Hootsuite Link Shortener (Ow.ly): What Happened and What to Use Instead

If you used Hootsuite for social media management, you probably remember Ow.ly — the built-in link shortener that automatically shortened URLs in your scheduled posts. Hootsuite retired Ow.ly, leaving many social media managers looking for alternatives.

In this guide, we'll cover what happened to Ow.ly, what Hootsuite offers now, and the best alternatives for shortening and tracking links in your social media workflow.

Ow.ly was Hootsuite's proprietary link shortener, integrated directly into the Hootsuite dashboard. When you composed a post and added a URL, Hootsuite automatically shortened it to an ow.ly link.

Key features included:

• Automatic shortening when composing posts
• Basic click tracking within Hootsuite analytics
• Free for all Hootsuite users
• Bundled — no separate setup needed

Hootsuite deprecated Ow.ly as part of a broader product simplification. The reasons likely included:

• Maintenance costs of running a link shortening infrastructure
• Limited features compared to dedicated shorteners
• Platform support for native link tracking making Ow.ly redundant
• Focus shift toward analytics and content management features

Hootsuite now uses standard URLs or integrates with third-party shorteners.

Hootsuite still provides some link management:

• Link tracking through UTM parameters
• Third-party integrations with shorteners like Bitly
• Analytics that track link clicks through Hootsuite's own measurement

However, the seamless one-click shortening of Ow.ly is gone. If you want short, branded links with detailed tracking, you need a dedicated tool.

Linkly is a full-featured link shortener built for marketers:

• Custom domains — use your own brand instead of a generic shortener domain
• Detailed analytics — clicks, geography, devices, referrers, and more
• UTM parameter management — auto-append tracking parameters
• Retargeting pixels — add Facebook, TikTok, and Google pixels to any link
• Link rotation — A/B test different landing pages
• QR codes — generate trackable QR codes for any link
• API access — automate link creation from your tools

Linkly works alongside any social media scheduler, not just Hootsuite.

Bitly is the most well-known shortener. It integrates with Hootsuite directly. However, Bitly's free tier is limited, and custom domains require a paid plan. See our Bitly comparison for details.

Some social platforms now shorten links automatically (Twitter/X uses t.co, for example). However, you lose tracking control and can't use branded domains.

Here's how to replace Ow.ly with a better workflow:

Set up a custom domain for your short links. Something like go.yourbrand.com or yourbrand.link.

Instead of relying on auto-shortening in your scheduler:

1. 1Create your short link in Linkly
2. 2Add any UTM parameters or tracking pixels
3. 3Copy the short link
4. 4Paste it into Hootsuite (or any scheduler) when composing your post

View click analytics in Linkly's dashboard to see:

• Which posts drive the most clicks
• What times get the most engagement
• Which platforms perform best
• Geographic breakdown of your audience

The key advantage is platform independence. If you switch from Hootsuite to Buffer, Sprout Social, or any other tool, your links and analytics stay intact.

While there's no direct Hootsuite plugin, you can integrate Linkly with your social media workflow through:

• Linkly's API — automate link creation from any tool
• Zapier — connect Linkly to Hootsuite and hundreds of other apps
• Browser extension — quickly shorten links while browsing

Ow.ly's retirement is actually an opportunity to upgrade your link management. A dedicated shortener gives you branded domains, detailed analytics, retargeting capabilities, and platform independence that Ow.ly never offered.

Ready to upgrade from Ow.ly? Get started with Linkly and get branded short links with comprehensive click tracking for all your social media campaigns.