Why are bit.ly and ow.ly links showing up as Inbound Links?

[txwildcard]

Hello!

I noticed this question was asked a while back (around 2013 i think), but I still don't quite understand why I'm seeing these shortened URLs come up as Inbound Links?

Can someone please explain?

Thanks,
Carlos

[TimHolmes]

This is because these shortened links are being redirected from an external/3rd party website and are in effect a backlink. They are in most cases a 301 or 302 redirect from an external site to yours.

Hope that helps.

[txwildcard]

That was helpful. Thanks Tim!

Since it's ow.ly links though, do you know if it's possible for these backlinks to come directly from social media?