Is it worth having a URL shortener domain?

[ryan29]

Is it worth having a domain dedicated to URL shortening? I'm asking in the context of usage, not resale, and figured some people around here might have some insight in terms of branding, SEO, analytics, etc..

As an example, say I own the domain slimcape.com. The one I'm wondering about is similar. I currently own sca.pe and could register slimca.pe if I wanted. I'm trying to decide if either is worth $50 USD per year and which of the two would be better. I'm also interested in any opinions on whether or not using a ccTLD like that is detrimental. In my case, my domain ends in pe, so .pe is that actual ccTLD I'm wondering about.

The main thing I'm trying to figure out is if I'd regret dropping the equivalent of sca.pe.

 

[iAdam]

The only reason you need a url shortener if you have an established website/platform and your audience does lot of content sharing. Big players use them like t .co for twitter, g.co for google etc.

 

[inforg]

In your hypothetical, I may keep sca.pe but not the other. In this scenario the main domain isn't ridiculously long, so I don't think you need a short one. You could use it for social media advertising links, but really not necessary or adding much value.

 

[HotKey]

In a case like yours I'd say just do it and find out, no one can really direct you on regrets or not when it comes to personal use. I will add over years I've had plenty of these kind of vanity shorteners used for (but not as) my developed sites and have kept maybe 1% of them. Most people won't remember them, they remember the actual site.

I have a handful of 2-character ccTLDs that I use myself just for quick navigation to my real sites. No regrets there.

If you're going to do something else with the url shortener such as make tools or even eventually develop it as a stand-alone that's a different story.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Have it as your side domain name but not your main one. Domain hacks, as they are called, are good but I do not think they ever take place of a good .COM. Keep it as an alternate option.