All Articles
Browse our complete collection of guides, tutorials, and in-depth articles about URL shortening, analytics, QR codes, and developer tools.
SEO
Canonical tags: how they work and when Google ignores them
A practical guide to rel=canonical: syntax, what the tag does and does not solve, a decision table covering canonical, 301, 302 and noindex, pairing it with hreflang across 21 languages, common mistakes, and the short-link question.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#Technologies
SEO
Short links and link equity: the shortener is almost never the problem
An examination of link equity through short links: why the redirect loses nothing, why there was nothing to lose on social platforms, three genuine risks of shortening, and an open question about nofollow in the HTTP header.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
Marketing
How to Shorten an Instagram Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Instagram profiles, reels, posts, and stories using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for a bio and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Instagram app directly on a smartphone.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Branding
#Deep link
#Instagram
SEO
Why a 301 turns your POST into a GET
A practical breakdown of redirects 301, 302, 303, 307 and 308: which preserve the request method, why permanent codes are nearly impossible to roll back, where this breaks APIs and webhooks, and which code to choose in each case.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Technologies
Technology
What happened to goo.gl, and what it means for your short links
An accurate account of the goo.gl shutdown: the original plan, the reversal three weeks before the deadline, which links were actually deactivated, how to test a link you still have, and what the episode says about depending on any third-party shortener.
#Url shortener
#Short links
#Digital marketing
Marketing
How to Shorten a TikTok Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to TikTok videos and profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the TikTok app directly on a smartphone.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Features
#Tiktok
Marketing
How to Shorten a Facebook Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Facebook posts, pages, groups, and profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Facebook app directly.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Marketing
#Deep link
#Facebook
Guides
How to check a short link without opening it
A practical method for judging a short link without visiting it: how to expand the destination, which 14 signals point to phishing, and why weighing them matters more than spotting any single one.
#Url shortener
#Short links
#CTR
#Deep link
Technology
How far a short link travels
A study of the geography of 723,758 short links: how many countries the median link reaches, what share of links are genuinely local, how much traffic the leading country supplies, and why this explains the flat daily click curve.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Technologies
Guides
Smart Links: How One Link Sends Different Users to Different Destinations
This article explains what Smart Links are in Lix.li and what problem they solve: a single short link sends different visitors to different destinations based on their country, device, operating system, or browser language. It covers how rules and priority work, practical examples (app stores, geo-targeting, device adaptation), a step-by-step setup guide, the built-in tester, compatibility with other service features, and answers to common questions.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Digital marketing
#Conversion
#Smart link
#Features
Technology
When people actually click short links
A study of 723,783,029 redirects across 6,768,413 links: how clicks distribute by hour and by day of week, why the creation curve is sharp while the click curve is flat, and what that means for scheduling.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Analytics
#Web-analytics
Marketing
How to Shorten a Reddit Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Reddit posts, subreddits, and profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Reddit app directly.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#Reddit
Marketing
How to Shorten a VK Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to VK posts, groups, pages, and profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the VK app directly.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Marketing
#Deep link
#Vk
Marketing
How to Shorten a YouTube Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to YouTube videos and channels using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short YouTube links: convenience, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the YouTube app directly on a smartphone.
#Url shortener
#Short links
#Deep link
#YouTube
#Video
Marketing
How to Shorten an X (Twitter) Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to tweets and profiles on X (Twitter) using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the X app directly on a smartphone.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#Twitter
Technology
What Is a QR Code
This article explains what a QR code is and how the technology works from a technical standpoint. It covers the history of the QR code's invention in Japan in 1994, the principle behind encoding and scanning information, its advantages over traditional barcodes, and practical use cases — from payments and marketing to logistics and ticketing.
#Marketing
#Qr codes
#Technologies
Guides
What Are Webhooks: How They Work and How to Get Notified of Link Clicks
This article explains what webhooks are and how they differ from traditional API polling. Using the webhook feature in Lix.li as an example, it covers how to set up click notifications for short links, how the data format works, how to verify request authenticity via signatures, and what requirements a receiving server must meet. Includes code examples in PHP, Node.js, and Python.
#Rest api
#Analytics
#Developer tools
#Web-analytics
#Webhook
REST API
API Key vs OAuth: Choosing One, and What It Costs You
A comparison of two ways to authenticate an API: what a key gives you, what OAuth gives you, and the single question that decides between them. Plus which OAuth flows RFC 9700 deprecated, and why revoking an API key usually takes effect with a delay.
#Url shortener
#Rest api
#Developer tools
#Digital marketing
Guides
What OpenAPI Is, and Why Specifications Drift From Code
A walk through the OpenAPI format: the required fields of a document, the difference between OpenAPI and Swagger, and what changed in 3.1 and 3.2. Plus the part most introductions skip — nothing connects the specification to the code, how drift shows up in both directions, and the test that catches it.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Rest api
#Short links
#Marketing
SEO
What Is CTR
This article explains what CTR (Click-Through Rate) is, how it's calculated, and what counts as a good value across different channels: paid search, organic search results, email marketing, and social media. It covers how CTR affects SEO and ad auctions, and offers practical tips for improving it with examples.
