As we’ve stated before, it is imperative that your custom text code reply messages remain under 150 characters because many cell providers will cut off messages over that length. The dynamic search result pages created by K+ and kvCore use a long string of URL parameters that will quickly exceed the max limit of characters. Enter Pretty URLs (ie Link Shorteners).
We recommend two different link shortening services, Bitly and Tiny URL, both of which are free for basic features. One word of caution: If you’re following another online how-to article that recommends using Google’s link shortener, Goo.gl, you’re out of luck. Google deactivated that service in March 2018.
Our top pick is Bitly for it’s ability to customize the domain, and you can view link activity. You can use the basic Bitly link shortening service to shorten a link like
https://www.yourdomain.com/index.php?quick=1&display=&custombox=&types%5B%5D=1&beds=0&baths=0&min=0&max=100000000&rtype=grid&sortby=listings.listingdate%20DESC#rslt
to
https://bit.ly/2D1oqko
If you choose to set up your Branded Short Domain (BSD) on Bitly, that same link could be
https://yourdomain.co/2D10qk0
The biggest benefit of using a BSD is that your text links look more legitimate and less like spam or something that is going to lead to malware or a virus. Using a branded link provides context that will make the lead feel more at ease about clicking on an unknown link. We have seen, first-hand, that click-through rates increase with a branded short domain.
Setting up your Branded Short Domain is beyond the scope of this article, but if you need help check out this article or feel free to contact us and we can help. If you’re going to buy a domain for this purpose we recommend using Namecheap.com to register domains.
Our second choice of link shortening services is TinyURL. It has proven to be a rock-solid service and they allow you to customize the link with an alias. While some view TinyURL links to look a little spammy, customizing the link can help. For example, our long search link above can be shortened to
https://tinyurl.com/y73qbwnr
Alternatively, you could customize the link with an alias which could look like
https://tinyurl.com/cary-over-200k
Ultimately the choice is yours, but now you know two of the best URL shortening services available, and how to make the best use of them to drive leads into your pipeline!
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