How Do Y'all Cloak Your Affiliate Links?

103 replies
I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
#affiliate #cloak #links #yall
  • Profile picture of the author Sleaklight
    I just purchased this 2 days ago and love it!

    Non Affiliate Link: Affiliate Link Script - Hide and Track Your Affiliate URL Links with PHP Link Cloaker
    Affiliate Link: PHP Link Cloaker

    There's a demo on the site, just add in your URL, the text you want displayed and it's done. Shows you total clicks and total unique clicks as well. Real nice, simple, easy script.
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    • Profile picture of the author jpdwil
      Looked at PHP Link Cloaker.

      Here is my problem. I'm running a ringtone offer. I bought ringtoneburn(dot)com and set up domain forwarding and masking to my affiliate link.

      Google doesn't accept this because I want my visible link to be RingtoneBurn(dot)com.

      Will this tool help me here?

      Please let me know, and if you have an affiliate link for it pm me and I'll use yours if this is what I am looking for.
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      • Profile picture of the author umaar.k
        i just simple use the wordpress plugin to cloak my affiliate links.
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  • Profile picture of the author jpdwil
    Whoops. Just saw that it does not work with GoDaddy! What should I do?
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  • Profile picture of the author WasabiHound
    Tinyurl works a treat for simple link cloaking. Not great for SEO though.
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    • Profile picture of the author chemmyvick
      Originally Posted by WasabiHound View Post

      Tinyurl works a treat for simple link cloaking. Not great for SEO though.
      Tinyurl does not look professional and it usually take a longer time to open on a browser. I''m looking for a good cloacker too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jared Alberghini
    I use a free tool to cloak my affiliate links:

    Free & Simple Affiliate Link Cloaker
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    Join The Future: Telekinetic Marketing

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    • Profile picture of the author jayesser
      Like Jared i use Simple Affiliate Cloaker - its so simple yet effective. Its a wordpress plugin and should give u what u want!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    sorta a noob question - what exactly do you cloak for? so the CPA networks can't track your traffic, say if you are doing some blackhat stuff? I've read that people can steal affiliate links, how? Or is cloaking just to make URL smaller like TinyURL.

    sorry if this is too off topic for the thread
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    • Profile picture of the author metafever
      Originally Posted by Kenster View Post

      sorta a noob question - what exactly do you cloak for? so the CPA networks can't track your traffic, say if you are doing some blackhat stuff? I've read that people can steal affiliate links, how? Or is cloaking just to make URL smaller like TinyURL.

      sorry if this is too off topic for the thread
      Cloaking helps you prevent people from hijacking your aff links and its better for your sites visitor so they don't have to click on a long scary URL.
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      • Profile picture of the author scar tissue
        Hi there,

        - a FREE desktop software that I use on daily basis : measuring-up.com/html-tools/profit-protector.html

        - a FREE WP Plugin if your blog built by Wordpress : 0tocash.com/wpCookie/

        Hope this helps, buddy

        Cheers - JERRY
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    • Profile picture of the author bbig438
      only site you need is tinyurl.com ..it works great for me!
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  • Profile picture of the author aekaplan
    Kenster, you cloak your links so it isn't immediately obvious that you're sending your traffic to an affiliate page.

    Jared, thanks for that useful website!

    The real question I have is how to do this:

    Instead of displaying your affiliate link, it shows something like

    yoursitename.com/recommends/xyzproduct

    Does anyone know how to do that?

    Thanks again for all your responses!
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    • Profile picture of the author Tahiti Joe
      Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

      Kenster, you cloak your links so it isn't immediately obvious that you're sending your traffic to an affiliate page.

      Jared, thanks for that useful website!

      The real question I have is how to do this:

      Instead of displaying your affiliate link, it shows something like

      yoursitename.com/recommends/xyzproduct

      Does anyone know how to do that?

      Thanks again for all your responses!
      How about a simple 301 redirect?

      That's what do to insert whatever "catchphrase" I want in my link.
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      • Profile picture of the author alextsui
        As affiliate marketers, our entire livelihood and survival depends on the affiliate link properly crediting us with the sale.

