Permanent URLs for Twitter?

[JohnECF]

Hi everyone -

The site I am working on is going to start giving users the option to tweet that they completed an action. It reads, for example, "I just took the first step to (    ) with (site): (shortened link) via (Twitter name)"

Here's my question:

Should I worry about the fact that the shortened URL (we're possibly going to use Twitter's shortener T.Co, but I'm not dedicated to it) changes each time? Should we instead have a permanent short URL for the homepage (where we are going to direct people who click the link in the tweet)?

Thanks!

[Hurf]

Rand talks about URL shorteners and their effect on link juice etc here: http://www.seomoz.org/q/is-there-anyway-for-redirected-links-to-still-provide-seo-value - Very good info (as you would expect from the bearded one...)

[JohnECF]

Roger, I do not think it is necessary, but from a branding perspective, to stand out from the crowd of normal bit.ly users (I'm one of them, btw), it could be a good idea. It may be for my site.

I'd say it depends on the site and the niche.

[BlinkWeb]

Is your own shortner really necessary? I can't imagine it is.

[AlanBleiweiss]

bit.ly pro would work.  Personally I use yourls.org

[JohnECF]

Thanks. This is great info.

[JohnECF]

The actual URL takes up too much space. Also, you rarely see people using full URLs in tweets. From a "we know what we're doing here" perspective, the full URL might not be a great idea. Do you disagree?

Matt Cutts said (in the video linked to above) that any decent shortener will 301 redirect the shortened URL and thus pass link juice. I guess I am more concerned about it from a branding/tracking perspective now.

[JohnECF]

This sounds like a good idea. What service do you recommend for creating a custom short URL? Would bit.ly PRO work fine for this?

[AlanBleiweiss]

Exactly. It's why I created the http://seoaud.it shortener for my own needs.

[EGOL]

Can use use the actual URL?  That would get you a direct link.

Or, your idea of a permanent short URL that is 301 redirected on your main site would be a good alternative.

Links from tweets are sometimes used elsewhere and getting that linkjuice would be nice.

Also, if you use the actual URL or have complete control over the shortened URL you don't have to worry about it being changed on you.

[anthonydnelson]

Great piece of advice on looking into building your own URL shortener. Not only can you guarantee it will be around, but you can potentially put some branding in there and stand out amongst the ow.ly, bit.ly, and t.co links.

[anthonydnelson]

I would not be worried about the different URLs. Almost all url shorteners 301 to the destination URL and pass link juice. Even though the shortened URLs are different, they would all be passing the juice to the same spot.

watch?v=QMkltd6dZzU

[AlanBleiweiss]

It's ultimately irrelevant from an SEO perspective - so it comes down to click tracking.  If you have different actions, you'd want a unique shortened URL for each action.

I'd also suggest considering setting up your own URL shortener, rather than relying on 3rd party.  As great as Bit.ly is, and as much as Twitter offers their own, the only way to ensure a short URL that's generated is always going to be around is to have your own.