How do I cloak links in articles?

hawkeyez · 11-06-2009, 02:50 PM

Is it possible to cloak links in articles? If so, then how? Most cloaking softwares requires you to have a website. Unfortunately I don't have one. Need some help here. I'm new to this forum and affiliate marketing.

tw · 11-06-2009, 02:55 PM

There tons out there like tinyurl. But if serious about making anything kind of money you need to get a real domain.

donnyg18 · 11-06-2009, 02:58 PM

I would recommend using a service like bit.ly oo su.pr, both of those services are good because they allow you to track the amount of click that you receive to your links

hawkeyez · 12-05-2009, 12:47 PM

does anyone use affsphere? It's the only directory that allows affiliate marketing links. But they require you to cloak the links. How do I cloak links in affsphere without owning a website of my own. Is it possible to do this? if so, how? I don't think they allow bit.ly, tiny url, or su.pr. No one uses these methods in that directory.

markshields · 12-05-2009, 01:06 PM

If I am honest I would never ever consider cloaking a url in an aritlce.

1. Most likely because the article website will likely have a policy against it.

2. When I see them I view them as unprofessional.

3. You can get a proper domain name at very little cost at all

Hope this helps you

hotftuna · 12-05-2009, 01:24 PM

Please explain why you would want to do that.

I'm not asking to be rude, I truely want to know what the expected result of hiding an affiliate link.

Are you hiding from the visitor or a search engine?

tknoppe · 12-05-2009, 08:04 PM

Many people cloak affiliate links to prevent others from changing their affiliate ID to theirs and essentially stealing a sale.

I would suggest buying a domain name and forward that domain name to your affiliate link, which almost seamlessly lands them on the sales page for the product or service you're recommending.

Another reason to forward a domain name is that generally click through rates are usually higher on first level domains, as opposed to long ugly/obvious affiliate links or links within a directory/folder.

Sylviane · 12-05-2009, 08:11 PM

Try this. It's free and it cloaks any kind of of links: ViralUrl - Cloaking For FREE And Cashing On Your Commission!

genietoast · 12-05-2009, 08:22 PM

Check this out: How to Cloak Your Affiliate Link With Go Daddy Domain Forwarding | eHow.com

hotftuna · 12-05-2009, 08:28 PM

"Many people cloak affiliate links to prevent others from changing their affiliate ID to theirs and essentially stealing a sale."

If the affiliate link is on my site, how is someone else going to change it?

If the affiliate link is on someone elses site, how is cloaking going to stop them from changing it?

tknoppe · 12-05-2009, 08:35 PM

One way I can think of is for someone to either remove your affiliate id/username and/or change it in the web browser so someone else gets the commission.

However, using domain forwarding is more for higher click through rates than to just cloak the link.

Jay Jennings · 12-05-2009, 08:48 PM

Go pay a few bucks and get a domain of your own and put a cloaking script on that. Basing your business on something like tinyurl or bit.ly is foolish, in my opinion.

I use tracking links in all my articles because I want to see where the traffic is coming from. If I get zilch from XYZ Article directory then maybe I stop spending time submitting to them.

The only major directory I've had a problem with is EzineArticles -- they've bounced back a couple articles saying they don't allow affiliate links. When I explained they are tracking links they approved the articles.

And because of those tracking links I can tell you how much traffic is coming from EZA, GoArticles, etc. I find that very handy.

For info on different cloaking methods, see this free video:

Link Cloaking Explained - Free Video

But again, go get a web site of your own that you can use for tracking, etc.

Jay Jennings

JerDon & Sara Gibbs · 12-05-2009, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylviane

Try this. It's free and it cloaks any kind of of links: ViralUrl -

Hey there Sylviane thxs for this info...
Does it work on article submissions?
Ezine doesn't allow affiliate links?

S-train · 12-06-2009, 02:15 AM

This may be a bit out there, but you could have a friend who does have a website create a link for you.

If their website is a wordpress site, they could install a cloaking plugin like Pretty Link. They could use your affiliate link to create a "cloaked" link and then give you limited access to the admin area of their site where you could check your stats. These plugins usually give you all kinds of stats about the clicks on your link.

The disclaimer here is that you would really have to trust your friend.

The drawback is that curious clickers may decide to visit your friend's site. From a branding standpoint, though, this would be a better option than tiny url, etc.

Also, remember now that any affiliate link in articles or blog posts should have a disclaimer that you could make money if the link is used. This is part of the new FTC falderall.

11-06-2009, 02:50 PM	#1
hawkeyez Active Warrior Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 58 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	How do I cloak links in articles? Is it possible to cloak links in articles? If so, then how? Most cloaking softwares requires you to have a website. Unfortunately I don't have one. Need some help here. I'm new to this forum and affiliate marketing.

11-06-2009, 02:55 PM	#2
tw Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Seattle, USA. Posts: 63 Blog Entries: 4 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? There tons out there like tinyurl. But if serious about making anything kind of money you need to get a real domain.
	Clickbank Affiliates---Get in on this niche, tons of money to be made! New Sales Page! How to work out lower abs Xbox 360 E73 Fix

11-06-2009, 02:58 PM	#3
donnyg18 Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Atlanta Posts: 84 Thanks: 3 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? I would recommend using a service like bit.ly oo su.pr, both of those services are good because they allow you to track the amount of click that you receive to your links
	Blogging Tips Link Building Services

12-05-2009, 12:47 PM	#4
hawkeyez Active Warrior Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 58 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? does anyone use affsphere? It's the only directory that allows affiliate marketing links. But they require you to cloak the links. How do I cloak links in affsphere without owning a website of my own. Is it possible to do this? if so, how? I don't think they allow bit.ly, tiny url, or su.pr. No one uses these methods in that directory.

