This article was published on May 28, 2015

Goo.gl shortened URLs can now direct users to your app or site


Goo.gl shortened URLs can now direct users to your app or site

Google announced today that links created using its goo.gl URL shortening service will direct users to the appropriate deep linked Android app, iOS app or site.

That’s good news for developers who want an easy way to guide users to content within their mobile apps, along with a fallback link to the same content on their websites, in case the app in question isn’t installed.

Zillow Side-by-side Google App Indexing Deep Links
Credit: Google

The feature works for newly created goo.gl URLs and existing ones, but of course you’ll need to have your app indexed by Google for it to work.

Developers can also take advantage of this capability by integrating the URL Shortener API in their apps, so that content shared by users also detects the recipient’s platform and directs them to the right app or site.

App deep linking with goo.gl [Google Webmaster Central Blog]

Read next: You can now build an open source browser based on Chrome for Android code

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