ghosting an affiliate link?

Ghosting? Cloning? Masking? Redirecting?....

What specifically do you want to accomplish?

using your .htaccess file to redirect your affiliate links is a pretty "clean" method.

There are many many ways to change the look of your affiliate links... but each way has it's own risks/rewards.

Is this "sketchy" looking: "http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=golf+shoes&x=0&y=0"

Those guys make a wee bit of money and they don't hide their links at all.

yea something like that amazon link looks a bit "sketchy." Is there a way to ghost the end of the link? or maybe even changing the link entirely...even though the destination page is actually "http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=golf+shoes&x=0&y=0" ?

or would it be possible to purchase a domain and redirect the affiliate link to the domain url?

Use php redirects.

Using the following example - make a new page in the root of your website. Name the new page - r.php

On that page put the following:

<?
if ($r == ""){$visit = "http://www.Your home page here";}
if ($r == "Avon"){$visit = "http://www.Your avon affiliate link here";}
if ($r == "Amazon"){$visit = "http://www.Your amazon affiliate link here";}
if ($r == "coupon3"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon4"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon5"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon6"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon7"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon8"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon9"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon10"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon11"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon12"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon13"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon14"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon15"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon16"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon17"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon18"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon19"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon20"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon21"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon22"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon23"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon24"){$visit = "";}
if ($r == "coupon25"){$visit = "";}
header("Location: $visit");
die();
?>

Then your link from your page to it would be as follows:

Let's say you want to link to the merchant - AVON

The page link would be:

<a href="http://www.your site .com/r.php?r=Avon">Avon</a>

If you want it to open in a new window:

<a href="http://www.your site .com/r.php?r=Avon" target="_blank">Avon</a>


Amazon:

<a href="http://www.your site .com/r.php?r=Amazon">Amazon</a>

With new window:

<a href="http://www.your site .com/r.php?r=Amazon" target="_blank">Amazon</a>

You should see how it works by looking at the above codes.

You can use as many if as you want on the r.php page.

If you'll look at the first - if - in the r.php code - you'll see that it's different from the other ifs.

What this does is:

If someone tried to just access your r.php to see your code without clicking on one of your links - the r.php will take them to your home page and they will not be able to see the code you're using on it.

I hope this helps. I've tried to explain it so you'll know how to do it.

tiny url kinda shortens the url for you. look it up on google.

Many thanks, Burger Boy, for detailed instructions!

I thought I would have to buy software to do this. I'm still welcome to suggestions. Anyone know any? Otherwise I'll have to code this myself. And I am really not that good at it. :-/

Thanks!

I've been looking for something exactly like this! Thanks Burger Boy! So basically, and I'll use your Avon example, once this "r.php" file is uploaded to my domain, then all I would have to do to point someone to that URL is www.mydomain.com/avon?

Hi, is there any way of doing this if you don't have hosting (and, thus, php access, etc). I mean if you simply buy a domain (without hosting) and just want to use the registrar's URL forwarding service.

-WM