How the Heck Does TinyURL.com Make Money?

I understand that TinyURL in particular gets something around 200 million hits per month. All those CPM ads have to add up. Even with that, though, I still can't see how it could be a sustainable venture. You'd think the bandwidth cost would far outweigh what they may earn from ads, wouldn't you? Unless their ads pay really well.

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zeurois

15 years ago

there are 2.6m seconds in a month.

200m hits means an average of 76 hits per second. A single server can handle that traffic.

Bandwidth ... at 20kb per request, you'd have a total of 4000GB of monthly traffic.

Any hostgator dedicated server/plan could handle that.

Now, I'm not saying you could do that using a single server, but you don't need too much cash to power such a service.

Tell me if I'm wrong ..

Originally Posted by deskmonkey

I understand that TinyURL in particular gets something around 200 million hits per month. All those CPM ads have to add up. Even with that, though, I still can't see how it could be a sustainable venture. You'd think the bandwidth cost would far outweigh what they may earn from ads, wouldn't you? Unless their ads pay really well.

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deskmonkey

15 years ago

Originally Posted by zeurois

there are 2.6m seconds in a month.

200m hits means an average of 76 hits per second. A single server can handle that traffic.

Bandwidth ... at 20kb per request, you'd have a total of 4000GB of monthly traffic.

Any hostgator dedicated server/plan could handle that.

Now, I'm not saying you could do that using a single server, but you don't need too much cash to power such a service.

Tell me if I'm wrong ..

Ah, that makes sense. They don't really serve the websites requested over their server ala proxy-style, do they? In that case, the bandwidth consumption wouldn't be as great as I initially thought. The CPU usage required, though, would be too much for single server, but they probably user server clusters to power something like this anyway (which actually would be the best solution since uptime is critical for a service like this).

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MisterMunch

15 years ago

Do you meen TinyURL get 200 million hits a month, or that their Tiny URL's are being used 200 millon times a month.

If my website was generating 200 million hits a month I would be king of some country next week.

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garyv

15 years ago

I don't think it really takes that much bandwidth, after all they don't host the sites, they only redirect. I'm sure they use a lot of bandwidth, just because of the sheer volume of redirects they do, but I don't think it's as much as you think.

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zeurois

15 years ago

Now .. the question is .. how do you get those numbers?

I had a website like that but I had to close it because of some spammers who used it to mask their URLs, now I run another one, but it's far far away from what tinyurl does (although tinyurl urls are bigger than mine).

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deskmonkey 15 years ago

Brand recognition, I suppose? Being a pioneer in the URL shortening business probably helped, too. TinyURL's been around long enough that when people think of URL shortening, then think of TinyURL, despite there being a ton of other such services floating around now. In fact, there was a review I read about a similar service where the reviewer praised it, calling it the "TinyURL of the future" -- that's how strong TinyURL's brand recognition is.

As for making a URL shortening service as lucrative as TinyURL seems to be... honestly, if I knew how, I'd probably be a millionaire by now.
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- NerdVana 15 years ago
  
  hi - if you take a look at tinyurl´s competitors like bit.ly for example - you see where the money lies.
  
  they are providing a very nice realtime statistic-section for your uploaded links (registered user only) - plus an API.
  
  it works perfectly and is very informative. Especially if you´re using twitter and the likes.
  
  Thanks
  
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Mark Riddle

15 years ago

TinyURL is huge because its been around since 2002, started being used to promote newsgroup postings because the URL was so long.

It remembered if the site had be linked to before, if it has then it would again return the original URL and not make a new one for the new person linking to the same page.

10 folks linking to the same page on a forum, they all would get the same tinyURL.

But remember places like Myspace and yahoo answers have banned tinyURL so there are some folks that don't like 'em.

Their revenue is mainly from impression advertising VS click advertising. which is cheaper but buyers expect less results but still remain profitable for both parties

Mark Riddle

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zeurois

15 years ago

Ok, since this is an interesting subject (at least for me), here's what I did.

