brittlesnc

Quick question that I am a little bit confused about...

Does registering a domain and using the forwarding with masking feature prevent CPA networks from knowing exactly where your traffic is coming from?

I ask because I want to start using YouTube videos to promote CPA offers and I wanted to have a direct link to the CPA offer in the description of my videos but it has been brought to my attention that if the videos perform well that my AM and the network will just steal my campaign idea.

So if I still want to use direct links, will domain forwarding with masking give me a layer of protection from my campaign being "stolen" by my AM and the network?

I was told about tracking202 but I wanted to know if domain forwarding with masking was the same thing or just as good. Very confused about "cloaking" this stuff .

dave18

just cloak your affiliate link with bit.ly and redirect to the bit.ly link

Freeman77

I sometimes get a little worried about networks stealing my campaign, but you can't get too paranoid in this biz.

Fortunately for you, it's not that easy to steal video campaigns -- they won't have the same success by trying to duplicate your efforts, because you've beat them to the punch in terms of views and search engine ranking.

I've definitely used domain forwarding out of laziness. You can use bit.ly, or something like referer.us to blank the referrer (I use them all the time cause like I said, I get lazy -- it'd be better to blank the referer on my end). The risk is that if their servers are down, you're not going to get traffic.

Anyway, if I were doing video marketing, I wouldn't even worry about it, but that's me

CPATrendPhil

I have to say, if you're worried that you're AM or network will be stealing your campaigns, maybe you're working with the wrong network(s).

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Freeman77

I'm with all the highest-regarded networks (EWA, Neverblue, Maxbounty, Azoogle, Peerfly, etc.).

I may be wrong, but I believe it's accepted knowledge that many of these companies have their own internal departments running offers, and they utilize information gleaned from affiliates like us. I don't expect that they're hunting down my unique creatives to duplicate, but they certainly use info from successful campaigns if you leave it exposed.

Networks like EWA make it known that they're also affiliates (sometimes it makes for more knowledgable AMs when they're in the field too). They actively encourage us to hide our referrer (otherwise, the advertiser may use the info to take over).

BTW, Maxbounty told me that they don't have an internal dept running affiliate offers. I'm not sure about some of the other major networks.

Anyway, most successful affiliates agree that some caution should be taken to protect your campaigns. As I stated, I can be a little lazy with this myself.

bigbrian

It's always a good idea to protect your hard work from the possibility of someone else stealing it. It's going to be a lot harder for someone to steal your video promotion on YouTube - that's for sure.

You can blank your links if you want to... Sometimes if you are doing high volume off that bat and blanking your links it will raise an eyebrow and someone from the network side will more than likely ask you what you are doing just to make sure you are on the up and up. They shouldn't be asking for your trade secrets but their just might inquire where your traffic is coming from to make sure it's in-line with the allowed traffic distribution methods.

It's harder to steal your campaign than you think though man. Even if someone can see what your landing page is, there is a lot more too it than just knowing what your landing page looks like. A landing page and/or website is nothing without the traffic behind it. So just don't give them your targets, keywords, traffic source, traffic method, etc. and you should be OK.

Oh yeh... and also it's probably best to work with people you trust. If you are worried about a network stealing your campaign, you might want to rethink who you are working with.

Brian

TheMarketingGuy

If your domains are registered at Namecheap, this is how to do it:
1. Log in to your account (obv.)
2. Click on "Your Domains / Products" - first option on right sidebar.
3. Click on the specific domain you want to change.
4. If the nameservers are somewhere else (if you're not using Namecheap's), click on "Transfer DNS Back to Us" - third option on left sidebar.
5. Click on "URL Forwarding" - first option on third block of the left sidebar.
6. Type your full affiliate URL (the full http:// thing) on both fields.
7. Change both "Record Types" to "URL Frame".
8. Save changes.
That's it, you're done.
Can't tell how it works with other registrars, sorry. Been too long with Namecheap so I sincerely don't remember a thing about other management interfaces
Hope it helps.

magicmarcus

this is always a threat... numerous times my AM has left the network to duplicate my sites.

unfortunatly this is always a possibility.

however... most networks track 2 levels deep...

meaning you would want two buffers between your site and the link

so you could do youtube - yoursite - redirect - affiliate offer

this would make them only see your site and the redirect as the referals.

but most of the time people wont jack something if its hard to copy... so put your own spin on everything you do so it has that "me" element that is non duplicatable.

CPATrendPhil

Freeman,

I totally understand what you're saying. However, I think a lot of networks take the opposite approach than what you're stating.

Myself personally, I'm also an affiliate. If we add a great new offer, I run it when we launch the campaign. The only difference is, I test different traffic sources and tell my affiliates what's working and what's not. Now, I don't do this too often, because I just don't have time any more for too much personal affiliate marketing, and we're like 95% publisher based, but every now and then there's campaigns I run internally.

In regards to protecting you campaigns -- of course, I'd protect my campaigns from anybody and everybody. But for example, if a network asks you about your promotion, you shouldn't fear being honest and transparent with them. That's when it becomes a real trust issue if you can't be transparent with a network in fear of them stealing your campaign.

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JP Sauve

MaxBounty has a sprecific policy of non-competition with affiliates.

ChrisBa

x2.. networks are supposed to be your partners not your competitors