IMPORTANT: It appears shorte.st is potentially scamming its users by withholding payments without any updates. Because of this, we will be removing all links to their site and advising everyone stop using their service immediately.

What is Shorte.st?

Shorte.st is a paid URL shortener that pays the user every time someone clicks on their links. It works likes this, advertisers pay Shorte.st to promote their stuff, you shrink a long URL such as: “http://incomeredefined.com/adfly-review-make-money-sharing-links” to “http://clkmein.com/qP0cgB“. Then you share the link and once it’s clicked, the advertisement is shown and you get paid a certain amount depending on where they live. If you’re interested, Sign Up Here.

Shorte.st Features

Shorte.st Tools

Quick Link: Easily shrink a link without needing to be logged in.
Mass Shrinker: Shrink up to 20 URLs at a time.
API: For developers to easily integrate link shrinking into their applications and other projects.
WordPress Plugin: An easy way to monetize links on your WordPress Site.
Dlvr.it Integration: Automatically publish links to your content with a short link.

Ad-Blocker Visitor Customization

You can select how you’d like to handle visitors who use ad-blocking software and visit your links. At this time, there are three options: Light (asks user to disable ad-block), Moderate (2x wait time) and Heavy (blocks access to destination).

 Detailed Statistics

Shorte.st gives its users detailed statistics that are updated quite frequently. You can switch between viewing your link stats, referral stats or website script stats.

Automatic Payouts

Get paid once your earnings reach the minimum withdrawal amount for the payment processor you’ve chosen.

 Referrals

You get 20% of every referral’s earnings for life. They also offer referral banners for you to use on your website/blog/pages.

Payout Rates

Payout rates for URL shorteners are usually mainly based on Unique VisitorsMeaning one person can't count as a unique visitor more than once per day, no matter how many links they visit. Some URL shorteners have shorter/longer waiting periods before counting the returning visitor as unique again., Visitor’s LocationURL shorteners payout based on that visitor's country and rates will vary from site to site., Ad-BlockersVisitors that use ad-blocking software may impact your earnings as some URL shorteners do not count their views., Advertiser Specs/OrdersSome URL shorteners, such as Adf.ly, allow advertisers to customize their orders which can increase/decrease how much you will earn. Also, your earnings will depend on how many advertisers they have using their service for promotion. and some other factors. Each URL shortener may handle these factors/policies differently which means your earnings could vary greatly from one URL shortening service to another. As a general rule-of-thumb, you should expect to earn around $0.60 – $2.00 per 1000 views for most URL shorteners. But it is very possible to earn hundreds of dollars from URL shorteners with enough work and effort.

*rates shown above are for every 1000 unique visitors*

You can view all of their rates Here. The rates shown above may have changed since writing this, so be sure and check them for yourself.

Payment Methods

1. PayPal (Minimum: $5.00)

2. Payoneer (Minimum: $20.00)

3. WebMoney (Minimum: $5.00)

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Has some of the highest payout rates I’ve seen, assuming they’re accurate.
• Very easy to sign-up and use.
• Website looks nice.
• Good explanations/descriptions for their tools.
• Video tutorials for many things that new users may need help with.
• Has a somewhat active forums.
• Site comes in 3 languages.
• Able to customize settings on handling ad-blockers.
• New features being added occasionally keeping the site feeling fresh and alive.

Cons:

• Forums seems to be flooded with quite a lot of spam and could use some moderation + color scheme changes.
• Severe lack of any link customization, you can’t opt to simply shrink the link without ads, etc.
• Missing some features that would be very nice, such as folders for link organization.

Conclusion

Shorte.st is a fine choice when it comes to URL shorteners. They are updating the site, adding in new features and customization which is always nice to see. Their rates are very high compared to other URL shorteners. I don’t believe you should expect to earn this amount or anywhere close to it, especially if you’re just starting out. I recommend you give them a try and see if the results/rates work for you.

Getting Started

1. You’ll need to create an Shorte.st account, click here to register.
2. Now figure out what kind of links you will be shrinking and how you plan on sharing them. Example: you can shrink links to a funny video or picture and post that link on your social media accounts.
3. Paste the long URL in the appropriate area and hit “SHORTEN”. Copy and share the link to start earning.
4. (Optional) Shrink your Shorte.st link with another URL shortener such as Bit.ly to hide that your link is a Shorte.st link – increasing the amount of clicks you’ll receive.

Sign Up Here