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Pretty Link Plugin lets you Shorten URLs using your own domain and helps in SEO/SEM

by Aditya on July 11, 2009

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If you are using social media like Twitter for your blog promotion and you are using Wordpress as your blogging platform, here is a plugin you must consider using. Named as Pretty Link, it is a Wordpress plugin that lets you shorten links using your own domain name (as opposed to using tinyurl.com, bit.ly, or any other link shrinking service).

How to install Pretty Link plugin on your Wordpress blog?

To install Pretty Link plugin on your Wordpress blog, proceed as follows:

1. Login to your blog’s admin area

2. Click on ‘Add New’ under ‘Plugins’ present in left panel.

3. Type Pretty Link in the search box.

4. Click on ‘install’ beside Pretty Link plugin’s description.

5. From the window that opens, click on ‘Install Plugin’.

6. The plugin will be installed.

Besides shortening link using your own domain, Pretty Link also tracks each hit on your URL and provides a full, detailed report of where the hit came from, the browser, operating system and host.

How to use Pretty Link plugin for SEO?

Pretty Link plugin also helps in SEO. It is great for building links. You can select ‘301 permanent redirect’ for your links when you are on a link building project.

To set ‘301 permanent redirect’ for your links, proceed as follows:

1. Click on ‘Add New Link’ under ‘Pretty Link’ present in the left pane of your Wordpress admin panel.

2. While adding new link, click on ‘SEO’ option and select ‘301 permanent redirect’.

Traditionally, this option is considered to be the best approach to use for your SEO/SEM efforts. However, since Pretty Link uses your domain name either way, this notion isn’t necessarily true for Pretty Links. Also, this option may not give you accurate reporting since proxy and caching servers may go directly to your Target URL once it’s cached.

You can shorten URLs on your domain using this plugin and spread it on social media websites like Twitter. For every retweet, your link will be indexed and you will see a hike in your link popularity.

Pretty Link is a killer plugin for people who want to mask their affiliate links, track clicks from emails, their links on Twitter to come from their own domain, or generally increase the reach of their website by spreading these links on forums or comments on other blogs.

About Aditya: Aditya is a 16 year old online entrepreneur living in India. He is the founder and editor of Tech Ravings, a blog sharing latest apps and services from the tech world.Get more from Aditya on Twitter.