        Yes, there are a hundred ways to cloak affiliate links. Some are free and some are paid. Some are just simple redirects and some are so complicated that you have to keep checking the instruction manual to know how to use them.

        Personally, I like to go for something in between. Relatively simple to use but have some extra features that help me with building a list, or boosting my affiliate business.

        I also don't like to use a free script because I believe to some degree, you get what you pay for. I want to get a solid, professional tool for something as important as the affiliate links.

        I'm using the Phantom Link Cloaker 2.0 and I like it because it has some unique features that I've not seen in other link cloakers. You can check out my detailed review in my signature.

        Regards,
        Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author Bujuk
    This is how I cloak my link.

    First I create a folder within my site then created and place a small php file. I prefer index.php but you put any name. then just place the following code in the file.

    <?php
    header("Location:http://www.youraffiliatelink.com/");
    exit;
    ?>


    just replace the "youraffiliatelink.com to your affiliate link. just point your link to that folder. so when your visitor click the link, the php file will redirect them to your affiliate page. very fast and quick redirect.
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    • Profile picture of the author affgem
      Hi,

      There are many scripts available to cloak affiliate links. You can use them to hide your affiliate link.
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      • Profile picture of the author jpdwil
        I really need to know how to get by Google with domain forwarding? Any suggestions?
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    • Profile picture of the author FredJones
      Originally Posted by Bujuk View Post

      This is how I cloak my link.

      First I create a folder within my site then created and place a small php file. I prefer index.php but you put any name. then just place the following code in the file.

      <?php
      header("Location:http://www.youraffiliatelink.com/");
      exit;
      ?>


      just replace the "youraffiliatelink.com to your affiliate link. just point your link to that folder. so when your visitor click the link, the php file will redirect them to your affiliate page. very fast and quick redirect.

      This is also the way I do it. This is the simplest way, simply add another file "foo.php" and write the above code in the file. It has to be a ".php" file. Then, from the file that you are diverting traffic, put your href link to point to this page "foo.php".

      Nothing more and nothing less to do.

      Surprised to know that people buy products on this. Well, time for me to sell this one line of code?!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author BrianE
      Bujuk, thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author luckofthedraw
      Bukuk (or anyone else who knows), can one redirect page be used for multiple affiliate links, or will a new page be needed for each link. For example, can I have Location:youraffiliatelink dot com/recommends/ProductA and Location:youraffiliatelink dot com/recommends/ProductB all point to Location:youraffiliatelink dot com/recommends, or will a new page need to be created for ProductA and ProductB? (Sorry...the noob rules are catching me here, but I hope you understand what I am asking.) Thanks for any help you can give me!

      "
      Originally Posted by Bujuk View Post

      This is how I cloak my link.

      First I create a folder within my site then created and place a small php file. I prefer index.php but you put any name. then just place the following code in the file.
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      • Profile picture of the author mistermint
        Hi,

        I don't think you can do that with a php script, as far as I know whatever file name you use such as index.php is the first file up from the folder..

        There are some differnet methods discussed here if it helps
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    • Profile picture of the author FatterMike
      Originally Posted by Bujuk View Post

      <?php
      header("Location:http://www.youraffiliatelink.com/");
      exit;
      ?>
      I like this one, very simple. I used to do it with GotryThis, but that method above seems better for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author aekaplan
    affgem, could you possibly recommend some of those scripts or provide some links? Thanks mate.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryansjones
    I can't really afford to get fancy link cloaking software, so I usually use either tinyurl or viralurl to cloak my affiliate links. For affiliate links I get through commission junction, they actually have a feature that cloaks your links for you when copying banner ad codes
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    • Profile picture of the author Bujuk
      Originally Posted by ryansjones View Post

      I can't really afford to get fancy link cloaking software, so I usually use either tinyurl or viralurl to cloak my affiliate links. For affiliate links I get through commission junction, they actually have a feature that cloaks your links for you when copying banner ad codes
      personally I dont like tinyurl as your website url will not be there in the link. I believe visitors are more cautious whenever they see a link to other website, as compared to a link within your website.

