Have you ever tried to copy a long URL into Twitter, only to realize that it puts you over your alloted 140 characters per tweet? Well, there’s a way to shorten those long URLs into something a little more manageable and useful. With a link shortening service, you can shorten your URLs and even track the number of clicks on your shortened link.

Link shortening services are all over the Internet. I’ll be using Bit.ly (http://bit.ly). The basic idea is that you take a long URL and enter it into the shortening service, which will then create a unique URL that’ll be much shorter than the original.

Once you’ve created the unique shortened link, it becomes ready for distribution all over the Internet. When people click on the shortened link, it will redirect the user to the original URL, thus satisfying your need to post a link when you’ve got a limited number of characters.

But limited characters isn’t the only reason you’d want to use Bit.ly. Once your link has been created, Bit.ly tracks the number of clicks on that link, allowing you to see information such as where your link has been shared, how many people have commented on your link, and where the clicks are coming from (geographically).

You can even see a timeline of when people clicked on your link. When your link is relatively new, you’ll see a timeline by minute. You can also few the timeline by week, by month, or by total.

Unlike some other shortening services, Bit.ly creates a unique short link for each long URL. However, if you enter a long URL that someone else has already entered (like http://www.google.com, for example), only one short link is created, and all clicks on that link will be aggregated together. This is one reason why you might want to create an account with Bit.ly–even if you enter a long URL that’s been entered before, you’ll still be able to see the clicks that came from your individual sharing of the link on Facebook, Twitter, etc.  And according to the Bit.ly FAQ page, the links should remain active forever.

For those addicted to Google Analytics, this is another step in the right direction to figuring out where your traffic is coming from and making relevant decisions based on the aggregate traffic information. You can begin to further pursue your target audience when you start realizing what is working and what isn’t. Whether you’re a casual blogger or a business professional, using a link shortening service like Bit.ly to shorten and track your links can be extremely valuable.