tiny URL'S

[Gary67]

Hi everyone, just a quick question!

I'm putting together my first campaign and have just been to the tinyurl site to mask my links. My spyware stopped me from opening the site as it is a known Spyware Site!! Does that mean everybody else who tries to open the link will get the same thing??

Thank yooo

It means that some may have trouble... The best thing to do to mask your links is use your own server with .htaccess (your host can help you with this). Using external services is not always a good thing because as you already seen yourelf some may not be able to click on those links...

James

[Gary67]

Thanks for that. That does sound a little too advancced for me at this stage though, I just want to get something up and I'll tweak it when I have learnt a bit more.
I'm with 1&1, I stayed with them as I have had my main business website with them, not sure if they are that advanced even!

[Alexa Smith]

Also, it's not always the best idea to become dependent on a service like this, because it would be such a nightmare if for any reason their service was suddenly discontinued (as tr.im users recently had such a scare over, though it seems they've been rescued at least for the moment).

[InternetMarketingIQ]

I wouldn't use tiny URL for anything important because you introduce just one more delay in the process as the file redirects. You can redirect your own links and avoid this problem. Plus how professional does tinyurl look to non affiliate marketers?

[geolt7]

Originally Posted by Gary67

Hi everyone, just a quick question!

I'm putting together my first campaign and have just been to the tinyurl site to mask my links. My spyware stopped me from opening the site as it is a known Spyware Site!! Does that mean everybody else who tries to open the link will get the same thing??

Thank yooo

Tiny URL is classified as spam/spyware site by many organisations around the world. Offto.net is another example. You can try bit.ly, a simple url shortener . However, it is a bit stricter on what kind of sites you link to. They do not accept links to certain sites.

[George Sepich]

I wouldn't worry about it. Tiny url could end tomorrow, and so could the world. If you're doing some lifetime membership or something there are better choices, but just take action and move forward. I'm sure you will be fine with tiny url tomorrow, the next day and the next day,..

George

[VoodooMethods]

You could easily solve this problem by hosting your own tinyurl website

There are cheap scripts out there!!

[MrDay]

I've used tinyurl for a good while and they are pretty reliable. I even know some of the Big Guns who use it as well. I've made plenty of sales using tinyurl as my redirect. I wouldn't worry about it. Like mentioned you shouldn't rely on them as your main source for link masking though.

Why don't you just redirect with your hosting as an alternative or not even cloak at all. I sometimes cloak and sometimes I don't. Don't be to worried about cloaking all the time. You'll find later down the road that you'll still make sales without cloaking.

cheers!

[SageSound]

You can purchase a domain name and set it up your aff link as the forwarding URL. If you cannot earn back the $10 or so it costs you through sales, you don't have to renew it next year.

[Rob Whisonant]

Just install a tiny url type script on one of your domains and you are good to go.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

[zankee]

just use the tiny url. If you have a winner (ie a site that converts into sales) then buy a domain closely related to your main converting keywords and niche. I see this with many marketers. They have an idea that they think the whole world wants only to find out NO-ONE wants it. The way to go about marketing is test, test, test through direct linking when you have something that converts build a similar but better product.

[Gary67]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still creating the webpage ( I know, I'm slow ).
I am going to try it without the tinyurl and just go with the word link and see how I get on. I'm not expecting miracles and at least this way I'll be up and running and can adjust from there depending if anybody actually buys or not.

Or I might still use a TinyURL!!

I suppose with everything else I need to do this is a tiny problem!

PS ( lol ), I have only just found out in the last couple of days what a TinyURL is!! Although I have seen them around for years I always thought they were something to do with the Tiny Internet service that was bought out by Tiscali some years ago!

[corporation]

You can use 301 redirect from your own site (if run php: most do)
simply make your links pointing to a page (or more) eg myoffer.php than, in that page, you put this simple code:

<?php
Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" );
Header( "Location: http://www.YOURLANDINGLINK.com/etcetc" );
?>

If you want to be more search engine friendly: this is the code for the .htacess file (you need your host support the mod rewrite not all do it) put it in a simple text file, rename the file and upload it to the root of your server (edit the bold field )

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^name-domain\.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://name-domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]
Redirect /htaccess-url-redirect.html http://www.name-domain.com/index.html


Hope this help.
Ciao
ENrico

[dealers]

You might want to check out this article for a perspective on all url shortening services: gotrythis.com/blog/2009/08/09/705/.