1. I've built a website to shorten URLs on a first come first served basis (ie combinations of all chars and numbers starting with 0, 1 ... and on and on to zzx zzy zzz ... that's the algorithm btw

)

2. I saw those kind of services are pretty popular on twitter (and twitter itself is very popular) so I sent a few tweets about it.

3. I wrote a wordpress plugin to add a tweetme button at the end of each post or page which would automatically shorten the URL and set the post title as the status on twitter.

4. I sent again a few tweets, I had about 500 hits/downloads for that plugin, but it stopped at some point and the traffic seemed to drop.

What next?

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NerdVana 15 years ago

... if you´re getting serious about it... add stats + API.

easier said than done though...
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- NerdVana 15 years ago
  
  a nice BH tactic - coming to my mind - would be to filter out all affiliate links and replace the IDs
  
  argh - did I just say that?
  
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Bruce Wedding

15 years ago

Hold up your hand if you ever donated or clicked and AdWords ad on TinyURL...

That's what I thought.

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deskmonkey

15 years ago

@zeurois: Try adding new features to your plugin to keep people interested in it. Tracking stats would be good if you could manage it. By the way, does the plugin only send tweets as the blog owner (ie. through the blog owner's account)? If it does, try adding in some functionality that would allow visitors to tweet the blog post/page (similar to how there are addons that allow visitors to send posts/pages to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.). There's probably more that you can do with your plugin. If you can, try to build a community around it where you can get feedback from the users (eg. feature requests, etc).

@Bruce: I've never clicked on an ad in TinyURL either, since I've yet to see one that interests me. Even so, since they use [I believe] mostly CPM ads, you don't really have to click on them for them to get paid. Just looking at the ads is already money in the pocket for TinyURL.

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zeurois

15 years ago

The button is visible for any visitor, so yea, any visitor can tweet your blog

Originally Posted by deskmonkey

@zeurois: Try adding new features to your plugin to keep people interested in it. Tracking stats would be good if you could manage it. By the way, does the plugin only send tweets as the blog owner (ie. through the blog owner's account)? If it does, try adding in some functionality that would allow visitors to tweet the blog post/page (similar to how there are addons that allow visitors to send posts/pages to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.). There's probably more that you can do with your plugin. If you can, try to build a community around it where you can get feedback from the users (eg. feature requests, etc).

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meta-blogger

15 years ago

i always figured that they monitor expired domains that they link too, and if they go down they could replace em with an affiliate link of their own that was similar to the expired domain.

i know i have a few hundred that expired in one service, that they could easily reclaim and send to a matching affiliate product of their choosing

but i don't think they do that.

they might also snipe up domains when they expire and flip em - they could buy them anonymously and sell em back to the owner or highest bidder

disclaimer: not saying that thee sites do this, but i could see it happening

also they could put a banner ad right at the top of their home page, and sell banner
space.

personally i have a traffic exchange that gets tons of hits, i slapped a script on their that rotates several banner exchanges - and i earn credits all day in several banner networks - which i use to promote banners for my traffic exchange.(it's like recycling,
and i only show one exchange at a time, so it's not distracting, an definitely not a banner farm, lol)

= )

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charlesburke

15 years ago

So what would YOU do if you decided to try siphoning off some of tinyurl's market share and also wanted to assure your reputation stayed squeaky clean and ethical?

Cheers, Charles

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GarrieWilson

15 years ago

*possible* ways to profit from TinyURL type systems.

1. Paying members can change the destination URL.
2. Paying members get stats about hits.
3. Paying members get super short urls
4. Paying members can cloak and use real words. (Could also sell words)
5. Collect and sell statistical data
6. Cookie people for ad networks that promote across sites. (if the destination is about X you set a cookie saying so and display ads across sites related to X.)
7. Developer api access
8. links that die, redirect to CPAs or something related or sell hits
9. Sell T-shirts, mouse pads, etc.

Just a few off the top of my head...

Garrie

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zeurois

15 years ago

Originally Posted by GarrieWilson

*possible* ways to profit from TinyURL type systems.

