April 11, 2009
Affiliate Link Cloaking: Frequently Asked Questions
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Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Affiliate link cloaking. Click on a question to jump down the page to the answer. What is affiliate link cloaking? What's the difference between affiliate link cloaking and affiliate link masking? Why do affiliate links need to be cloaked? What does an affiliate link look like? What does a cloaked affiliate link look like? There are at least three bad things that can happen to an affiliate link, what are they? Does the customer pay more for a product because they click on an affiliate link first? Is it unethical to cloak affiliate links? How do you cloak affiliate links? What are other terms used for affiliate link cloaking? How much does cloaking software cost? Which paid-for link cloaking software programs do you recommend? Which free link cloaking software programs do you recommend?
What is affiliate link cloaking? The simplest definition is to make an affiliate link not look like an affiliate link. Affiliate links are typically long and confusing looking. To cloak the link is to change its appearance to something more readable and understandable. The new link looks different than the original affiliate link but it takes you to the same place. What's the difference between affiliate link cloaking and affiliate link masking? The same difference as between a fiddle and a violin. None. Why do affiliate links need to be cloaked?
1. Affilate thieves know how to change an affiliate link to prevent the affiliate from receiving a commission check or to receive the money for themselves. 2. People who surf the Internet are becoming more wary about the links they click on. Links that are exceedingly long or confusing looking are suspect. This is the case with affiliate links, they are usually long and confusing looking. How do affiliate links work?
If a visitor to your site clicks on the magical affiliate link a small piece of code is written to their computer, this code is called a cookie. When they arrive at the affiliate website, the affiliate website can detect the cookie on the visitors computer and pay you your commission check should the visitor purchase the product. What does an affiliate link look like? An affiliate link is made up of two parts: The website url where a product is sold and the affiliate identification number at the end of the url. http://www.youraffiliatewebpage.com/?id=your-affiliate-id-number The purpose of the link is obvious. You want your visitor to click on the link in the hopes of making a commission income. What does a cloaked affiliate link look like? Affiliate link: http://www.youraffiliatewebpage.com/?t.cgi=23438297&p=2312 Cloaked Link: http://www.youraffiliatewebpage.com/recommends/cool-product.html The affiliate link and the cloaked link look different but produce the same result, route customers from your site to the affiliate site and embed a cookie on the customer's computer.
There are at least three bad things that can happen to an affiliate link, what are they?
All three of these examples results in your losing the commission check. Does the customer pay more for a product because they click on an affiliate link first? No. The person who clicks on the affiliate link at your site doesn't pay more for the product at the affiliate site. If the product they are interested in costs $20 it costs $20 whether they click on your affiliate link first or if they go directly to the affiliate site and purchase it without clicking on your affiliate link. Is it unethical to cloak affiliate links? People Against Cloaking: Some websites owners refuse to mask affiliate links, they even reveal the fact up front that some of the links on their site are affilate links. They are morally against it believing it is deceitful to use affiliate link cloaking. People For Cloaking: The people who are for link cloaking, cloak their links for the following reasons.
How do you cloak affiliate links? By using software programs. Unless you are unusually smart, then you could probably hand code it. The fastest and easiest way to learn how to cloak affiliate links is to watch my video "LinkCloak Review: How to Cloak Affiliate Links for Free". One way to earn an income online is to sell other people's products. What are other terms used for affiliate link cloaking?
All of these terms mean essentially the same thing. How much does cloaking software cost? Prices range from $19 – $97 Which paid-for link cloaking software program do you recommend? Super Affiliate Link Manager by Dustin Davis. Which free link cloaking software program do you recommend? From the same guy who created Super Affiliate Link Manager. Dustin provides a free online link cloaking service called LinkCloak that you can try out. It's the one that I demonstrate in my video on "LinkCloak Review: How to Cloak Affiliate Links for Free". The video is coming soon! Subscribe to ComputerTipsandTools today!
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To prevent affiliate commissions from being stolen or circumvented.
When a person signs up as an affiliate for a product or service that they want to recommend to others they receive an affiliate link. The link is magically coded with the ability to know who should receive the commission check. (Note: I use the magic metaphor because it's easier to believe in magic than to explain how affiliate links really work.)
Comments on Affiliate Link Cloaking: Frequently Asked Questions »
Mark, you are doing well, I hope this blog will be in top 100 blogs on internet soon. I can help you in increasing its page rank if you are interested
Hi Muzammal,
Thanks for the comment.
I would be happy if my blog just broke into the top 100,000!
Regards,
Mark