#Seo
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#Web-analytics
#Redirects
#CTR
#Conversion
Guides
How to Use A/B Testing in the Lix.li Link Shortening Service
This article introduces a new Lix.li feature: A/B testing for short links. It explains why A/B testing matters, what advantages it offers compared to creating multiple separate links, and how users can set up, run, and finish a test through the dashboard: adding variants, distributing traffic, tracking statistics, and choosing a winner. Working with the API is covered in a separate article.
#Seo
#Analytics
#Developer tools
#Digital marketing
#Web-analytics
#Technologies
#A/B
Guides
What Is a Deep Link and How Does It Work
This article explains what a deep link is and what problem it solves: clicking a regular social media link often opens a stripped-down mobile website instead of the installed app. It covers how the technology works on Android, iPhone, and desktop, the list of supported apps, plan availability, a step-by-step guide to creating a deep link in Lix.li, compatibility with other service features, and answers to common questions.
#Seo
#Short links
#Link management
#CTR
#Deep link
Marketing
How to Shorten a Telegram Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Telegram channels, chats, bots, and invites using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Telegram app directly.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Technologies
#Deep link
#Telegram
Marketing
How to Measure Ad Effectiveness
An article for marketers and business owners on how to measure the real effectiveness of advertising. It covers key metrics at different stages of the funnel — from reach and CTR to ROI and ROAS — with calculation formulas and practical examples. Special attention is given to click attribution, common mistakes in ad evaluation, and the role of analytics tools like UTM parameters and short link services with built-in analytics.
#Marketing
#CTR
#Conversion
#CPA
#ROI
#ROAS
Marketing
How to Shorten a Pinterest Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Pinterest pins, boards, and profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Pinterest app directly.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Digital marketing
#Deep link
#Pinterest
Marketing
Short Links: Pros and Cons
This article examines short links from both sides: the benefits they offer users and businesses (compactness, analytics, branding, convenience for social media and offline materials), as well as the drawbacks and risks (loss of trust, service dependency, security issues, SEO impact). It offers practical guidance on when short links make sense and when a full URL is the better choice.
#Url shortener
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#Redirects
Marketing
How to Shorten a Spotify Link
This article explains why and how to shorten links to Spotify tracks, albums, playlists, and artist profiles using Lix.li. It covers the advantages of short links: convenience for social media and printed materials, branding, and click analytics. It provides a step-by-step guide to shortening a link through the dashboard, and explains what a deep link is and how to set up a link so it opens the Spotify app directly.
#Url shortener
#Short links
#Branding
#Deep link
#Features
#Spotify
News
Lix.li Now Has Deep Links
A news announcement about the launch of Deep Links in Lix.li: a short link automatically opens the target app (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and others) if it's installed on the device, and falls back to the browser if it isn't. The feature is available on the PRO and Premium plans. Includes a link to a detailed article on how it works and how to set it up.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Conversion
#Branding
#Webhook
#Deep link
Technology
How long a short link actually lives
A study of 144 million redirects across 5.9 million short links: how clicks distribute over time, how long a link keeps working by median and percentile, why 69% of redirects carry no referrer, and what that means for campaign measurement.
#Url shortener
#Seo
#Short links
#Link management
#Marketing
#Analytics
News
Lix.li Now Supports A/B Testing for Links
A news announcement about the launch of A/B testing in Lix.li: a short link can now split traffic across several landing page variants with automatic per-variant statistics. The feature is available on the Premium plan through the dashboard. A detailed walkthrough is available in a separate article.
#Digital marketing
#Redirects
#Technologies
#A/B
#News
Guides
How to Create a QR Code in Lix.li
A tutorial on creating QR codes in Lix.li. Explains how a Lix.li QR code differs from a plain image generator, how scan tracking works, the available design options, and plan-based limits. Walks step by step through creating, editing, and deleting a QR code in the dashboard, as well as using the public generator without an account.
#Marketing
#Qr codes
#Developer tools
#Digital marketing
News
New Feature: Smart Links
A news announcement about the launch of Smart Links in Lix.li: a single short link can send visitors to different destinations based on their country, device, OS, or browser language, with configurable rules and priority. The feature is available on the Premium plan. Includes a link to a detailed article with instructions.
#Digital marketing
#News
#Smart link
#Features
News
Lix.li Now Has a QR Code Generator
A news announcement about the launch of a free public QR code generator in Lix.li. The tool lets you create a working QR code without registration, with a live design preview, color options, module shape, and a center logo. Includes a link to the generator page.
#Technologies
#News
#QR code generator
Guides
Custom Domains for Short Links: Why You Need Them and How to Connect One
This article explains what custom domains for short links are and why they matter for businesses: building audience trust, strengthening brand identity, potential SEO impact, and analytics. It covers the difference between a subdomain and a top-level domain, plus a step-by-step guide to connecting your own domain in Lix.li and creating a link with it.
#Seo
#Short links
#Marketing
#Custom domain
#Branding
News
Lix.li Now Lets You Connect Your Own Domain
A news announcement about the launch of the branded domains feature in Lix.li. Users can connect their own subdomain or top-level domain to the service and create short links under their brand, with automatic SSL certificate issuance. Includes a link to a detailed setup article.
#Marketing
#Digital marketing
#News
#Custom domain
#Branding