      if you are using wp and have lot of urls to cloak, then probably can consider gocode. it is a small plugin. all you need to do is to add 2 short code inside your .htaccess file, activate your plugin and you are ready to go. you can get the plugin here :
      WordPress › GoCodes WordPress Plugins

      gocode as well as the php method that I've mentioned earlier will retain your website url. it looks more credible.
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  • Profile picture of the author wii4u
    Other services that allow to shorten your URL are:
    SnipURL dot com

    and

    BudURL dot com

    BudURL is one of the best URL shortening services on the web as it also gives you tracking stats (clickthroughs).
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  • Profile picture of the author fortony
    I would like to know the same thing. Is there a way to hide the fact that someone is clicking on an affiliate link without totally changing the link to something like tinyurl? For example, if someone clicks on an affiliate link to Clickbank, is there a way to hide your affiliate ID at the end?

    Sorry if anyone answered this and I did not understand. Perhaps what I am asking is impossible??
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    • Profile picture of the author Bujuk
      Originally Posted by fortony View Post

      I would like to know the same thing. Is there a way to hide the fact that someone is clicking on an affiliate link without totally changing the link to something like tinyurl? For example, if someone clicks on an affiliate link to Clickbank, is there a way to hide your affiliate ID at the end?

      Sorry if anyone answered this and I did not understand. Perhaps what I am asking is impossible??
      In fact both methods that I share will hide our affiliate ID. both will keep the link as our own website links. ie www.mywebsite.com/myproduct but when the visitor click the link, he/she will be directed to the cb or other merchant with our id intact. one good aspect of this method, we can promote different product without changing our earlier post/sale page (assuming we are in the same niche). hope this help.
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  • Profile picture of the author NewbiesDiary
    hey folks - just read thru all the posts here and all the features you are looking for in a link cloaker have been built into Cloak'n'Rotate - plus heaps more.

    I had trouble with sites like offto.net and tinyurl etc - you run the risk of all your links being blocked if someone does the wrong thing with their link - ie a trojan virus is hidden behind offto. net/thisismylink - then when they get caught, the whole domain is labeled as a virus - including your links.

    Plus, they really don't look professional!

    Check out cloak'n'rotate - http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...-summit-2.html
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  • Profile picture of the author nithemoneymachine
    Gah! I'm trying to use one of the free cloaker tools but the html thing doesn't work with my "BLOG" and I have no idea how to make it work... I'm utterly confused

    anybody got an idea of a free way to cloak my affiliate link on my BLOG ? I just can't understand this.

    And it says upload to your site. This is a blog not a site. Help?

    p.s. I have a MAC
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  • Profile picture of the author aekaplan
    Just want to update everyone, I tried Bujuk's first suggestion and it worked perfectly. Thanks Bujuk!
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  • Profile picture of the author Vrindavan
    >> offto

    - any other services that use generic domains

    - is it better to frame the site like offto or just redirect/forward to the affiliate site
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmorgan
      The most efficient way to cloak is using redirects in the .htaccess file. Myself, I couldn't get it to work - I don't know if it's because I have a wordpress blog as my main domain and my other domains are subdomains. When I tried it my website just gave an error. Maybe someone can tell me if that could create a problem with the htaccess method.

      I now use php like Bujuk above.
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    • Profile picture of the author kettlewell
      Originally Posted by Vrindavan View Post

      >> offto

      - any other services that use generic domains

      - is it better to frame the site like offto or just redirect/forward to the affiliate site
      much better to do a redirect. Framing does hide the URL, and give you control over the title... but is typically against the TOS of most affiliate programs.

      If your affiliate programs don't forbid them in the TOS, then framing is usually considered a better solution (by me anyhow).
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  • Profile picture of the author revpl2
    I find the php redirect is pretty good. It looks like they stay on your site but it;s actually the vendor's/merchants site. I always wondered how they did that and then came across the script somewhere.

    Here it is:

    <?php
    if ($m == "") {$link = "http://www.UglyLinkHere.com/blah";} // Default Blank

    header("Location: $link"); // Jump to the hidden affiliate URL above
    exit();
    ?>

    Remember to save it as a php file: *.php (after pasting it into notepad).

