There are plenty of ways to make money online.
One of the hyped methods is to use a link shortener to earn money.
Yes, you read that right.
So now, you might be wondering, can you really earn money by shortening links?
The short answer is YES. But there are a lot of things you need to consider before you even sign up for sites that offer you to make money by shortening links.
This guide will go over all the important details you need to know about how this kind of site works and if they will be the right opportunity for you or not.
You will also learn if it is a safe way to earn money because there is something important you need to consider before you sign up for sites that offer this. And lastly, I will also explain a couple of hurdles you need to overcome if you decide to make money with this method so you do it with the right expectations.
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How to earn by shortening links?
So, how does this kind of site work exactly? Let’s find out.
In one sense, it is quite a simple way to earn, especially if you believe many of the videos and articles out there that claim you just click a few buttons, and then you will earn hundreds of dollars per day.
When you dig a little deeper, it is not quite that simple after all.
But let’s start from the beginning. More or less, all link-shortening sites that will pay you to shorten links work the same.
In the photo below, you can see an example. There are usually three things you need to pay attention to when joining a site.
The first thing you need to know is the field where you have to place the link you want to shorten. In the photo above, it will be the topmost field. So, to shorten a link, just paste the link in that box and hit the “Shorten” button.
This can be any link. It does not even have to be for your own website or video. It can be any website or online link you want to share.
You will then see the link you can earn from. That’s just the first part of how to earn from these links. The next you need to do is, you need to share the shortened link.
Now, it’s up to you how you want to share this link. You can share it on social media pages, via email, or even on your website or YouTube channel. The whole goal here is to get clicks/views. That’s how you get paid.
You see, sites that offer this kind of opportunity will only pay you when your shortened link was clicked/viewed at least 1,000 times. That’s the bare minimum. While that may seem like a trivial number, it’s actually not an easy task.
You have to have a solid strategy to attract views. While these views don’t necessarily have to be from different people, it does have to come from real people. So, you can’t just employ strategies that use automation tools to get views.
So, earning from this kind of site is actually a bit tricky, and if you don’t have prior experience with this, it’s going to be a tough nut to crack. You will definitely have a hard time earning with this method.
But if you are already a veteran with generating traffic, you already know the strategy you are going to use to get those precious views.
This is actually one of the hurdles that I mentioned at the beginning of this guide that you need to overcome.
If you somehow figure out how to get views consistently, then you will be able to earn a good amount from these sites.
Now, when you are able to earn from the link you shortened, you will be able to withdraw your earnings like you normally would with survey sites and Get-Paid-To (GPT) sites. That means you have to reach a certain threshold before you will be able to withdraw your earnings.
As for the payment options, sites that offer this kind of earning opportunity usually pay via PayPal. That’s the most common option, in my experience. But there are also many sites that offer other payout methods. So yeah, you can earn from this kind of site, and you can withdraw your earnings conveniently.
How much can you earn from shortening and sharing links?
So, how much are we really talking about here?
Well, if you do a little bit of research about these websites, more often than not, you will find some websites or videos claiming you will be able to earn around $100 or more just for shortening a link. I will tell you right away; don’t believe any of those claims.
First and foremost, no site in their right mind will pay you that kind of amount for doing a very simple task that you can complete in just a couple of clicks. That simply isn’t possible. So, any person that makes that claim is not being honest and transparent.
While it is possible to earn that kind of amount from this kind of site, it will take a lot of time. So, any claims that you can easily earn that kind of amount from link shortening sites are really not realistic.
But make no mistake, though, as explained above, you can actually earn money from these sites, but just not in those crazy amounts if you are new to making money online.
The amount you can earn from shortening and sharing links will not make you rich. That being said, you can earn a decent amount from it in the long run.
As you can see in the photo above, while these sites are mostly available globally, the location of the people who will click your links will actually affect your earnings. Some countries pay better than others. That’s just how this kind of site works.
The photo above says you will earn $20 if you manage to get 1,000 views from people living in Greenland.
In my opinion, they have just put this number because then they can say you can earn up to $20 per 1,000 views, but in reality, they know not a lot of traffic will come from there (less than 60,000 people live in Greenland).
So, the realistic amount you can actually expect from these sites will range from $2 to $7 per 1,000 views. That’s actually a very low amount, considering the amount of views you need to reach.
That’s why I would say the earning potential of this kind of site is quite low. Aside from that, there’s another concern that I will discuss in the next section.
Is it a safe way to earn?
Now, let’s go over the safety issues these sites pose. You see, with link shortening sites, there’s actually one thing they don’t always tell you.
The links that you’ve shortened will actually, in most cases, display spammy ads before people who click your links will go to the actual site you shortened a link for.
In the photo shown above, this was the actual page I was redirected to when I clicked the shortened link. As you can see, it’s asking me to download a program.
And if you are already an experienced user, you already have an idea that these downloadable programs may contain viruses that are harmful to your computer or even your privacy. So, you already know what to do and just ignore the offer and not download the program.
But there are actually thousands, if not millions, of users out there who don’t have any clue what is going on, and they just do what the page is asking. So, there’s a huge chance they are downloading programs, clicking links, and a lot more, which will result in their devices getting viruses or malware.
So, the real question is, are you comfortable subjecting other people to these kinds of spammy ads just so you can earn a buck?
That’s an ethical concern you need to consider before you register as a member of these kinds of sites.
Final thoughts
Overall, yes you can actually earn money by shortening links and sharing them. Now, the real question is, should you? Is it a good way of earning extra cash?
I would say that it’s not, and let me explain. The biggest hurdle you will face with these kinds of sites is to get repeat views from actual people. Say, for example, a person clicks your link and then finds out all they really see are spammy ads.
That person will never trust any link you share again because they already had a bad experience with the first one you shared. So, it’s not actually what you call easy money, and it is NOT a long-term sustainable way to build a real income.
And as I’ve explained before, you can’t use automation tools and services to get views because these sites will detect it (believe me, they will detect it), and they will ban your account. And you end up not earning anything.
If you are able to actually get a good amount of traffic, there are better ways to make money by sending traffic where you can earn more and where you do not have to subject other people to a bad experience.
And if you are looking to earn extra cash regularly without having to send traffic, I would instead suggest you check out the top survey and GPT sites in your country. The sites on this list all have good earning potential and will allow you to earn without subjecting other people to a bad experience.
In other words, it’s a safer and better way to earn extra cash online.
If you have any comments, questions, or know of money making sites where you can earn money by shortening links, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
