Google has made a significant change regarding its goo.gl link-shortening service, a platform that has been helping users share and track links since 2009. Originally slated for shutdown in August 2025, this move was met with backlash from users and industry experts. The concern? Millions of links would turn into “dead” URLs, creating what’s known as “link rot,” leading to errors for those relying on these links for marketing, SEO, and social media. However, after reevaluating the impact, Google has backtracked on its decision and is now adopting a more thoughtful approach to preserving these links. In this post, we’ll explore how this decision affects you and how to check if your goo.gl links are safe.
The Original Plan for goo.gl Shutdown
Back in 2024, Google announced its intention to shut down goo.gl by August 2025. For users of short links, especially in marketing and SEO efforts, this was a massive issue. The goo.gl service allowed anyone to shorten long URLs into concise links that could be easily shared and tracked. It was particularly useful when character limits were a consideration (remember the old Twitter days?).
But, as with many things in tech, change often comes with unintended consequences. For those who had relied on goo.gl links for over a decade, the abrupt removal of the service could have resulted in hundreds of millions of dead links, a nightmare for anyone trying to access archived content or for businesses with links embedded in websites, emails, and social media posts.
Why Google Backtracked
Following the backlash from industry experts and developers, Google recognized the potential fallout. James Foote, technical director at Polaris Agency, shared with PCMag that if developers failed to update their URLs, this would lead to over 280 million dead links, significantly affecting the usability and search ranking of content across the internet.
This situation, often referred to as “link rot,” could have meant broken links across countless documents, videos, posts, and more. Not only would this negatively impact the user experience, but it would also create what Google referred to as a “low-value computational cost” for the company. Simply put, maintaining a sea of dead links would be counterproductive for everyone involved, including Google.
To address these concerns, Google decided to change its course. Instead of shutting down all goo.gl links, they chose a more targeted approach to preserve the ones that are actively being used.
The New Approach: Active Links Preserved
Under the new plan, links that are actively being used will continue to function, while those that show no activity will be deactivated in August 2025. This means that if you’ve been actively using a goo.gl link in your content, there’s a good chance it will be preserved. For those who have outdated links that have gone unnoticed, Google will remove them, which helps eliminate the problem of link rot.
How to Check if Your goo.gl Link Will Be Preserved
If you’re wondering whether your goo.gl link will survive the upcoming shutdown, it’s simple to check. All you need to do is click the link. If it redirects you to a message saying, “This link will no longer work in the near future,” then it will be deactivated on August 25, 2025. If you’re not seeing this message, rest assured that your link will remain active.
For users who have a large number of goo.gl links, it may be worth investing some time into checking each one, especially if they’re important for your marketing efforts or SEO.
What You Can Do
- Click and Verify: Check all your goo.gl links by clicking on them to see if they redirect to the deactivation message. If they do, now’s the time to update or replace them before the deadline.
- Consider Alternatives: If you have links that will be deactivated, now might be the time to migrate to another URL shortening service. Services like Bitly, TinyURL, and Rebrandly offer similar features and can help preserve the integrity of your content links.
- Update Your Archives: If you’ve embedded goo.gl links in emails, documents, social media, or blogs, make sure to replace them with active alternatives to avoid 404 errors and broken links.
Google’s backtracking on the complete shutdown of goo.gl is a welcome decision for many users who would have otherwise been left with dead links. While inactive links will be deactivated in August 2025, active links will be preserved. The key takeaway here is to proactively check your goo.gl links and make any necessary updates to avoid the negative effects of link rot. By staying ahead of this change, you can ensure that your links remain functional and continue to support your marketing and SEO goals.
