Google is discontinuing support for many old goo.gl links, creating a critical need for businesses to transition their URLs to a new platform or risk losing valuable SEO link equity. This moment is a significant opportunity to upgrade. Modern URL shorteners are now upgraded into powerful platforms that offer superior link control, branded domains and rich analytics, tools essential for effective brand management. This guide immediately delivers value by covering the top 10 Google URL Shortener alternatives available and outlining the features a modern service must have. We also provide a clear, step-by-step playbook to safely migrate your old links. Moreover, you will learn how to protect your search rankings and gain the benefits of cutting-edge link management solutions.
The Top 10 Google URL Shortener Alternatives:
| Alternative | Best For | Key Features & Why It Stands Out |
| ShortifyMe | Small businesses and marketing agencies. | It hits the sweet spot between powerful features like branded domains, QR code generator, in-depth analytics, team roles, API and an affordable price. |
| Rebrandly | Businesses focused on brand management and reputation. | Specializes in branded domains and provides a powerful suite of tools to manage and track those links. It’s ideal for brand managers. |
| Bitly | Large businesses and enterprise-level use. | Known for its reliability and a comprehensive feature set that can handle high-volume needs , offering enterprise-grade security, analytics, and powerful integrations. |
| Short.io | Developers and marketing teams needing advanced targeting. | Features geo-targeting, device-specific redirects, and a robust API. Allows for dynamic links that send users to different pages based on location or device. |
| BL.INK | Large organizations with complex link management needs. | Built for the enterprise, offering powerful security, compliance, advanced user management, and scalability for multiple brands and teams. |
| Sniply | Content marketers and curators. | Adds a custom Call-to-Action (CTA) to every link you share, allowing you to overlay a branded message on content you didn’t create. |
| Linkly | Marketers who need a versatile link-shortening tool. | A comprehensive tool that combines CTAs, link rotators, geo-targeting, and device-based redirects for campaign control. |
| T2M | Businesses needing in-depth data visualization. | Provides detailed analytics, including a geographical dashboard and robust reporting, for companies that want to dive deep into link data. |
| TinyURL | Quick, one-off shortening needs. | Simple, no-frills shortening with basic analytics on its free plan. It’s incredibly easy to use and requires no account. |
| YOURLS | Individuals and businesses who want to manage their links on their own domain. | A free, open-source, self-hosted solution with a strong community. Gives you full control over your data, ensuring links will never be deactivated by a third party. |
Overview of Top Alternatives
1. ShortifyMe:
ShortifyMe is a platform designed to be the middle ground, offering branded domains, in-depth analytics, QR codes, and team management features that make it ideal for marketing agencies and small businesses who need advanced functionality without the enterprise price tag.
2. Rebrandly:
Rebrandly focuses almost exclusively on brand management, specializing in custom, branded domains and offering a powerful suite of tools to help marketing professionals build trust and recognition through their links.
3. Bitly:
Bitly is widely known for its reliability and a feature set that can handle high-volume needs. It is a strong choice for large brands and enterprise-level use, providing enterprise-grade security, comprehensive analytics, and powerful integrations.
4. Short.io:
Short.io is highly valued for its flexibility and advanced targeting capabilities. It provides geo-targeting and device-specific redirects, along with a robust API, which is perfect for running complex, targeted marketing campaigns.
5. BL.INK:
Designed specifically for large organizations, BL.INK offers the powerful administrative controls, advanced user management, security, and scalability required to manage a complex link ecosystem across multiple brands and teams.
6. Sniply:
Sniply is an ideal tool for content curators , as its main feature allows you to add a custom, branded call-to-action (CTA) that overlays on top of any link you share, driving traffic back to your own website.
7. Linkly:
A versatile and comprehensive option, Linkly is built for marketers , combining advanced features like CTAs, link rotators, geo-targeting, and device-based redirects into one powerful tool.
8. T2M:
T2M stands out for its in-depth data visualization features. It’s a solid choice for businesses that want to dive deep into their link data with detailed reporting and geographical dashboards to optimize campaigns.
9. TinyURL:
TinyURL is a classic, easy-to-use tool that is best for quick, personal shortening needs. It’s a simple, reliable option for users who want a functional link in seconds without the need to create an account or use advanced features.
10. YOURLS:
YOURLS is a free, open-source, self-hosted solution, making it ideal for individuals and businesses who want to manage their links on their own domain. It gives you full control over your data and, because it is self-hosted, ensures your links will never be deactivated by a third party.
What to look for in a Modern URL Shortener:
- Branded Domains: This is critical for building trust and a strong brand presence. Instead of a generic link, a branded domain uses your own name, like yourbrand.co.
- Analytics & UTM Tags: Look for detailed data on every click, including where traffic comes from and which links perform best. The service must allow you to add UTM tags for precise campaign tracking.
- API & Integrations: For scaling your efforts, an API is a must. It allows you to automate link creation and data reporting, ensuring smooth integration with your existing marketing stack.
