If a visitor has to type or remember a url, it's nice if that url is short and simple. This occurs, for example, when you want to include an url in print materials, or display it on the screens of the coffee vending machines on campus. In such a case, you can request a shortened url (also called a "friendly url").

A shortened url does not replace the real url of a page. The original url simply remains and is leading. When the visitor types a shortened url into the browser, it automatically redirects the visitor to the original url. The original url is the url that is displayed in the browser and is therefore visible to the visitor.

In online communication, you basically never use a shortened url. After all, this is not necessary. After all, a visitor does not have to remember or type the url, but only click on it.

It is even undesirable to use a shortened url online. A shortened url is not optimal for your findability in search engines such as Google. When a search engine indexes your content and comes across an url that redirects the search engine to another url, the search engine assigns less value than if the url would show the correct page directly. Linking directly to the correct url therefore increases the findability of the page in question.

Don't like a long url display? If you link in your online communication, you can easily prevent a visitor from seeing the long original url. When using a banner, the visitor only sees a clickable image anyway. For example, if you want to include a link in your mailing, you can use a link text instead of showing the url verbatim:

DON'T: Visit our website for more information: https://www.ru.nl/opleidingen/masters/voorlichtingsdagen/voorlichtingsactiviteit

DO: All about this information activity
If you have requested a shortened url for your offline communication, still use the original url online.

https://www.ru.nl/opleidingen/masters/voorlichtingsdagen/voorlichtingsactiviteit

Shortened urls are not linked to a page, so Google Analytics cannot record visits to this url without reason. Want to be able to measure through Google Analytics how many visitors used your shortened urls? Then when requesting the shortened urls, add a UTM code to the url you want the shortened link to point to.

For example, have the shortened link https://www.ru.nl/voorlichtingsactiviteit refer to the url 

https://www.ru.nl/opleidingen/masters/voorlichtingsdagen/voorlichtingsactiviteit?utm_source=volkskrant&utm_medium=offline&utm_campaign=werving-bachelors in stead of using https://www.ru.nl/opleidingen/masters/voorlichtingsdagen/voorlichtingsactiviteit

To request shortened urls, please send an email to [email protected].

Include in your email:

• Your name and department;
• The shortened urls you want created;
• The url of the page the shortened url should point to;
• What you want to use the shortened urls for.

Note: To avoid a proliferation of shortened urls, your request may not be granted.