URL shortening and analytics service bit.ly will soon be launching bit.ly 1.3, the newest version of the most popular URL shortener. In addition, the company is launching an enterprise version of bit.ly Pro, which will be available later today.
The new bit.ly 1.3, which will roll out later this week, will feature a complete redesign of its website. From the screenshots the company sent us, it looks like the new design is cleaner, sports more blue and draws greater attention to the URL shortener box, which has also undergone some upgrades.
The changes are not all cosmetic, however. The company has thrown in a slew of new features with the version 1.3 upgrade. One that users will immediately notice is the auto-shortening of links in the bit.ly box; this is something that TweetDeck and other Twitter apps currently do, and it is a time-saver. The feature can be disabled, but the company’s goal is to reduce the number of clicks required to shorten and share your URLs.
Another new feature coming in this week’s update is the “Manage” tab. This tab will provide you with quick access to a history of all of the links you have shortened on bit.ly as well as the ability to search your archives. Bit.ly has also added a public timeline view of links, which can be subscribed to via RSS.
In addition to the release of bit.ly 1.3, the company is also launching an enterprise version of its bit.ly Pro service, which allows companies to create customized bit.ly domains (e.g. nyti.ms). The new addition is an enterprise level version that will include an analytics dashboard that aggregates all traffic data on one screen, enables users to make any URL shortened via bit.ly transform into a custom domain and gives real-time feed of click data. It will cost $995 per month.
It’s tough to deny that the company has been growing rapidly over the last year. The company told us that over 3.4 billion links were shortened via bit.ly in March, compared to 2.7 billion in February and just 87 million links in March 2009. However, as Twitter builds out its business model, the company could eventually compete with its largest source of links.
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Tags: bit.ly, twitter, url shortener