- Security: Given that shorteners are sometimes used for malicious purposes, choose a platform with built-in security to protect your links and audience.
- Link Editing & Portability: You should be able to edit the destination of a shortened link even after sharing it. Also, the ability to export all your link data ensures full ownership and control.
- Pricing & Support: The cost should match the value you’re getting. Look for clear pricing models and good customer support. When you’re relying on a service to manage your links, you need to know you can get help if something goes wrong.
The Goo.gl Story: What Happened and Why?
What was Goo.gl?
Goo.gl was Google’s official URL shortener, designed to provide a fast and trustworthy way to shorten links. It became popular for its simplicity and the reliability expected from a Google-backed service, offering stable, quick redirects using a recognizable Google branded domain.
The Goo.gl Timeline of the Shutdown:
The change wasn’t sudden but a gradual phase-out:
- 2009 – The Launch: Goo.gl is officially launched, providing a simple, reliable URL shortening service that was integrated into many Google products.
- March 2018 – The Transition Begins: Google announced that it was phasing out Goo.gl and would stop allowing new users to create links. The company recommended Firebase Dynamic Links as the alternative for developers. Existing links, however, were expected to keep working.
- 2019 – No New Links: Google stopped all users from creating new Goo.gl links. At this point, the service was essentially put into a legacy mode, where old links continued to function, but the tool was no longer active.
- July 2024 – A Full Shutdown is Announced: Google released an update with a new timeline, stating that all existing Goo.gl links would stop working after a specific date in 2025, which caused a lot of concern about widespread broken links across the web.
- Source: Google’s July 2024 announcement
- Late 2024 – Interstitial Warnings: Following the announcement, Google began showing warning pages on certain Goo.gl links to let users know the link would be deactivated soon. This was the first visual sign of the upcoming change.
- August 1, 2025 – Plan Revised: In a significant policy reversal, Google updated its plan. Instead of deactivating all links, it announced that it would preserve “actively used” Goo.gl links. Only those links that showed no recent activity and had already been flagged with a warning message would stop working after August 25, 2025.
Possible Reasons for the Goo.gl Shutdown
While Google hasn’t publicly detailed a specific reason for the Goo.gl shutdown, it’s possible to suppose the key factors behind their decision. The move wasn’t a sudden one; it was a slow, deliberate phase-out that suggests the service no longer fit into Google’s long-term strategy. The following are a few of the likely reasons:
- Shift in Focus: Google has a history of consolidating tools and moving users toward more comprehensive platforms like Firebase Dynamic Links, which offer a broader set of features for developers and marketers.
- Changing Landscape: The way people share links has changed. The need for a simple, character-saving URL shortener has become less critical with social media and messaging apps having their own built-in sharing capabilities.
- Resource Allocation: Maintaining a massive service like Goo.gl, which handles billions of redirects, requires significant resources. Phasing it out allows Google to reallocate these resources to higher-priority projects and simplify its infrastructure.
Are goo.gl links still working? — How to check
The short answer is: some are, and some aren’t. Google decided to preserve many actively used links, but any link that showed no activity since late 2024 was at risk of deactivation.
The only way to know for sure is to test the link yourself:
- Active Link: If you copy and paste the Goo.gl URL into your browser and it redirects to the intended page without a warning, it’s considered an active link and will continue to work.
- Deactivating Link: If you see an interstitial page that says, “This link will no longer work in the near future,” the link has been marked for deactivation and must be replaced immediately.
For more details on this policy update, you can refer to the official statement from Google Blog – We’re updating our plans for goo.gl links.
The Goo.gl Migration Playbook: A Practical Guide
This process is about more than just replacing links; it’s about preserving the link equity and value you’ve built. As someone who works in SEO and Reputation Management, you know that avoiding broken links is critical for maintaining search rankings and a trustworthy online presence.
The Risk of Not Migrating Your Links
If you don’t move those links, you’re looking at a drop in search rankings because broken links lose valuable link equity. You also lose referral traffic from old campaigns and social posts.
Step 1: Audit and Discover All Links
You can’t fix what you can’t find. Your first move is to create a complete inventory of every Goo.gl link you’ve used. This might sound daunting, but it’s crucial.
- Site Crawl: Use a tool like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to crawl your website. Look for external links that point to goo.gl.
- Google Search Console: Check the “Links” report to find external and internal links on your site that use the Goo.gl domain.
- Content Inventory: Don’t forget to check your content management system, blog drafts, social media profiles, email templates, and any downloadable PDFs or documents. This manual audit is where you’ll find the links that most crawlers miss.
Step 2: Prioritize and Strategize
Once you have your list, you need to prioritize. Not all links are equally important.
- High-Traffic Links: Use your website analytics to identify which Goo.gl links are still generating clicks and traffic. These should be your top priority.
- Important Resources: Look for links in key places like your homepage, main navigation, social media bios, or popular blog posts. These are brand-critical and need to be replaced first.
