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Question about PHP link cloaking...

by Mark Hess
11 replies
I just bought rights to a link cloaking PHP script. The script turns affiliate links into the yoursite/recommends/keyword which is fine, and I know how to modify that.

The problem I have is that when the link is clicked, the original affiliate link shows up in the address bar.

I need to make this so that the link is 100% cloaked in the address bar.

Anyone have any ideas? I tried hiring a person on odesk to modify the script, but they don't speak english very well and I don't think they have any idea what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the help!
#cloaking #link #php #question
  • Profile picture of the author Manfred Ekblad
    If it's a script that simply redirects the browser to another URL then the original affiliate link will always show up. Or is it possible? Hmm... :confused:

    One quick way to do it is link to a page on your site. That page would then have a frame set to 100% and the source should be the affiliate page. I helped another warrior set up a page up like that just last week, it's really simple. But, the requirement is that the affiliate page doesnt use some kind of "break out" script to disable the frames. Well, just try and see if it works or not

    Here is a video on how to do it:


    Another solution would be to just do a simple GET-request using a PHP-script (or similar) on your site and just print the result on your own page. You should ask the site owner first though, it might be a violation to the TOS. If you decide do it that way, make sure you check that all the buy-buttons and such still have your affiliate-id attached. Some remove the affiliate-id if they detect that it is a script, not a browser, accessing their page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Skill-Marketing
    Yea I have one to maybe you should ask for a refund? if it is not suited to your needs ask for a refund i can not post links yet i am new but I highly suggest going to not bit. ly but go to tiny url .com and when you shorten it you can put something like somthing.com/redirect or recommended! Just look for the box down below when shortening it
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  • Profile picture of the author ninal
    It could be done using frameset/iframes. I'm not sure if that's a great idea though. If you're opening the link in a new tab/window then that requires a totally different solution.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Hess
    I know the pretty link Wordpress plugin can completely cloak the link, I was just wondering if it can be done using a php script.
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    • Profile picture of the author jminkler
      Originally Posted by Mark Hess View Post

      I know the pretty link Wordpress plugin can completely cloak the link, I was just wondering if it can be done using a php script.
      Wordpress is php ?

      the address will show in the address no matter what unless you are using iframes

      p.s. I have found some security bugs in some of the "cheap" link cloakers just as an FYI
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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Hess
        Originally Posted by jminkler View Post

        Wordpress is php ?

        the address will show in the address no matter what unless you are using iframes

        p.s. I have found some security bugs in some of the "cheap" link cloakers just as an FYI
        The Pretty Links plugin FOR Wordpress does this: WordPress › Pretty Link WordPress Plugins

        They have 5 redirection types:

        307
        301
        Pretty Bar
        Cloaked
        Pixel

        I was just wondering if you could completely cloak a URL using a simple PHP script...

        Originally Posted by Jeff Hope View Post

        Mark,

        As others have noted, this can be accomplished by creating a page that frames the destination URL (affiliate link).

        Please be advised that this is against the terms of service of many affiliate networks. That's why some of them use frame breakout scripts.

        A lot of people do use this technique, and get by with it. However, IMO you won't be doing your readers any favors by providing them with a way to implement it.

        Jeff
        Thanks Jeff... I was going to give people 2 versions of the script one "regular" and one completely cloaked.

        (With a disclaimer of course)
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  • Profile picture of the author senderbot
    Hi,

    I have the CloakerBuzz software the cloaks your aff links. You can download it and a load more free from the original guys that made it here - Internet Marketing Software | IM Buzz Software

    It creates a HTML redirect page. I just renamed it "index.html" and put it in a folder called "recommends-product" then I just link to the folder. You can set it so you do an advanced cloak whereby even though you are sending an affiliate to an affiliate link, they could end up at any page whatsoever.

    Cheers

    Max
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  • Profile picture of the author Manfred Ekblad
    Can you show an example of the Pretty Links plugin in action, where it redirects to another domain URL (such as an affiliate link) and still has your URL in the address bar, without using frames?

    All the examples on Pretty Links own page will either show the target URL in the address bar, or use the "Pretty Link PrettyBar" which uses frames.

    I would love to see an example of a redirect to another domain/URL where your URL is still in the address bar.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Hess
      Originally Posted by Manfred Ekblad View Post

      Can you show an example of the Pretty Links plugin in action, where it redirects to another domain URL (such as an affiliate link) and still has your URL in the address bar, without using frames?

      All the examples on Pretty Links own page will either show the target URL in the address bar, or use the "Pretty Link PrettyBar" which uses frames.

      I would love to see an example of a redirect to another domain/URL where your URL is still in the address bar.
      Here's an example: PHP Question

      I'm not sure what it uses, it's more than likely a frame... I was just hoping something like this could be incorporated into the PHP script I purchased...
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  • Profile picture of the author Manfred Ekblad
    Yeah, it's using frames:

    HTML Code:
    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> 
<html> 
  <head> 
    <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> 
    <title>PHP Question </title> 
    <meta name="description" content="PHP Question" /> 
  </head> 
  <frameset rows="*" framespacing=0 frameborder=0> 
    <frame src="http://www.warriorforum.com/programming-talk/209697-question-about-php-link-cloaking.html" frameborder=0 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0> 
    <noframes>Your browser does not support frames. Click <a href="http://www.warriorforum.com/programming-talk/209697-question-about-php-link-cloaking.html">here</a> to view the page.</noframes> 
  </frameset> 
</html>
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