Bitly has been the “go to” app for creators to use “short links”. Instead of LONG links to online resources, we’ve used Bitly to share much shorter links. Bitly will now start showing advertisements on preview pages on its free plans. If you want to not have customers distracted about your offer, you might want to upgrade and get off of the free plan.
When people “click” on a link, if you’re on the free plan, a preview page will come up, showing ads.
Bitly, nor any company, can survive on free.
The path from “free” to fee is not easy, we’re in different times than we were in 2008 when Bitly was first founded.
Bitly’s message to users reads:
We are making some adjustments to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that will affect you as a user of Bitly’s free plan. Beginning in the next month, when your audience interacts with your Bitly links or QR Codes, they may see a preview page prior to being directed to the destination URL. The page includes information about the link destination and may include advertising.
As a free Bitly user, you can remove the preview page experience from your links and QR Codes at any time by selecting a paid Bitly plan.
If you’re looking to gain even small increases in the chances your customers will buy from you or pay attention to you, I’d suggest you pay for Bitly so you customers don’t get an adv before they get to your link.