Step 3: Choose Your Destination Tool
- Now that you know what needs to be moved, you can choose the right tool for your needs. Do you need a free, simple shortener for one-off links? Or a robust platform with branded domains, analytics, and team collaboration for a business? Your choice here will impact on the rest of the process.
Step 4: Create Equivalent Short Links
- Create a new short link on your chosen platform for each old Goo.gl link.
- Critical: It’s vital to maintain any tracking parameters, like UTM codes, that were on the original long URL to ensure your analytics remain accurate.
Step 5: Implement Redirects (The SEO Critical Step)
- To avoid losing link authority, implement permanent 301 redirects from the old Goo.gl link to the new shortened link.
- SEO Best Practice: Prefer server-side 301 redirects over client-side redirects to maintain link equity and SEO continuity. A 301 is a permanent signal that passes authority to the new URL
- Technical Implementation Examples: If you can, set up redirects at the server level. This is faster and more reliable than a JavaScript redirect. The common examples for Nginx and Apache redirects are given in the next section.
-
- Source: Google’s Redirect Best Practices
- Source: Moz’s Guide on Redirects
Tip for Bulk Changes: Use a spreadsheet to map the Old Goo.gl URL to the New destination URL for organization and to generate the required redirect code.
Step 6: Update Content
- Once the redirects are in place, begin updating the links on your site and other properties. This includes your:
- Website pages and blog posts.
- Social media profiles (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.).
- Email marketing templates.
- PDFs and other downloadable content.
Step 7: Track and Validate
- Click Test: Manually click a few of the old Goo.gl links to ensure they redirect correctly to the new destination.
- Analytics Verification: Check your dashboards to confirm clicks are registered on the new short links and traffic remains stable.
- Social Previews: Update the Open Graph (OG) tags on your destination page to control the image, title, and description that appears when the link is shared on social media.
- Source: Open Graph Protocol
A Practical Example of a Successful Migration
Imagine taking on a link migration with a few thousand links. By following this exact playbook, you can see how the upfront work pays off. After migrating thousands of links, a business can see virtually no change in organic traffic to their core pages. Most importantly, the click-through rate (CTR) on social posts and emails would be preserved, and they would gain the added benefit of using branded links, which often gives a small but noticeable boost in click rates.
This process can seem daunting, but with a clear plan and the right technical steps, it’s a very manageable project that protects your online presence.
Appendix: Technical Snippets
For this process, you will need to set up permanent redirects (301s) to tell search engines that the old link has moved to a new, permanent location. This is crucial for preserving any SEO value.
- Nginx Redirect Example
If your website runs on an Nginx server, you can add a return 301 rule to your server configuration file. This is a fast and efficient way to handle redirects.
Nginxlocation /old-googl-link-slug { return 301 https://www.yourdomain.com/new-short-link-slug; } - Apache .htaccess Redirect Example
For websites on an Apache server, you can add a Redirect 301 rule to your .htaccess file. This file is typically located in your website’s root directory.
ApacheRedirect 301 /old-googl-link-slug https://www.yourdomain.com/new-short-link-slug
- Sample Google Sheets Mapping for Bulk Changes
For large-scale migrations, create a spreadsheet with the following columns to stay organized. This will help you map out your entire migration and give you the code you need for each redirect.
Quick Step:
Find your most important goo.gl links. Identify the top 20 that drive the most traffic or have the most SEO value, and migrate them immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did Google’s URL shortener (Goo.gl) shut down?
Google retired goo.gl because it was too simple for today’s needs. Marketers and developers wanted features like custom branded domains, detailed analytics, QR codes, and ways for teams to work together, which the old shortener just couldn’t do.
What are the main SEO risks if I don’t move my old goo.gl links?
If you don’t move those links, you’re looking at a drop in search rankings. That’s because broken links lose valuable link equity, and you also lose referral traffic from old campaigns and social posts.
What’s the best way to move my goo.gl links for SEO?
The best method is to use server-side 301 redirects. This tells search engines that the move is permanent, which helps you keep the SEO value and link equity from your old links.
How can I avoid losing my tracking data when I switch?
To keep your tracking data accurate, make sure your new short links are set up to pass UTM parameters to the final URL. This is key for consistent campaign analytics.
Will updating my links affect social media previews?
Yes, it can. You should update the Open Graph (OG) tags on your destination pages. These tags control the image, title, and description that show up when your link is shared on social media.
What features should I look for in a goo.gl replacement?
Look for a tool that offers more than just link shortening. The best ones today include branded domains, advanced analytics, QR code generation, and options for team collaboration.
Conclusion & Recommended Next Steps
The old goo.gl service is gone, and the clock is ticking on any links you still have out there. To keep your website’s search value and traffic strong, you need to migrate those links now. This isn’t just about avoiding a problem; it’s a chance to use a modern link shortener that gives you way more control and better data.
