tinyurl .. no more!

[WAL08]

My tinyurl link was jacked up! I just checked it out and it never loaded the page.. sheesh, you know how many millions of dollars I prolly missed out on over the past few days

Well, I finally quit being lazy and went back and modified all of my sites to redirect using the html:

<meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.yourdomain.com/index.html">

made a quick folder, made a index file and just linked to the folder.

now i don't have to rely on such a shabby service like tinyurl and you prolly shouldnt either, you don't wanna miss out on your profits!

[John Wilkes]

I got my fingers burnt here on the forum recently, for recommending I-frame redirection without realising it was against Clickbank T.O.S. , so I know this is going to hurt, but.....

Out of self preservation I had to quickly research other ways of doing re-direct links and found out that over the last few years, the use of meta tag refresh redirection has been abused by spammers. The result of this mis-use is the sad fact that if you use it, there is a good chance your page will be de-indexed by the search engines.

This also applies to javascript redirection. Search engines can easily detect javascript and meta tag redirection.

Most experts advise using the 301 re-direct instead.

Sorry.

[redicelander]

meta redirects can be fine, however, if you are doing marketing of a link that has no need to be indexed by search engines.

[John Wilkes]

Well pointed out!

Here is a link to an old page that explains how to do "301"
Steven Hargrove : How to redirect a web page, the smart way

(no connection, just googled it)

[jessewrites]

Hard to believe all the 1's of dollars I lost because of this!

[WP-AutoPoster Team]

Originally Posted by jessewrites

Hard to believe all the 1's of dollars I lost because of this!

Helarious! It must be tough with this economy

[xDennis]

so using html redirect's is bad? I redirect this way.. interesting

This is bad even if you use it just to cloack the affiliate link?

[Zeus66]

You might try PHP redirecting if you're leery of the html version. Google it, I'm sure you'll find the code. It's very simple. And there are many tinyurl competitors. I like budurl(DOT)com, and I know other Warriors use it.

John

[Steven Carl Kelly]

FYI:

Many corporate firewalls are blocking tinyurl and other similar services.

[Jim Phillips]

Here's a simple php redirect example code:

<?php
header( 'Location: http://www.yoursite.com/affiliate_page.html' ) ;
?>

You need to replace the URL (http://www.yoursite.com/affiliate_page.html) above with the URL you wish to redirect to.

Make sure you do not put anything above this code or it will not work. To make it simple just put the code above all by its self without any other text on the page.

Have a great day.

Best Regards,

Jim

[hotbizluq]

how about using offto.net?

[nizhama2]

I didn't know it's too easy to make a redirect page.

Thanks everyone

[sylviawee]

thanks for info...
now I need to check my tinyurl ...

[cjjohn]

Wordpress.org has a plugin that is a pretty nifty link cloaker. It's called Pretty Link. You will be able to use your own domain and assign any code you want to your link. It will also track hits!

For instance, in celebration for reaching PR2, I sent my newsletter subscribers a couple of gifts:
(These are actual download links)
http://articlewritingnews.com/PRgift1 - 110 bite sized tips to boost conversion rates
http://articlewritingnews.com/PRgift2 - Setting up your first ecommerce site

Here's another one that leads to a squeeze page for a free download of Copywriting For The Web - Basics
The Beginner's Guide to Writing Effective Copy on the Internet
I use it for giveaway events.


If they had been aff links, they would have been sufficiently cloaked.

Of course, if you have a long domain name, it kinda defeats the purpose for shortening, but it's still nice to have your own domain showing instead of ugly aff links.


It's my birthday today... if you want those eBooks above, be my guest!
~cj

[Martin.Avis]

Why use a service at all?

I have a short domain that I use just for making my own redirect links. The links are all php, but could just as easily be 301s. It is cheap, easy and secure.

You can also make the links mean something - unlike the tiny ones which are just so much gobbledegook. For example, mydomain.com/google1streview (not a real link).

But best of all, it is under my own control.

Martin

[Alexa Smith]

Originally Posted by hotbizluq

how about using offto.net?

