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The proper way to cloak links

by gn3man
5 replies
  • PPC/SEM
    • |
Hello fellow marketers!

How do you usually cloak your campaign urls?
Just for example: let's say we have an offer link like this http://www.mb103.com/lnk.asp?o=1234&...a=12345678&s1= (maxbounty in this case).
After that we add it to our tracking system and get a very long campaign url http://www.your_tracking_platform.co...d_trsource_etc. Is it necessary to cloak it somehow or you will just use it as is in your traffic source?
#cloak #cloak affiliate links #links #proper
  • Profile picture of the author optimize
    Hello there,

    Have you tried the plugin Pretty Links...there is a free version....Pretty Link Pro | WordPress Affiliate Link Cloaker | WordPress URL Shortener

    If not have you tried to use the URL Builder of Google?

    Let me know if you need any help.

    Thanks
    Jan
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    • Profile picture of the author crams
      I like using pretty link but using it to shorten your tracking system link will mess up your keyword tracking.

      When using paying for traffic from ad networks, use your long tracking URL with ad network token.

      If you are cloaking your affiliate URL It's not really practical trying to cloak ad network. google and FB reps will review your tracking URL and see that its affiliate.
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      • Profile picture of the author optimize
        Gotcha...

        Not sure if you remember a software which was called CPA GOD....

        This is the code it was based on through Iframes? I use this for some affiliate offers I run...

        <!DOCTYPE html>
        <html>
        <head>
        <script>
        function do_redir()
        {
        window.frames[0].document.body.innerHTML=\'<form target="_parent" method="post" action="YOUR_WEB"></form>\';
        window.frames[0].document.forms[0].submit()
        }
        </script>
        </head>
        <body>
        <iframe onload="window.setTimeout(do_redir,99);" src="about:blank" style="visibility:hidden"></iframe>
        </body>
        </html>

        Other than this there are a couple ...which I don't trust completely anymore though as affiliate managers do know them...

        blankrefer.com
        refer.us (now changed to gimmie rank with broken secure cert)
        nullrefer.com
        anonym.to

        Thanks

        Jan
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  • Profile picture of the author Sandakelum
    Those links will get redirected. I don't think anyone's going to see those if you're using PPC or any other advertising. So why change them?

    But you should shorten them if you're using social, comments, forum posts, etc...
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author TheAdsenseGuy
    Originally Posted by gn3man View Post

    Hello fellow marketers!

    How do you usually cloak your campaign urls?
    Just for example: let's say we have an offer link like this http://www.mb103.com/lnk.asp?o=1234&...a=12345678&s1= (maxbounty in this case).
    After that we add it to our tracking system and get a very long campaign url http://www.your_tracking_platform.co...d_trsource_etc. Is it necessary to cloak it somehow or you will just use it as is in your traffic source?
    It really depends on what you're doing. With Bing PPC you can direct link to an affiliate offer so it wouldn't matter. Same with Facebook ads.

    If you're doing Google Adwords or SEO and have a landing page you are sending traffic to, there is a plugin that will completely cloak your aff links. You should be able to use your tracking system with it too. It's: Link Ninja Pro | Hide Your Affiliate Links from Google.

    Disclaimer: That's NOT an affiliate link nor is it my product.

    You should also know that Pretty Links Plugin does not cloak your links. It's just a redirect. Google bot can easily follow it through to your affiliate link. So it won't stop your site from getting penalized for affiliate links.
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