12-05-2009, 01:06 PM	#5
markshields HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2005 Location: , , United Kingdom. Posts: 372 Thanks: 0 Thanked 15 Times in 15 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? If I am honest I would never ever consider cloaking a url in an aritlce. 1. Most likely because the article website will likely have a policy against it. 2. When I see them I view them as unprofessional. 3. You can get a proper domain name at very little cost at all Hope this helps you
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12-05-2009, 01:24 PM	#6
hotftuna Directory Veteran War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 657 Thanks: 72 Thanked 65 Times in 47 Posts	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? Please explain why you would want to do that. I'm not asking to be rude, I truely want to know what the expected result of hiding an affiliate link. Are you hiding from the visitor or a search engine?
	HeDir.com ranks #1 or #2 for "human edited directory" DebtPlan.org ranks #3 for "debt consolidation california"

12-05-2009, 08:04 PM	#7
tknoppe Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 63 Thanks: 2 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? Many people cloak affiliate links to prevent others from changing their affiliate ID to theirs and essentially stealing a sale. I would suggest buying a domain name and forward that domain name to your affiliate link, which almost seamlessly lands them on the sales page for the product or service you're recommending. Another reason to forward a domain name is that generally click through rates are usually higher on first level domains, as opposed to long ugly/obvious affiliate links or links within a directory/folder.
	@TraciKnoppe Your Web Tech Team Outsource Services

12-05-2009, 08:11 PM	#8
Sylviane HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 120 Thanks: 1 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts Social Networking	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? Try this. It's free and it cloaks any kind of of links: ViralUrl - Cloaking For FREE And Cashing On Your Commission!
	I make over $2,000/week doing this... Come and follow my steps for FREE! Persuasive Article Marketing

12-05-2009, 08:22 PM	#9
genietoast Gina Jennings War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oklahoma, USA Posts: 489 Thanks: 60 Thanked 74 Times in 59 Posts Social Networking	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? Check this out: How to Cloak Your Affiliate Link With Go Daddy Domain Forwarding \| eHow.com
	Find the Right Internet Marketing Mentor For Your Learning Style

12-05-2009, 08:28 PM	#10
hotftuna Directory Veteran War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 657 Thanks: 72 Thanked 65 Times in 47 Posts	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? "Many people cloak affiliate links to prevent others from changing their affiliate ID to theirs and essentially stealing a sale." If the affiliate link is on my site, how is someone else going to change it? If the affiliate link is on someone elses site, how is cloaking going to stop them from changing it?
	HeDir.com ranks #1 or #2 for "human edited directory" DebtPlan.org ranks #3 for "debt consolidation california"

12-05-2009, 08:35 PM	#11
tknoppe Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 63 Thanks: 2 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? One way I can think of is for someone to either remove your affiliate id/username and/or change it in the web browser so someone else gets the commission. However, using domain forwarding is more for higher click through rates than to just cloak the link.
	@TraciKnoppe Your Web Tech Team Outsource Services

12-05-2009, 08:48 PM	#12
Jay Jennings Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Everywhere , USA. Posts: 1,204 Thanks: 46 Thanked 98 Times in 65 Posts	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? Go pay a few bucks and get a domain of your own and put a cloaking script on that. Basing your business on something like tinyurl or bit.ly is foolish, in my opinion. I use tracking links in all my articles because I want to see where the traffic is coming from. If I get zilch from XYZ Article directory then maybe I stop spending time submitting to them. The only major directory I've had a problem with is EzineArticles -- they've bounced back a couple articles saying they don't allow affiliate links. When I explained they are tracking links they approved the articles. And because of those tracking links I can tell you how much traffic is coming from EZA, GoArticles, etc. I find that very handy. For info on different cloaking methods, see this free video: Link Cloaking Explained - Free Video But again, go get a web site of your own that you can use for tracking, etc. Jay Jennings
	Instant Video Web Pages - Create Video Sales Letters, Video Opt-in Pages, and Video Postcards, Instantly! Free Article: The Pros and Cons of Video Marketing Free Article: Why Use a Video Landing Page?

12-06-2009, 02:15 AM	#14
S-train Warrior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: How do I cloak links in articles? This may be a bit out there, but you could have a friend who does have a website create a link for you. If their website is a wordpress site, they could install a cloaking plugin like Pretty Link. They could use your affiliate link to create a "cloaked" link and then give you limited access to the admin area of their site where you could check your stats. These plugins usually give you all kinds of stats about the clicks on your link. The disclaimer here is that you would really have to trust your friend. The drawback is that curious clickers may decide to visit your friend's site. From a branding standpoint, though, this would be a better option than tiny url, etc. Also, remember now that any affiliate link in articles or blog posts should have a disclaimer that you could make money if the link is used. This is part of the new FTC falderall.