There are scores of services like that, that you can use instead. But this thread's about avoiding dependence on unnecessary third-party intermediaries who can suddenly cost you most of your income when something goes wrong.

[kentaiwan98]

Yes, I agree. So I set up a site with a short URL for my own use. Eventually, I may use it for 3rd parties, but it is the way to go. It's pretty easy to do, as well. And with link clicking included, it's easy to find out how many times the link is being clicked.

If you bug me, I might write a short post about it!

Kenneth

[James12C]

Originally Posted by WAL08

now i don't have to rely on such a shabby service like tinyurl

Hey - This was a free service set up years ago by a guy for the greater good...

[takingaction]

Anyone worried about redirect code and what not... remember that you can just paste the code snippet into your text editor, modify the site address you're redirecting to and save as an html or php file.

If you want an affiliate link to redirect to:

yourdomain.com/special

You would just create a directory called "special" and upload your newly created html/php file (which should be named index.html or index.php) into that folder.

[diymCoach]

Pretty Link for WordPress looks great. Thanks Kitfanc.

[warpri]

Didn't you tell them about this?

[Raydal]

I've been using ClickBank PHP Scripts, Paypal IPN Scripts, Affiliate Link Cloaker and more from WebmasterInABox for several years
now and it works fine. I see Stephen Pierce still uses this script as
well and was surprised that he did for so long. It's a simple install
and does what it's suppose to do.

-Ray Edwards

[MizzCindy]

Originally Posted by takingaction

Anyone worried about redirect code and what not... remember that you can just paste the code snippet into your text editor, modify the site address you're redirecting to and save as an html or php file.

If you want an affiliate link to redirect to:

yourdomain.com/special

You would just create a directory called "special" and upload your newly created html/php file (which should be named index.html or index.php) into that folder.

Some time back I set up some affiliate links this way on several blogs, but I was never able to figure out how to set up google analytics to track clicks for the redirect.

Since I'm not even sure what terms to use and I'm not massively savvy with google analytics, I wasn't able to effectively research for a solution.

So, does anyone have a bone they could throw me?

Thanks!
Cindy

[takingaction]

Hi Cindy,

This may help:

Track Redirects in Analytics - How to Track a Redirect in Analytics (Javascript & 301 Redirects)

[InternetMarketingIQ]

Any time you use any redirection on an affiliate link you introduce the possibility of the link breaking. Just like knots in a rope it makes it weaker. I'm not against them... you just need to be aware of the downside. Also you should ALWAYS check your redirected affiliate links in a couple of browsers to make sure your tracking cookies are intact. Pros and Cons to the issue. Meta Refresh is not a way I'd redirect an affiliate link.

[xDennis]

how do you check your cookies to make sure they are still there?

[MizzCindy]

Originally Posted by takingaction

Hi Cindy,

This may help:

Track Redirects in Analytics - How to Track a Redirect in Analytics (Javascript & 301 Redirects)

Hey, thanks for this! I found the stats I needed under 'Top Exit Pages'.

Cindy

[jcaviani]

These are all valid comments, yet not ONE of you has hit upon the real reason why these link shortening services should be avoided in your sales process - data.

The minute YOUR visitor is sent to a server or domain not under your control, YOUR data becomes THEIR data. You have to ask yourself, why does this service exist - altruism? I think not. If you think the short link you get from them is worth the data you give them, then please continue to use their services.

Many of you are still under the impression that Google is in the Search Engine business. While they have a search engine front end, that is only part of their overall offerings and objectives. Google is in the DATA business and because everything on the web must go somewhere, Google is everywhere collecting data.

How do you target your customers better?...better data
How do you make better business decisions?...better data
How do you find relationships you weren't aware existed?...better data

I could go on....

Sure, missed commissions are a drag, but even worse, is giving away all your data for little in return. As such, you might wake up to find more than your commissions missing. You might wake up to find some unknown entities (hmm, couldn't be the same people behind the altrusitic link shortening services) have taken over your markets.

Most of the tools I see in the IM realm, while they perform their given task, suffer from one fatal flaw. Can you guess what it is?

Vito