Google URL Shortener Update: Take Action with Branded Short Links

Remember those goo.gl links that used to be everywhere? Google has recently announced that by August 25, 2025, that era will officially come to a close.

In late summer 2025, Google plans to completely stop serving links created using the Google URL Shortener. This deadline gives active users about a year to update existing links. So—what can you do about it now?

In this post, we will take a deep dive into the deprecation of the Google URL Shortener, how this move impacts existing users, and what practical steps to take next. We’ll also provide you with the best branded short-link alternative and guide you to making the leap.

What happened to the Google URL Shortener?

In March 2018, Google announced that they would be winding down their Google URL Shortener service. This meant that access was immediately cut off for new and anonymous users.

Meanwhile, Google gave the platform’s existing users a year to develop a new link management strategy. During the transition period, users could still create new short links using the Google URL Shortener while looking for an alternative service.

By April 2019, these existing users also lost access to the service, meaning they could no longer create new links. But their goo.gl links still worked, as Google continued to serve existing URLs.

Based on the latest announcement from Google, links built using the Google URL shortener will no longer be supported, effective August 25, 2025. All existing links will stop working. Check out the official verbiage from Google:

“Any developers using links built with the Google URL Shortener in the form https://goo.gl/* will be impacted, and these URLs will no longer return a response after August 25th, 2025. We recommend transitioning these links to another URL shortener provider.

Note that goo.gl links generated via Google apps (such as Maps sharing) will continue to function.”

The impact of the Google URL Shortener deprecation

Google decided to deprecate its link shortening service after noticing changes in how people found content. The emergence of new and popular URL shortening services was another leading reason for the deprecation.

Since Google’s original announcement in 2018, existing goo.gl links gradually experienced less traffic over time. By June 2024, there was almost no trackable activity for more than 99% of these links. For Google, this signaled that it was finally time to turn off the service.

What’s happening now?

Starting on August 23, 2024, some goo.gl links began taking users to an interstitial page which notified users of the deprecation before displaying the original target page.

As more and more goo.gl links start to display the interstitial page, Google will completely shut down the service by August 25, 2025.

Google URL Shortener Update

Source: Google

Once the service shuts down, existing goo.gl links will direct users to a 404 error page. In other words, links created using the Google URL Shortener will turn into broken links. So if you’re still using these links in your campaigns, the deprecation will greatly impact the user experience and conversion performance.

Next steps for existing Google URL Shortener users

If you still have a few goo.gl links that continue to drive some level of traffic to your site, make sure that they remain accessible and functional.

Otherwise, users will experience a 404 redirect, which isn’t only a bad look for your business but also takes away valuable traffic. It’s important to transition all your existing goo.gl links properly so that they continue to work even after the deprecation.

Here’s what to do with your goo.gl links:

Step 1: Audit your existing links and identify all the goo.gl links that are still in use. Go beyond your website and look at the links used in your social media posts, digital assets, and marketing campaigns. You can use your Google Analytics dashboard to track all your traffic sources and identify the goo.gl links that are still sending traffic to your site.

Step 2: Sign up for a free Rebrandly account, or choose from any of the paid plans based on your needs. The free plan lets you create up to 10 branded links per month.

Step 3: Connect your existing domain with Rebrandly. If you don’t have one, you can also register a new custom domain through Rebrandly quickly and easily.

Step 4: Copy the long URL for each goo.gl link that’s still in use and paste it into your Rebrandly dashboard to create a new short link. You can even customize this short URL according to the custom URL structure best practices to further boost its performance.

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Step 5: Copy the new short link and replace the goo.gl link wherever you’re using it. Repeat the steps for all your other goo.gl links.

The future of short links

When news about the Google URL shortener came out, some observers suggested the decision could be linked to the increasing association between Google short URLs and spam.

Generic URL shorteners are often used by spammers to disguise links to malware and spyware. For this reason, generic short links can be banned by certain websites and email servers.

The trust and transparency issue goes far beyond the Google URL shortener.

There is a massive trend toward using customized, branded short links. They’ve already become popular with big brands across every industry, from Jaguar and Lamborghini to PayPal and Panda Express.

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Custom links are created using a domain owned by you or your business. Because you own the domain, you have full control over your links and data – no 3rd party can use the same domain to create short links. This means your links won’t get banned from any platforms (assuming your content is safe and secure). There is also no fear that you’ll lose your links (or click tracking data) when a shortening service shuts down.

As platforms grow more likely to blacklist generic short links, a higher number of brands will start using branded links to avoid this. So, if you’re looking for a new service to migrate to now that the Google URL shortener is shutting down, move to a service that provides branded short links.

What makes Rebrandly the best Google URL Shortener alternative?

There are plenty of Google URL Shortener alternatives in the market. Many of them offer their link shortening service for free. But most of them don’t let you create secure branded short links.

Even the ones that do come with limited features, which means they’re not very ideal as a complete link management solution.

Beyond link shortening and analytics, Rebrandly also comes with a host of advanced features that make it the ideal link management platform for modern brands, developers, and creators. Here’s a quick overview of the additional features that you can enjoy with Rebrandly:

With these benefits (and so many more), Rebrandly is the most comprehensive alternative to the Google URL Shortener. The company’s advanced API solutions help developers add link shortening capabilities to their products – including SMS messaging. Moreover, with mobile deep linking capabilities, Rebandly is an excellent alternative to other Google services such as Firebase Dynamic Links, which will also be shut down on August 25, 2025.

Check out the table below to visualize how Rebrandly compares to other link-shortening services.

Rebrandly was built specifically to allow people to customize their links for optimal performance. This means you can showcase your brand name and even indicate what kind of content you’re sharing. For example, the team here often uses the link Rebrandly.support/Contact – you can guess where that leads, right?

The structure of a branded link can tell people a lot about what the URL contains, and it is a great way to build trust online. Nobody will fear that your links might lead to spam or other malicious content if they see your business name. And because of this increased trust – as well as their visual appeal – branded links can receive up to 39% more click-throughs.

Create links that are always accessible

Switching out all your URLs because the link-shortening service you’re using is getting shut down can be a hassle. With Rebrandly, you can create custom short links using your branded domain. So you never have to worry about losing your links or having to replace them a few years down the line.

Plus, Rebrandly’s services are always on, with a 99.99% uptime. That means you can create links that are always functional and accessible.

Book a demo to check out Rebrandly’s full potential.

Feather Hickox

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