1. Paying members can change the destination URL.
2. Paying members get stats about hits.
3. Paying members get super short urls
4. Paying members can cloak and use real words. (Could also sell words)
5. Collect and sell statistical data
6. Cookie people for ad networks that promote across sites. (if the destination is about X you set a cookie saying so and display ads across sites related to X.)
7. Developer api access
8. links that die, redirect to CPAs or something related or sell hits
9. Sell T-shirts, mouse pads, etc.

Just a few off the top of my head...

Garrie

Half of them ... I didn't even think of. Thanks!

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1RisingStar

15 years ago

Garrie,

That's pretty smart. I didn't think of those.
Your ideas would work a lot better that what tinyurl has setup now. I've never clicked on any ad on their site before.

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charlesburke

15 years ago

Garrie,

Great sideways thinking! And with your mention of collecting and selling stats, I vaguely recall reading something a couple years ago about one or another of the URL shortening services selling their records to an ad research databse. That sound like it fits? Or just somebody's wild guess?

Cheers, Charles

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zeurois

15 years ago

I already started pimpin` my database.

I'll provide stats shortly and I'll start collecting all client data (ie screen resolution, ip, country, etc)

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commerce cat

15 years ago

I heard bit.ly is the biggest redirecter now (Twitter uses them). Can't see how that makes any money.

Maybe they are waiting to be bought out by someone big. Or maybe they were started by someone big and have lots of cash to burn.

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Dave777

15 years ago

Originally Posted by commerce cat

I heard bit.ly is the biggest redirecter now (Twitter uses them). Can't see how that makes any money.

Maybe they are waiting to be bought out by someone big. Or maybe they were started by someone big and have lots of cash to burn.

Definitely some Big bucks involved! Time will tell us the rest of the story once Twitter figures out their own monetization mystery...

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/06...url-for-bitly/

Dave

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GarrieWilson

15 years ago

zeurois,

A few more things you could do...

1. When people create URLs, let them choose a category and write a 2-4 sentence description. Then take that data and create a directory so you can display ads on it. You could let this be a pay feature or let people pay for higher listings.

2. When collecting stats, record *everything*. IP, time, browser, resolution, if they have visited the link before, and anything else possible. Then you can take the data and parse it for each link owner and to provide overall stats for the domain and other data.

With 1 & 2, you could even use it for research to find out what products/categories are hot and start a site that gives niche topics or even products.

You could also start using the data to see which products are getting a lot of traffic and sell the information to affilite marketers.

Example: X people make affiliate links for product Y and you count the clicks of all the links to see how popular it is. Then create one for yourself.

3. Allow free links to only live X time and paye ones for ever.

Before you do a lot of this, you should contact a developer and get people using the service in their programs. Pay them a small fee to add it in if needed.

Garrie

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zeurois

15 years ago

Hey

#1 Another great response from you

#2 that's what I'll do

#3 most sites don't kill links at all

#4 I started a separate thread to find out the most popular sharing plugins/widgets so I can contact the owners to include a redirect through my site

Originally Posted by GarrieWilson

zeurois,

A few more things you could do...

1. When people create URLs, let them choose a category and write a 2-4 sentence description. Then take that data and create a directory so you can display ads on it. You could let this be a pay feature or let people pay for higher listings.

2. When collecting stats, record *everything*. IP, time, browser, resolution, if they have visited the link before, and anything else possible. Then you can take the data and parse it for each link owner and to provide overall stats for the domain and other data.

With 1 & 2, you could even use it for research to find out what products/categories are hot and start a site that gives niche topics or even products.

You could also start using the data to see which products are getting a lot of traffic and sell the information to affilite marketers.

Example: X people make affiliate links for product Y and you count the clicks of all the links to see how popular it is. Then create one for yourself.

3. Allow free links to only live X time and paye ones for ever.

Before you do a lot of this, you should contact a developer and get people using the service in their programs. Pay them a small fee to add it in if needed.

Garrie

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onera

15 years ago

I don't know about tinyurl but bit.ly is using semantic analysis of every page that goes through its system using Reuters' Open Calais api. It will be able to create meme tracker, geo spatial information, etc. and sell those information to web research farms. It will be able create trend management software using millions of pages that are posted in Twitter. Bit.ly has only 12% market share but its adoption by Twitter will propel it to a higher market share.

