Earlier today, Google released a new site for the Goo.gl URL shortner, and although the actual shrotner has been around since last December, there are a few updates to pay attention to and take advantage of:

1. Extensions for Chrome and Firefox making sharing even easier. not officially designed by Google, but great add-ons that feature social integration.

2. Analytics within your Google Account. I’ve blogged before how simple Google makes my life, and I love how the URL analytics are tagged with your personal account keeping all of your data in one place. It should be really interesting to see how they add to this tool in coming months.

And my favorite addition brought to my attention by a friend of mine…

3. QR code availability. This may be by far the coolest feature I have seen. Simply adding “.qr” to the end of any code automatically translates the code into a QR barcode for you. See this example with my blog below:

As characters become prized realty, shorteners have become increasingly vital. It’s also important to note however, that they have not been without spam and virus issues. Do you think these features and the Google brand will help to launch it as a shortener of choice over ever popular bit.ly? What about for brand and client use?

Share your thoughts (and links) in the comments.