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Short URLs are exactly what they say on the tin, shorter URLs than their former lengthy URLs.
There are plenty of services that can shorten URLs such as Bitly, Rebrandly and Short.io.
You can even run your own URL shortener if you have PHP webspace with an open-source project called YOURLS. If you want a more lightweight flat-file (no MySQL database required) experience, I have a few different scripts on my GitHub.
The main benefit to using short URLs is efficiency. If you are putting your links on physical media such as posters and flyers, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to visit your page.
Another reason is some social media websites like Twitter limit the number of characters you can use for a post, so shorting your URLs is mandatory.
Most URL shortening services allow you to use your own domain or subdomain to shorten URLs, so you maintain good brand visibility.
Finally, some services also come with extra features such as link analytics (so you can see how many people are visiting your link etc...), QR code creation, password protection of links and the ability to set a link expiry date.