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GarrieWilson

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Traffic-Bug

Once they get traffic and user base, they just sell the whole outfit, thats the business model.

No it's not. *Some* sites do that but not the major sites that have been around for years.

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Sean Kelly

15 years ago

Creating a TinyUrl clone is the easy part, finding a host that will not boot you is the tough part.

I got booted from 5 hosting companies (GoDaddy, Servage, iWeb and 2 others I dont remember the names of) for running a url shortening service. Believe it or not people report YOUR SITE for spam when spammers send email containing one of your shortened links.

A while back I even contacted the hosting provider of TinyUrl (based in the Netherlands) and they weren't interested in hosting another url shortening service since they are already bombarded with spam complaints for TinyUrl.

Sean

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Morten_Madsen

Banned 15 years ago

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seasoned

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Morten_Madsen

That's called - getting your own server

I have my own server, and I pay $300 per month, If they report me for spam, well to bad, because it's my server.. Then they could go to court with this, but they will not be able to win, because it's not spam.. Easy stuff

Morten

NO IT ISN'T!!!!!!!! Getting your ******OWN******* server is near impossible, and costs a LOT more than $300/month!!

FIRST: you need the computer. A good one, EVEN TODAY may cost over $400!
SECOND: you need a DEDICATED connection! Does anyone know how much THEY cost now!?
THIRD: it is probably a good idea to get an IP address. They do NOT come cheap!
FOURTH: the routing! OK, who does that?

SURE, you may talk of how such and such ISP offers a DEDICATED server! KEY WORD? SERVER!

What about the CONNECTION!?!? You say it is "your server". OK, MAYBE! Technically NOT true, but let's say it is. The connection is THEIRS! The IPs are THEIRS! THEY may not want the hassle! If the connection is affected, their business goes down the drain. IPs are expensive, and everyone wants a clean one.

SURE, you may say so and so ISP offers them for $.50/month. There's that lease idea again! Look at what they charge for the smallest group: X-small $1,250 smaller than /20

$1250 a year!

And THEN you have to get the connecting company to allow the traffic and route to you.

As for spam, how do you prove you aren't spamming? A LOT of people hack to send spam that uses another system to get income.

BTW YOU would likely have to take THEM to court and win. Your ISP could shut you down if there is a complaint. Heck, some here speak of a complaint to a registry shutting them down. But avoiding that costs even MORE. 8-(

Steve

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Sean Kelly

15 years ago

Not sure what you're talking about Morten.. the iWeb server I had WAS a dedicated server.

People report you for spam to your hosting provider - they shut you down - even on a dedicated server. You should read you're hosting company's terms of service, I bet there is an anti-spam clause in there.

If what you said was true you could get a dedicated server, pose as somebody from China and send all the spam you like. Seriously, your hosting provider will NOT sit back and do nothing when they receive spam complaints about you - dedicated server or otherwise.

I wish it was as easy as you say

Sean

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Sean Kelly

15 years ago

Hi Morten, thats the whole problem.. people report YOU for spam even though you are not spamming. They see your link in the spam and assume it is you.

Get enough people reporting you for spam and your hosting provider suddenly gets nervous. You can show them your site, prove you're not sending spam, explain to them exactly what is going on and it makes no difference..

..well it made no difference for me, perhaps you might have more success than I did.

I had this happen with 5 different hosting companies..

Sean

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Anthony J Namata

15 years ago

I think it is the simplest of business models that make money. Nothing fancy, no hard selling, just keep-it-simple-stupid kinda stuff that cuts the mustard online. So I'm sure they ARE making money from right under our noses.

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andrewell

15 years ago

Hey Charles. It's a good question, google ads I think can really ad up. How about twitter? How do they plan to monetize that, get bought out by google..

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Guttu

15 years ago

Great topic. I was always curious about how tinyurl earns when they don't use any frames while redirecting.

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CDarklock

15 years ago

Originally Posted by charlesburke

I mean, they have google ads on the page, and they have a PayPal donate button. But how much cash can those two generate?

My wife has known Kevin for years, so she's just gone and asked him via email.

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How the Heck Does TinyURL.com Make Money?

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