Google Websites Get Their Own Official URL Shortcut: g.co

URL shortening is defined as conversion of a long URL name into a short one. A website i.e., URL shortner creates a short Uniform Resource Locator (URL) from a long one so that the short version, which is easier to remember and share. Examples of URL shortening websites:

http://NotLong.com

http://bit.ly

http://qURL.com (Quick URL)

http://Shorl.com (Shorlify)

http://SnipURL.com

http://TinyURL.com

http://URLcut.com

http://yourls.org

Google announced the launch of a new URL-Shortener i.e “ g.co”

Google joins Internet biggies like Twitter currently has “t.co”, Overstock has “o.co” and Amazon has “a.co”, “ z.co” and “k.co” .Google is simplifying access to its growing collection of products and services with the acquisition of the URL shortcut “g.co.” Back in December 2009, Google launched its public URL shortener, goo.gl for public use.But as rightly said that in the world of URLs , bigger is not better.

The domain g.Co will be used for official Google use that is for use with Google products such as GMail, Documents, and Photos.The usage of domain is thatit will be used to create a shortcut for all its products and services using the format g.co/[xyzproduct/service] The company has confirmed the new shortcut domain but did not reveal the cost to acquire it, which is estimated to be at least $1.5 million.

However, g.co is quite different as it will only be linked to official Google-branded online portals. Even if you can’t tell which website you’re being redirected to, the link will only lead to sites owned by Google. Thus, it sort of legitimizes the link and makes it more trustworthy to the end user. Additionally, it just streamlines access to Google sites in general, especially when users want to share something quickly on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook and, of course, Google Plus. Having a shorter URL also makes it easier and cheaper when using URL addresses in advertisements.

The goo.gl shortcut that the company acquired back in 2009, will not be discarded. It will continue to be available to the public for use to shorten URLs across the web. The G.Co shortcuts, however, can only be created by Google themselves and will only point to products owned by Google.