"Network Solutions - Small business conversations and working together for small business success" - 3 new articles
Product Review: Cli.gs URL Shortener and Click TrackerI’ve been playing around with Cligs (rhymes with “pigs”; like “clicks”, only with a “guh” sound), which is a free Web service that’s been getting some play lately (Shashi clued me in to it). At its heart, it’s a URL shortener (a crowded field, no doubt), though it also gives you click metrics (a less-crowded field). But let me back up a step. URL shorteners first came about when people needed a way to send really long URLs in e-mail, IM and other places, without having the URLs break because of line wraps. (TinyURL was the first and best-known.) URL shorteners simply convert the really long URLs into really short URLs that redirect to the site you’re going to. At first, URL shortening services were just a convenience. Dynamically-generated URLs (especially from mapping programs) can run into the hundreds of characters — some even exceeded the character limits for Web publishing systems I’ve used — which are annoying to work with. However, URL shorteners became necessities for microblogging, where you’re limited to as few as 140 characters. Most microblogging services will automatically run URLs over a certain length through an URL shortener, so you can save valuable characters to talk about your lunch or whatever. Anyway, Cligs is a free service (requires registration) that does URL shortening and also adds in a click metrics component, so you can get numbers on how many people are clicking on your links and where they’re coming from (both geographically and in terms of referrers). By way of example, I have a test Cligs URL (http://cli.gs/VMJJm1) that goes to a Washington Post article about a bit of pre-snow panic. I posted it to my Twitter account, and you can see where the clicks came from (I anonymized the links — also, you can see that “referrer” is consistently misspelled): The no-referrer hits probably came from a Twitter desktop client of one sort or another; you can also see hits from various Web-based Twitter URL tools and Facebook (my Twitter updates also feed my Facebook updates). You can also see that this link didn’t really set the world on fire. There are additional stats (including graphs) and additional tools (edit, duplicate, and repost cligs), but you get the idea. It seems to work okay — I haven’t run any campaigns on particular URLs. (About the only thing cli.gs is missing right now is a way to reset or recover a forgotten password. Don’t ask me how I know this.) The point of all this, though, is for you to be able to get a better sense of the effectiveness of the links that you share to various services, which are outside of any click metrics that you’re running on your own site (Like the free Google Analytics, Sitemeter or Statcounter). Because sharing your expertise through socially-shared links is nice, but knowing what people respond to, so you can better allocate your time and attention, is nicer. Cligs and its cohorts are additional tools for your metrics toolbox, to capture a specific segment of your content. It’s to link traffic what Feedburner does for RSS metrics. One caveat that goes for any URL shortener or link redirection service — you’re relying on its continued existence for your links not to break. A consideration (even a small one) in these uncertain times — you’ll need to judge the value of the metrics versus any perceived risk. Also, I know I’m sometimes hesitant to click links when I can’t see the underlying URL (too many Rickrolls and password phishing attempts); that’s where services like LongURL come in, which expand shortened URLs so you can see where you’re going. Kind of perverse when you think about it, but useful. If you’ve got experiences with Cli.gs, bit.ly, or other URL shortener and click metrics services, please leave a comment below. Super Bowl Special : Transfer your domain name to Network Solutions for only $8.75Network Solutions has a #Superbowl Ad Special - Use Coupon code PCXXX02740 for $8.75 /yr for transfer of domain names into Network Solutions. Go to this page to start This started off as a question from Scott Monty , KDpaine and Connie Reece last night as we were all watching the Super Bowl and participating on Twitter. I loved the game btw. Scott Monty’s Tweets: @kdpaine See? I knew @shashib wouldn’t let us down! about 15 hours agofrom web @kdpaine That’s a conundrum. I’ll bet @shashib could suggest an alternative registry site At Network Solutions we are trying to reach out and help customers and the community as much as we can and my reaction to this was to ask @kdpaine to send me an email at smedia@networksolutions.com . We were not expecting anything more than that. To our surprise we saw the community retweeting my tweet to @kdpaine and also asking for ways to move from GoDaddy to Network Solutions. We have always said we are in the Social Media as a “listening post” and being there to connect with customers and the community. So this was not an opportunity to tweet an offer to every person who mentioned the GoDaddy Super Bowl Ads. We are not broadcasting our offer it was mainly the result of the community asking us how to transfer their domain names away from GoDaddy. Of course we are thankful for friends and members of the Twitter community who are re-tweeting and passing this offer along to the community. At Network Solutions we love to listen to our customers and pride ourselves as a company that values the challenges that face small businesses and we aim to work together to make small businesses succeed. If you would like to use the offer please use Use Coupon code PCXXX02740 for $8.75 /yr for transfer. Please go to this page to start http://cli.gs/2UpugY. Let us know if we can help. If you are looking to host your website or blog then the domain name is free with a yearly hosting package purchase. Also if you are just in the need for some guidance on setting up or using social media tools like Twitter, Digg, Facebook or blogs in general, please feel free to email smedia@networksolutions.com and we will be happy to help you out. Thanks for helping us spread the world for our #Superbowl Ad Special.
Super Bowl Ads: Twitter and FriendsAs I watched the Super Bowl end with an amazing victory for the Steelers, I noticed another amazing thing happen - whenever I am connected on the Internet I always have a browser open with my search for Network Solutions terms - friends on Twitter started tweeting to me and asked how they can transfer their domain names to Network Solutions. Their anger was about a couple of specific Super Bowl ads. At first I started to work the phones and email to try to come up with a special offer to welcome them to Network Solutions. Then I noticed the tweets and retweets growing. @mackCollier was watching this effect and blogged about it on the Viral Garden - So is it worth to be Monitoring Twitter. Its late night on a Sunday night and I am happy to offer anyone who wants to transfer their domains to Network Solutions a price of $9.99 per year for each domain name. We don’t have time to alert the centers so please send an email with your contact to smedia@networksolutions and we will follow-up with you. I encourage the community to spread the word. More Recent Articles
|
 |
Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Network Solutions - Small business conversations and working together for small business success" or change subscription settings
Unsubscribe from all current and future newsletters powered by FeedBlitz
| Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498 |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.