Migration risk
An old account contains links still in use, duplicates, finished offers and sometimes printed QR codes. Before switching tools, export the inventory and identify addresses that must remain accessible. Take an agency moving a catalogue, newsletter and partner offer: these three links form a useful first batch for comparing destinations and paths. Keep original exports and click reports separately. Migration must start from the address visitors actually use, not just the link’s name in a table.
Safe migration
From Migration, your Bitly API token prepares a preview of the selected group. Choose a limit of 25, 50, 100 or 200 links: preparing this preview creates no short links. Review destinations, import mode and total row count. The screen may show only a sample, but confirmation covers all rows in the prepared batch. The preview limit is not extra capacity: account permissions and available link slots still apply. Start small and check results before starting the next batch.
Proof of control
Create only new links avoids updating existing links. Create or update by slug can change the destination of a link already in your account. Choose it only when that update is intended and you have kept the previous destination. After importing, review creation, update and error counts, then open the resulting links. A requested slug can be normalized or rejected: check the complete final address before assuming an old asset will continue to work.
Import a CSV export
For a Bitly, Short.io or Rebrandly file, open Short links, then CSV import, and choose the source and mode. You can attach the file or paste its content. This form imports on submission: it does not provide the same separate preview as the Bitly API workflow. Review a small file before submitting it. Check destination URLs and their UTM parameters, slugs and titles in the export. Import creates short links; it does not automatically rebuild your previous service’s rotation campaigns, rules or integrations.
Shared links and your own domain
A bit.ly address remains managed by Bitly even when its destination is imported into Linka Factory. The same applies to a shared domain owned by another provider: importing does not give you ownership. You create a new address to share or keep the old one with that provider. With a domain you own, prepare matching paths and destinations, check compatibility and plan the DNS cutover. Keep the old service available during propagation. A printed QR code needs the same complete address; the same slug on a new domain is not enough.
Measure after the transition
Import does not copy historical click counters. Archive the previous tool’s reports and record the cutover date to distinguish the two periods. In Linka Factory, new redirects feed link analytics; they remain subject to an active account, subscription and click quota. Compare clicks with your website’s visits and conversions rather than combining histories that measure different events. For a client handover, also keep a list of tested links and assets to replace.
Prepare the old inventory
Before importing, distinguish still-useful links, historical links, slugs to preserve and domains to reconnect. A successful migration cleans as much as it copies.
Validate with a sample
The best first test is a small representative batch: one public link, one QR, one domain, one campaign and one report. If that flow holds, the full migration becomes much safer.
What importing does not change
Importing copies links into your Linka Factory account; it does not rewrite redirects at Bitly, Short.io or Rebrandly. An address on their shared domain remains managed by that provider. To preserve an address on your own domain, prepare the DNS cutover and verify the same paths before disconnecting the old service.
