Bit.ly Baits Enterprise Customers with Analytics Dashboard
Popular link-shortening service Bit.ly (news, site) is aiming to attract some enterprise-y attention after Twitter (news, site) quit using it as its default service. The attempt comes in the form of a new analytics dashboard, which allows Web publishers to track the distribution of their links on a per-story basis: 

 

bit.ly_dashboard.jpg
Bit.ly Dashboard

The dashboard allows publishers to analyze the popularity of their articles in a couple of ways-- either by the number of times links are clicked, or how links are being shared. This way, users can determine whether the bulk of page views for a particular story came from sites like Facebook, or Twitter. 

Learning Opportunities

Yahoo!

Twitter might be less than interested in Bit.ly's capabilities these days, but rumor has it that Yahoo! (news, site) has other things in mind for the little link shortener. The company has been on somewhat of an acquisition streak lately, and there's been some talk about their interest in Bit.ly. Both Google and Twitter previously showed interest in acquisition, but Bit.ly's price tag of US$ 100 million seemed to be a bit steep. 

Speaking of high prices, Bit.ly’s new enterprise services are offered to high-traffic websites only, and cost US$ 995 a month. If you're willing to shell out the dough for a pro account, make sure you come back and tell us how well the dashboard works.