Google has announced that its URL shortener service will completely cease operations on August 25, 2025. This change means that billions of URLs created with the service will no longer redirect to their intended destinations after this date.
The End of an Era
Google initially launched its URL shortener in 2009, but stopped allowing new redirects in March 2019. The service provided a way to create short links that redirected users to longer URLs, which was particularly useful for social media and other platforms with character limits.
Timeline for Shutdown
Google has outlined a clear timeline leading up to the shutdown:
- August 23, 2024: Goo.gl links will start showing an interstitial page for a percentage of users. This page will notify users that the link will no longer be supported after August 25, 2025, before redirecting to the original target page.
- August 25, 2025: All goo.gl links will stop working entirely and will result in a 404 not found error.
What to Expect
Starting August 23, 2024, users who click on goo.gl links may encounter an interstitial page with the following notice:
“Goog.gl Links No Longer Work”
This interstitial page is intended to help users track and adjust affected links before the service is fully shut down. Over time, the percentage of links showing this page will increase.
Google has provided additional details regarding the shutdown:
- Interstitial Page Impact: The interstitial page might disrupt the current flow of your goo.gl links, especially if you use other 302 redirects or have embedded social metadata. This disruption could prevent redirects from completing correctly or cause metadata not to display properly.
- Suppression Option: If the interstitial page interferes with your use cases, you can suppress it by adding the query parameter “si=1” to existing goo.gl links.
The Scale of the Impact
According to Majestic, a link tracking tool, billions of goo.gl links are still active on the web. Glenn Gabe noted on social media that Majestic has identified 3.6 billion active goo.gl links, with a historical total of 36 billion.
Why This Matters
For website owners and content creators, this shutdown could mean a significant undertaking to update or replace affected links. If you have content that uses goo.gl redirects, now is the time to transition these links to direct URLs or alternative shorteners.
The end of Google’s URL shortener service marks a significant shift in how we manage and maintain web links. With the deadline approaching, it’s crucial to begin updating your redirects to ensure a seamless user experience and maintain the integrity of your web content.
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