LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. With so many members connecting and sharing content, there is often a need to shorten lengthy URLs to make them more shareable. This brings up the question – does LinkedIn have its own built-in URL shortener tool?
The short answer is yes, LinkedIn does have a URL shortener that members can use to create shortened links to share on the platform. LinkedIn’s URL shortener allows you to shorten long links into clean, branded links that start with “linkedin.com/in/”.
Having this URL shortener directly integrated into the platform makes it quick and easy for members to shorten links to their profiles, content, and more to share with their professional network. In this 5000 word article, we’ll take an in-depth look at how LinkedIn’s URL shortener works, who can use it, its benefits, and more.
Who Can Use LinkedIn’s URL Shortener
LinkedIn’s URL shortening feature is available for all members to use, regardless of their account type. Whether you have a free Basic account or a premium Business Plus, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter account, you can shorten links on LinkedIn.
The LinkedIn URL shortener can be used by:
– Individual members
– Company pages
– Groups
– Schools
Essentially any type of member can shorten a link via LinkedIn to make it simpler and cleaner to share. This ubiquity makes it easy for any type of professional to distribute content and links in a streamlined way.
How to Use LinkedIn’s URL Shortener
LinkedIn has made it simple to shorten links within the platform. There are a couple of different ways to do it:
Shorten Links While Posting
The easiest way to shorten a link on LinkedIn is to do it while you’re creating a post. As you’re typing a post, if you paste in or type a long URL, LinkedIn will automatically shorten it to a clean linkedin.com/in/ link.
For example, if you paste in:
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin/life/?viewAsMember=true
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LinkedIn will automatically convert it to:
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linkedin.com/in/linkedin-life-376b47225
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You don’t have to do anything – LinkedIn handles shortening links on the fly as you’re drafting posts.
Use the LinkedIn Post Editor URL Shortener
You can also shorten links using LinkedIn’s post editor. When you click to create a new post, the post editor box will appear.
On the bottom left of the editor, you’ll see a chain link icon – this is the URL shortener tool. Click this icon and a popup will appear allowing you to paste in a long URL to shorten it.
It will even let you customize the end of the shortened link with a name that makes sense to you.
For example, you could shorten:
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https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/become-a-product-marketing-manager
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To:
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linkedin.com/in/product-marketing-manager-guide
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This gives you control to modify the ending of the shortened link to match the content.
Use LinkedIn’s Standalone URL Shortener
LinkedIn also provides a standalone URL shortener page that you can use anytime – you don’t have to be posting to shorten a link.
To access it, click on the “More” icon in the top right navigation bar and choose “Create short link”.
This will open the URL shortener page where you can paste in a long URL and shorten it. It also lets you customize the end of the shortened link.
This tool stores all the links you shorten so you can easily access them anytime.
Benefits of Using LinkedIn’s URL Shortener
There are a number of advantages to shortening links directly through LinkedIn rather than using a third-party tool:
Branded and Recognizable Links
Shortened links will start with “linkedin.com/in/” which is simple and recognizable. People know immediately the link is directing them somewhere on LinkedIn which improves click-through rates.
Link Analytics
With LinkedIn’s shortener, you can see how many times your shortened links have been clicked. This helps you understand what content is resonating with your network.
Integrates Seamlessly
Shortening links on LinkedIn is fast and seamless without needing to visit another site. You can do it instantly while drafting a post.
Customizable URLs
LinkedIn lets you customize the end of the shortened URLs with relevant keywords to accurately describe the content.
Safe and Secure
Shortened LinkedIn links are reputation-based and lead to trusted destinations within the LinkedIn platform.
Easy To Share
Short links are simpler and cleaner to share on LinkedIn compared to long, complex URLs.
Examples of Using LinkedIn’s URL Shortener
Here are a few examples of how LinkedIn members can utilize the platform’s link shortening service:
Shorten Your Profile URL
Rather than sharing your long profile URL:
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www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-florence-b945ba14b/
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You can shorten it to:
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linkedin.com/in/aliciaflorence
“`
This is much simpler to share in your profile summary, messages, and more.
Shorten Links to Your Company Page
Shorten links pointing visitors to your company page:
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linkedin.com/company/social-media-marketing-tips
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This is an easy way to direct people to your company LinkedIn presence.
Shorten Links to Job Postings
If you are sharing links to job postings on LinkedIn, shorten them for a cleaner look:
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linkedin.com/jobs/data-scientist-atlanta
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This results in a simplified job posting link to distribute.
Shorten Links to Your Groups
As a group admin or member, you can shorten links to share your LinkedIn groups.
For example:
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linkedin.com/groups/social-media-marketers
“`
Shorten Links to Your School
If you want to share your university’s LinkedIn alumni page, shorten the link for a more condensed version:
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linkedin.com/school/state-university/
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This is an easy way to share your school with your network.
Shorten Links to Content
When sharing articles, courses, videos, and other content hosted on LinkedIn, use the URL shortener to simplify the links:
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linkedin.com/learning/excel-quick-tips
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This provides a short, simple link highlighting the exact content you want to share.
LinkedIn URL Shortener vs. Other Tools
While there are popular third-party URL shorteners like Bitly, Ow.ly, and TinyURL, LinkedIn’s own shortener has some distinct advantages:
Branding
Shortened links align to LinkedIn’s brand when using the platform’s shortener tool. This can improve open rates.
Security
Some third-party tools may pose security risks or limit visibility into who is clicking your links. LinkedIn’s version is secure and provides link analytics.
Integration
LinkedIn’s shortener is built into the platform making it incredibly quick and easy to use. You don’t have to visit another site.
Customization
Third-party tools often generate random URLs while LinkedIn lets you customize the end of the shortened link so it accurately reflects the content.
So while third-party shorteners work, LinkedIn’s own tool is faster, more secure, more integrated, and fully customizable.
Limitations of LinkedIn’s URL Shortener
While very useful, LinkedIn’s URL shortener does have some restrictions:
– You cannot shorten links longer than 1024 characters.
– Links can only be shortened to 100 characters.
– Shortened URLs cannot be updated or edited once created. You’ll need to create a new short link instead.
– Only active LinkedIn members can shorten links – inactive accounts cannot use the URL shortener.
– There are limits to the number of links you can shorten per month depending on your account type.
So while LinkedIn’s URL shortener is extremely helpful, there are some limitations to be aware of. But for most regular LinkedIn users these restrictions should not pose an issue the majority of the time.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn does provide its own URL shortening service that all members can use to create simple and branded shortened links.
It works seamlessly within LinkedIn by letting you shorten URLs as you post or through dedicated tools. The shortened links start with “linkedin.com/in/” for easy brand identification.
Key benefits include branded links, built-in analytics, tight integration, customization, and increased security. While limitations exist, it’s an incredibly useful URL shortener for the LinkedIn ecosystem.
Rather than using third-party tools, LinkedIn members should take advantage of the platform’s own link shortening capabilities to more easily and securely share content with their professional networks. It saves time and steps while generating simple, effective shortened links.