BudURL

Long URLs are the bane of most online business owners. The trouble with lengthy URLs is that they often break when sent via email, or you miss part of the URL when copying it from one place to another. Services that help you create short versions of URLs have existed for a number of years.  Rather than sending a URL that is 3 lines in length, for example, you simply go to one of the URL shortening services and create a very compact URL that will redirect the visitor to the site you wanted her to see. 

I've been a fan of another URL snipping service, SnipURL, for quite awhile, since that service permits you to keep track of all of your shortened URLs if you create an account there.  So, rather than continually recreating a shortened URL if you have occasion to make several references to a particular page on a site, you can simply log into you account and grab the shortened URL you've already created.

Now I've discovered an even more comprehensive service, BudURL.  Not only can you keep track of your shortened URLs, but you can also track the clickthroughs.  So, if have a long affiliate link, for example, that you want to promote, you could create an account at BudURL, get a shortened version of the affiliate link, and use that in your next email promo.  Then, log into your account to see referrers, click charts, and which cities, states, and countries drive your traffic. Create multiple BudURLs that point to the same destination so you can tell which source generates the best ROI.

You can begin with a fr*ee account, but you'll have to become a subscriber to track a larger number of URLs or access more detailed stats.

Start shrinking and tracking your URLs here.