How to Make Money by Shortening Links: A Simple Guide

Shortening links isn’t just useful when you want to turn a long link into a short, easy-to-share one; there are also some services that let you earn money from people who visit the links you shorten.

The concept is very simple: you create a shortened link using a link-shortening service, then share that link with others. When someone clicks on the link and goes through an ad page or a waiting page, you earn revenue based on the site’s system, the number of visits, and their source.

But before you get started, you should know that earnings aren’t fixed; they vary depending on the visitor’s country, the number of visits, the type of ads, and other factors.

How Do Link-Shortening Services Work?

Let’s say you have a long link to a specific article, file, or page. Instead of sharing the original link, you can enter it into a link-shortening service. The service will then provide you with a new, shorter link. When someone clicks on it, they’ll be redirected to the desired page after going through the steps specified by the service.

A quick note: Your link doesn’t have to be long, by the way, you can shorten it even if it’s short. The whole point of the process is to get a new link that generates revenue when you promote it.

TMEarn: An Example of Earning Money by Shortening Links

One of the services you can try in this field is TMEarn, a link-shortening service that allows you to earn money from the traffic your shortened links generate.

The concept is simple: you create an account, shorten the link you want to share, and then post the shortened link wherever you get traffic.

Create your free TMEarn account and start earning

For example, if you have a website, a Facebook page, a Telegram channel, or an account on a social media platform, you can share the shortened links with your audience—provided that the content you provide is useful and you follow the rules of the platform you’re using.

What I like about this method is that you don’t need to create your own product or deal with sales and shipping. You simply capitalize on the traffic you’re already getting.

But there’s one very important point: don’t expect to make significant profits from just a few visits. If you want a substantial income, you need a good, consistent source of traffic.

How Much Can You Earn with TMEarn?

One thing worth looking at before using any link-shortening service is the payout rate. With TMEarn, the amount you can earn depends largely on the country your visitors come from.

For example, the current rates listed by TMEarn are $20 per 1,000 views for visitors from the Netherlands, $15 for Iceland, $11 for the United States, $10 for the United Kingdom and Sweden, and $9 for Canada.

Other countries have different rates. Germany and the United Arab Emirates are currently listed at $8 per 1,000 views, while France, Singapore, and Spain are listed at $7. Romania is currently listed at $4 per 1,000 views, while the worldwide rate is $3.20 per 1,000 views.

These rates can change, so it’s always better to check the official TMEarn payout rates page before calculating your potential earnings.

A Simple Example of How the Earnings Can Add Up

Let’s say you have a Telegram channel where you share useful tools, applications, files, or articles, and you manage to generate 1,000 qualifying views from visitors in the United States.

Based on the current listed rate, that traffic could generate around $11. If you managed to generate the same number of views from visitors in the Netherlands, the listed rate is currently $20.

Now imagine that you generate 5,000 qualifying views from US visitors in a month. At the current listed rate of $11 per 1,000 views, that would be around $55.

Of course, this is only a simple example based on the published rates. You should not consider it a guaranteed income, because the actual amount depends on the traffic and the conditions applied by the service.

This is why I think the most important part of this method isn’t creating shortened links; it’s having a real source of visitors.

How Do You Get Paid?

Another thing I personally look at before using an earning platform is the available withdrawal methods. TMEarn supports several payment options, including PayPal, USDT, Bitcoin, Skrill, bank transfer, and Payoneer.

The minimum payout is $5, which means you don’t need to reach a very large balance before requesting a withdrawal.

TMEarn also has a payment proof page where the platform publishes payment records showing the date, amount, and payment method.

For example, the payment records currently displayed include payments through Bitcoin, PayPal, Skrill, and USDT, with several payments around the $5 minimum and others reaching higher amounts. This gives you an easy way to see the payment activity published by the platform instead of simply taking its word for it.

Keep in mind that payment proofs are examples of payments made to users and are not a guarantee that every user will earn the same amount.

Where Can You Share Shortened Links?

If you want to try this method, the most important thing is to have a source of visitors.

For example, you can share links on:

• Your website or blog.
• A Telegram channel.
• Social media pages.
• Forums that allow link sharing.
• Communities that allow this type of content.

Content you publish online can also include shortened links, as long as the shortened link is actually related to what you’re offering and is appropriate and allowed on the platform.

For example, if you’re writing an article about a specific tool, you can include a shortened link to the tool or file if it’s appropriate and allowed.

Is Making Money from Link Shortening Worth a Try?

If you already have an audience or a source of traffic, trying link shortening might be a good way to earn some extra income from the traffic you receive.

However, if you don’t have any source of traffic, don’t expect the service to bring visitors to you on its own. You’ll first need to create content, build an audience, or find a legitimate way to generate traffic.

Personally, I think the best approach is to integrate link shortening with an existing project—such as a website, YouTube channel, or social media page with followers—rather than creating dozens of links and waiting for people to click on them.

Ultimately, link shortening can be a simple way to generate additional income, but the number of visits and their source are almost the most important factors, so don’t view it as a get-rich-quick scheme.