Google has had its own URL shortener for some time. It just didn’t make it available for general use. It was always attached to various Google products. That changes now, as Google has given it is own site at goo.gl. It’s called simply, Google URL Shortener. 

"We don’t intend to overload goo.gl with features, but we do want it to be the stablest, most secure, and fastest URL shortener on the web," says Google software engineer Muthu Muthusrinivasan. 

"There are many shorteners out there with great features, so some people may wonder whether the world really needs yet another. As we said late last year, we built goo.gl with a focus on quality. With goo.gl, every time you shorten a URL, you know it will work, it will work fast, and it will keep working. You also know that when you click a goo.gl shortened URL, you’re protected against malware, phishing and spam using the same industry-leading technology we use in search and other products."

Google says that since the service was first launched, they have invested in stability, security, and speed. 

As pictured above, the service keeps track of the URLs you shorten, providing both versions of the URL, when it was created, the number of clicks its gotten, and other analytics.