Pro

The bit.ly Pro service provides custom short URLs powered by bit.ly. Publishers and bloggers will be able to use their own short domain names to point to pages on their sites.

Users and publishers benefit from the additional transparency that this private-label service provides. When you see a short URL like nyti.ms, you know the destination web site before clicking on the link. The service includes all the bit.ly features users and publishers have come to expect. Placing a simple “+” at the end of any bit.ly link (including these white-label, bit.ly-powered links) takes you to real-time information about that page and how it is being shared: how many people clicked on that particular link, where they came from, and more. For publishers, the new service allows them to keep their brand visible while maintaining access to bit.ly statistics.

We’re also excited to be introducing a unique real-time dashboard (see below) that will provide publishers with even more information about their bit.ly traffic. It’s a real-time view of how a given publisher’s content is being distributed across networks like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace and services like email, SMS, and instant messenger.

Both parts of bit.ly Pro - the dashboard and the custom URL service - are currently free beta programs. We’re looking forward to growing them and making them more widely available. If you’re a publisher or a blogger interested in these services, we’d love to hear from you — please fill out this form, or contact bitlypro@bit.ly and provide us with your bit.ly username.