:

https://kitchenbrand/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=november_newsletter_1

…he can now ask Claude, Gemini, or GitHub Copilot to do it for him. In the process, he saves hours of manual work and can reinvest that time into more strategic work (and maybe even the occasional well-deserved nap).

When leadership comes knocking, Greg doesn’t spend hours calculating his impact or unearthing performance patterns.

Instead, he asks natural language questions about key metrics—“which links got the most clicks in our last newsletter, if you filter out bot clicks” or “which UTM campaigns drove the most conversions”—and gets accurate answers, pulled straight from Rebrandly Analytics.

If you’re feeling inspired, we broke down the installation process here.

How to shorten a URL with an API

Your situation: “There is simply no way I can manually manage this many links.”

Sounds like you’re part of a select group: those who literally have more URLs than they can customize, manage, or track.

First, sorry. We feel your pain.

Second, let’s talk solutions because you’re not alone.

Wonder Cave, for instance, routinely sends up to 50 million messages a day, each containing a unique, branded link featuring one of its clients’ custom domains. No matter how fast their team typed or how many hours they spent, that’s not possible without a little extra help.

Without that help, the only solution was to use generic links that took up valuable character space and offered only the most basic tracking capabilities.

If you’re managing thousands or even millions of links, that trade-off probably sounds familiar.

Let’s put it into context: Think about the last time you booked an annual check up.

Like most of us, you probably didn’t remember it was time for your annual visit. Instead, you got a reminder text from the doctor’s office, thought “oh yeah, I should probably do that,” then used the link they sent to schedule an appointment.

Super quick, super easy, right? Look a little closer.

Each reminder text includes a unique link that allows you—and only you—to book an appointment. If the average hospital has a few thousand patients come due for a visit a month, that’s several thousand unique links to create, manage, and send.

That “Hey, remember us?” text only works if it’s easy to act on, which presents a dilemma: Unique links are essential, but at a certain scale, can’t possibly be done manually.

And that’s true for so many industries.

Insurance providers and utilities companies send payment links via email. Car service centers and healthcare apps send booking confirmations and quotes via text. Delivery companies send tracking updates in every channel imaginable so you don’t stress about losing your package.

None of those can run without a little extra help.

What to do: Let the Rebrandly API do the job for you. It handles link creation programmatically and is best for scenarios where you need to consistently and repeatedly send unique links to a large, shifting audience.

• Plug Rebrandly API into your favorite marketing platform or build it into your own product. It works in your preferred application to create personalized, shortened, and trackable links, no manual work required.

So…did we help you find a solution?

If not, here’s everything else you should know about URL shortening, so you can use a shortening service (like Rebrandly) to its fullest potential.

Everything you need to know about URL shortening

The basics: What is URL shortening and how does it work?

To answer this one, let’s take a step back.

A URL is like an address. When you plug it into a browser, it tells it where to go and how to get there.

Sometimes, that address is something simple, like “832 Western Avenue.”

Other times, it’s something confusing, like “The apartment on the corner. You know, the one two doors down from the green house and next to the new gas station on Western Ave?”

URL shortening takes that complicated address and condenses it into a compact link that goes to the exact same destination as the original. It’s the same address, just a little bit easier to find.

There are a few different types of shortened links:

1. Short links: Any shortened URL, whether or not it's branded
2. Branded links: A link featuring a custom domain instead of a shared one
3. Vanity URLs: A branded link plus a custom slug (what we call a back half)

For each type of link, the process is just about the same. When you plug a lengthy web address into a URL shortener, it creates a shortened version of that address and plops it into a database.

That database keeps a record of the original URL and its shortened version. When someone clicks that shortened URL, the service digs up the original address and uses a url redirect to send the visitor to the right place.

The benefit: Why do I need a URL shortening service?

If your brand guidelines read “clean” and “accessible” but your links read like alphabet soup…you may have a problem on your hands.

Those guidelines exist for a reason, but sometimes, alphabet soup is unavoidable.

A good example is UTM links: You need to know how people engage with your content and which channels help them find it. UTMs answer those questions but, in doing so, turn neat links into chaotic ones.

A URL with a bunch of UTM parameters attached can stick out awkwardly in emails. It isn’t always recognizable and may even deter recipients who don’t want to be tracked.

All of these factors lead to fewer clicks—and lower your chances of driving the desired action.

URL shortening services help you build trust and drive clicks. Plus, they help improve:

• Recognition: Every shortened link features and reinforces your brand
• Perception: Short links look cleaner in emails and social media posts
• Management: Every link, along with accompanying notes, lives in one shared place
• Flexibility: URL destinations aren’t fixed and can be updated even after they’re published
• Tracking: The platform tracks clicks, geographic data, device type, and referral source

Set aside brand recognition, logistics, and performance tracking for a second.

The purpose of any campaign is to earn clicks, drive engagement, and build the interest that eventually leads to a commercial win.

Clean, branded short links increase clicks by up to 39% and can make even the most cautious member of your audience feel safe clicking them. And that's the whole goal, right?

The big question: Should I pay for a URL shortening service?

We’ve covered a lot so far. But have we answered the question that brought you here: “Is this something I really need to spend money on?”

As you’re making your decision, there are a few more considerations to keep in mind.

First, security.

Reputable URL shorteners are committed to data privacy and security. The best way to stay safe is to work with a vendor that prioritizes security at every level.

Rebrandly, for instance, is GDPR and HIPAA compliant. It’s SOC 2 Type II certified and offers SSO (if you’re so inclined). For more details, check out Rebrandly’s Trust Center.

Some URL shortening services don’t offer the same level of protection.

Second, association.

Scammers and bad actors occasionally use shared domains to disguise malicious links.

It’s a common enough practice that some carriers and spam filters have adopted a healthy amount of skepticism toward certain domains to protect their customers.

If you’re shortening URLs for SMS or email marketing, you need to account for that suspicion; it could very easily get your number blocked or your email binned.

In that scenario, a branded domain is a must.

Third, longevity.

You may be wondering how long a short link lasts. The answer? It depends.

When you use a domain you don’t own, you accept a certain degree of risk.

If the tool shuts down (for example, the now-defunct Google URL Shortener), your links go with it. If it rebrands, so do your links.

As you’re considering whether or not a URL shortening service is right for you, think about the Google example. What would happen if a scenario like that impacted you and your links?

If that question sends a shudder down your spine, a custom domain you own and a trusted service to support it may be the right answer.

Finally, purpose.

You don’t need to have all of the answers. You don’t even need to know all the right questions to ask. That’s what we’re here for.

What you do need to do is understand your reason for being here. Start thinking about:

• What you need from a URL: Does it just need to be short, or does it need to be branded and include a custom back-half?
• How you want to work: Are you cool with creating and managing your links manually, or do you want an AI assistant to do it for you?
• The scale you operate at: Do you need to clean up a few links a month, or are you dealing with hundreds or thousands of URLs a day?

You don’t have to figure this all out at once. Rebrandly’s free plan includes a custom domain and ten shortened links per month. That should give you plenty of breathing room to play around and figure out what you really need.

So, did you find what you were looking for?

You landed here in search of a solution, and we hope you found one.

If a free URL shortener is enough for you, that’s great—we’re glad we could help. If you have a million links stuffed in a spreadsheet, we’d love to make your life a little easier.

Your URL is your first impression. Get in touch, and we’ll help you make a great one.