What are go links?
In most companies, finding an internal document starts with asking someone: “Do you have the link?” What follows is a search through Slack messages, the intranet, browser bookmarks, or the last email where somebody shared it weeks ago.
Go links solve this by replacing long internal URLs with short, readable addresses that an entire team can share.
How go links work
A go link is a short URL that redirects to a longer destination. Instead of https://confluence.acme.com/display/HR/PTO-Request-2026-v3-final, someone types go/pto into their browser and lands directly on the right page.
The idea comes from software engineering. Google introduced an internal system in 2006 where employees could type go/ followed by a keyword to reach internal resources. Since then, many tech companies have adopted the concept, and there are now tools that make it available to teams outside Big Tech.
Under the hood, it’s a redirect service: the go link points to a stable short address, and the actual destination URL gets resolved in the background. If the destination changes (because a document moves to a new system), only the redirect gets updated. The go link itself stays the same.
Why not just use bookmarks?
Bookmarks are personal. They exist only in one person’s browser and are invisible to the rest of the team. When someone leaves the company, their bookmarks leave with them.
Go links are the opposite: a shared resource. When someone sets up go/onboarding, everyone on the team can use that link. Over time, this creates a shared vocabulary for the most important resources in the company.
The difference shows up during onboarding. Instead of a list of raw URLs that may become outdated, new hires can get a small set of maintained go links such as go/handbook, go/orgchart, and go/benefits.
Common use cases
Go links become useful wherever teams regularly access the same resources.
HR sets up go/pto, go/expenses, and go/payroll, giving new hires a stable answer when they need those forms.
Product teams use go/roadmap, go/metrics, or go/retro. Before every meeting, someone types the link and has the right page open without first searching through Confluence, Notion, or Jira.
IT creates go/vpn, go/password, and go/ticket. This can reduce routine requests when employees use the self-service pages.
For locations without fixed PC workstations, go links can be printed as QR codes. A code in the break room points to go/schedule, and anyone who scans it with their phone lands on the current plan.
Dynamic go links
Some go link systems support placeholders in the URL. Instead of creating a separate link for every Jira ticket, you create one dynamic link: go/jira {ticket-id}. Typing go/jira ABC-123 takes you straight to the ticket.
This works with any tool that has a predictable URL structure: issue trackers, wikis, dashboards, client folders. One link, many destinations.
Geo and device routing
In international companies, a single go link can redirect to different destinations depending on location or device.
go/payroll sends employees in Germany to the German payroll portal and US employees to their provider. go/download opens the App Store on iPhones and Google Play on Android. The namespace stays clean: one link per topic, regardless of where or how someone works.
Limits
Go links don’t replace a search engine. If someone doesn’t know whether a go link exists, they have to find it first. The bigger the link library, the more important good search within the system becomes.
They also don’t replace document management. Go links don’t manage versions, access rights, or content. They’re signposts, not storage.
And they only work if someone maintains them. A go link pointing to a page that was deleted six months ago is worse than no link at all, because it erodes trust in the system.
What makes or breaks them
Two recurring factors affect whether go links become part of a team’s habits: naming and maintenance.
First: naming. Go links need to be intuitive. go/pto works, go/hr-form-pto-2026-v2 doesn’t. The team should be able to guess the link without having to look it up.
Second: maintenance. Someone needs to keep the links current. Repeated dead links erode trust in the system.