Are URL shorteners like bit.ly bad for email deliverability?

Experts, marketers, and documentation sources agree that using URL shorteners, particularly public ones like bit.ly, can negatively impact email deliverability. These shorteners often have a bad reputation due to their association with spam and malicious content, leading to blocklisting by email providers and security software. Additionally, URL shorteners can be viewed as cloaking, which violates Google's Webmaster Guidelines and triggers spam filters. The use of multiple redirects increases latency and can trigger security warnings, affecting user experience and deliverability. While private or branded shorteners offer some advantages, caution is advised, with recommendations to use full, transparent URLs whenever possible. Relying solely on short URLs for tracking purposes is also risky, as destinations can change, affecting data accuracy. Maintaining a clean sender reputation and building trust with recipients are key considerations in determining whether to use URL shorteners.

Using URL shorteners like bit.ly can negatively impact email deliverability for several reasons. Public URL shorteners often have a bad reputation due to being abused by spammers, leading email providers to flag them as suspicious. This can harm your sender reputation, cause emails to land in the spam folder, and negatively impact click-through rates. It's generally recommended to avoid public URL shorteners altogether. If link shortening is necessary, using a custom branded domain for short links can improve deliverability and build trust with recipients, as it maintains brand consistency and avoids the negative reputation associated with public URL shorteners. It's also important to ensure that any URL shortener you use is properly configured to prevent abuse.

Experts generally advise caution when using URL shorteners for email marketing due to long-standing issues with abuse and deliverability. Public link shorteners, like bit.ly, have been problematic for over a decade and are often used in spam to hide the true destination. While private shorteners may be acceptable, relying solely on short URLs for tracking can be risky as destinations can change post-send, impacting data accuracy. When using tracking tools that wrap links in redirects already, adding further redirects via shorteners increases the chance of failure.

Documentation sources indicate that URL shorteners can negatively impact email deliverability due to cloaking, blocklisting, excessive redirects, and potential security warnings. Google Search Central identifies cloaking (including sneaky redirects) as a violation of webmaster guidelines, harming site rankings. Spamhaus notes that URL shorteners are frequently used by spammers, leading to blocklisting of these services, which then affects email deliverability. Furthermore, the RFC Editor explains that excessive redirects can slow browsing and trigger security warnings. Similarly, Cloudflare support explains that multiple redirects increase latency and can trigger security warnings, impacting user experience and deliverability.