Creating short links using bit.ly

Bitly (https://bitly.com/) is a free online service that allows users to create short URLs and track clicks on the web. For technical reasons, you cannot use both mCommons and bit.ly for a single short URL at the same time.

If you want to use both services, there are two options:

1. Get separate short domains to use with mCommons and bit.ly.

2. Set up a subdomain on your short domain (aka fake.ly and m.fake.ly).

Bitly and mCommons both provide short links, but our services are complementary:

• Use Bitly when you post a public link and want to know where referrers are coming from.

• Use mCommons when you send out a link in a text message and want to know who is clicking your links and when.

Setting up links

It is possible to use both services with a single click. This lets you take advantage of mCommons click stats as well as bit.ly stats.

To use both, you just need to set up two links:

1. Set up a bit.ly link to point to your destination

2. Set up a mCommons link that points to the bit.ly URL

This way, when a user clicks the short link, they are taken first to mCommons, then bit.ly, then the destination. This happens in milliseconds, and users don’t know that they are being redirected. They just see the final page, but the statistics are recorded at each step.