Do you remember Twitter one year ago? It was 1/10th the size it is today and its default URL shortener was TinyURL , the most popular tool of its kind for years. On July 14th, 2008 though, a new rival was born: Bit.ly , which not only shortened links (and had shorter URLs), but added deep analytics so you could know about who was clicking, how often, and from where. Today’s July 14th, 2009, and that means it’s Bit.ly’s first birthday! So what has the URL shortener accomplished in twelve months? The answer: more than almost any start-up dreams about accomplishing. It has been on a tear in terms of growth (+42% in the last month alone), has become Twitter’s default URL shortener, and is on pace to crush its competition. If we take a look at analytics from Compete.com, we see that at this time last year, Bit.ly had less than 5,000 U.S. monthly visitors, while TinyURL had

1.65 million. But with the Twitter 140 character phenomenon sweeping the globe, the need for URLs that can fit in tweets has skyrocketed (be sure to read my article 5 Reasons Why URL Shorteners Are Useful for more on the subject), with Bit.ly being the biggest beneficiary. Here are the Compete numbers: As you can see, though TinyURL has also benefited handily from Twitter’s growth, in recent month Bit.ly’s growth velocity has ramped up while TinyURL has stagnated and actually started to shrink. Much of this can be attributed to Twitter switching to bit.ly for its default URL downsizing, but with a wider array of features (especially analytics) and a domain that’s a full 4 characters shorter, Bit.ly’s become the choice of many on its own merits. It’s a happy birthday indeed for Bit.ly. Reviews: Twitter , bit.ly Tags: bit.ly , twitter

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Happy Birthday, Bit.ly! You’re About to Crush TinyURL