Watch Step By Step Video Tutorial Below





1. Accessing Pabbly Connect for URL Shortening

To start using Pabbly Connect for shortening URLs, first access the platform by visiting pabby.com/connect. This is where you can create automated workflows that link Google Sheets and Bitly.

If you are a new user, simply sign up for free. You will receive 100 free tasks, allowing you to test this automation setup without any cost. Once logged in, you will reach the Pabbly Connect dashboard where you can create your workflow.

2. Creating the Workflow in Pabbly Connect

Inside Pabbly Connect, you will create a new workflow with two main components: a trigger and an action. The trigger will activate when a new URL is added to Google Sheets.

  • Select Google Sheets as your trigger application.
  • Choose the event as ‘New Updated Spreadsheet Row’.
  • Click on the connect button to generate a webhook URL.

Copy this webhook URL and proceed to your Google Sheets to set up the integration. This connection is vital for automating the URL shortening process.

3. Setting Up Google Sheets for Integration

Open your Google Sheets and go to Extensions > Add-ons > Get Add-ons. Search for the Pabbly Connect Webhooks add-on and install it. This will allow Google Sheets to communicate with Pabbly Connect.

After installation, refresh your spreadsheet. Then, go back to Extensions > Pabbly Connect Webhooks and select ‘Initial Setup’. Here, you will need to paste the webhook URL you copied earlier and specify the trigger column, which will be Column A.

  • Paste the webhook URL in the designated field.
  • Set the trigger column to Column A.

Submit the setup to confirm that it has been configured successfully. This setup allows Pabbly Connect to capture data from your Google Sheets automatically.

4. Shortening URLs Using Bitly in Pabbly Connect

Next, you will add an action step in your workflow to shorten the URL using Bitly. In Pabbly Connect, select Bitly as your action application and choose the event as ‘Shorten Link’.

Click the connect button to link your Bitly account. After logging in, you will need to map the long URL from the previous step into the Bitly action. This mapping ensures that the data flows seamlessly from Google Sheets to Bitly for URL shortening.

  • Select the group in Bitly where you want the shortened links to be stored.
  • Map the long URL from the previous response into the Bitly action.

Once the mapping is complete, click on ‘Save and Send Test Request’ to generate the short link. The short link will then be available for use in your Google Sheets.

After generating the short link, the final step is to update your Google Sheets with this new information. In Pabbly Connect, add another action step and select Google Sheets again, this time choosing ‘Update Cell Value’ as the event.

Connect your Google Sheets account again, and specify the spreadsheet and sheet where you want to update the data. For the range, enter “Column B” to indicate where the short links will be placed.

  • Select the spreadsheet containing your long URLs.
  • Map the short link from the previous step to Column B.

Click on ‘Send Test Request’ to update your Google Sheets. You will see the short link automatically populated in the designated cell.

Conclusion

This tutorial demonstrates how to use Pabbly Connect to automate the process of shortening long URLs using Google Sheets and Bitly. By following these steps, you can efficiently convert multiple URLs into short links without any manual effort.