    EDIT: oh yeah. almost forgot...

    Paste in your aff. link where it says to and then upload this .php file into a sub-directory aptly name for whatever your promoting. And then in your email/blog post/review/etc reference that sub-directory (as a URL - http:///blah.com/sub-directory-with-php-file/).

    It's a Cakewalk.
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  • Profile picture of the author terryOstgaard
    I have started using domain forwarding for all my affiliate links. I just don't feel cloaking links with bit.ly or tiny-url quite does the trick. After all, a .com domain is only about 10 bucks per year. If you get your name right, you can even reuse it for a new affiliate program within the same niche, if the current campaign does not make you happy.
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  • Profile picture of the author pegasuspress
    I've been using NameStick link cloaking/web forwarding service. So far it's worked very well for me. Not free though. Costs $39/year. Go to NameStick.com.

    Rich
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  • Profile picture of the author blillard
    I like to use offto.net for my cloaking. They let me cloak, add like a sub domain, and a window title. They have been good to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Myheavens
    I worked on GTT..its looks good.
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    • Profile picture of the author dulakian
      Heya,

      I'm new here, and because of that I cannot post my solution to avoid link jacking. Anything that even remotely resembles a url is not allowed because of my low post count. I had typed out quite a long post explaining how I avoid linkjacking with a unique solution, but now I'm not gonna jump through hoops to give away free info.

      I can tell you that there is adware/spyware/viruses out there that replace your affiliate links for popular affiliate networks with their own affiliate ids. It's not a huge problem, but when I implemented my php solution, I saw a boost in conversion rates for all my sites.

      I use a hashing algorithm, a unique name, and the date to generate a random id that can be used in a php script to generate an affiliate link for a Location: header that virtually guarantees you will not be link jacked. I haven't put it into an actual product yet, but I might.

      Hope this gave someone an idea of what's possible for cloaking links, and I'm sorry I couldn't give a solid example to illustrate my point, spammers ruin it for everybody.

      Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author vmedia
    the best tool i found so far is called kblinker - which you can find at kblinker.c0m

    there is a fully functional trial and it is simple to use and install.
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
      Originally Posted by vmedia View Post

      the best tool i found so far is called kblinker - which you can find at kblinker.c0m

      there is a fully functional trial and it is simple to use and install.
      I highly doubt whether this is on par with my ASQ

      Let me check the features

      • Straight Thru (PHP/301)
      • Referral Scrubbing (Double Meta Refresh)
      • Address hiding (Framed Redirection)
      • Stealth (Javascript Redirect)

        For me it looks its a pretty flexible tool for redirects and iframing, but STILL it only redirects or frames - and you can do this with one simple line of code. However, the referral scrubbing seems interesting.

        The point is, the thing again is unsuitable for Adwords since you will never, never get a good Quality Score with ANY framing technique on adwords. And you cant use redirects either. So its out of the question for adwords advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author aekaplan
    OK so to reiterate - Bujuk's advice is sound if you just want to cloak. However - everyone promoting CPA products should be tracking their conversions. And it just so happens if you use Tracking202 (which is free), you get a PHP code for cloaking your affiliate link included. It's really a no-brainer. Best of luck to all!
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  • Profile picture of the author kfount
    Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

    I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
    Godaddy is the best place for this. Simply buy a domain name, (you can get .info ones for like $2), and redirect it to your affiliate page. Then select the masking option to cover it up. Your end user will only see the redirected domain not your affiliate link.
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    • Profile picture of the author Warrior Markets
      Originally Posted by kfount View Post

      Godaddy is the best place for this. Simply buy a domain name, (you can get .info ones for like $2), and redirect it to your affiliate page. Then select the masking option to cover it up. Your end user will only see the redirected domain not your affiliate link.
      Hi,

      Does anyone know if you can do this with Namecheap? I know you can buy a domain (without hosting), and use the URL forwarding feature, but is there anyway of masking/cloaking the affiliate page you redirect/forward to?

      -WM
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  • Profile picture of the author promo_guy
    Excellent resources here on how to cloak a link but I thought I read somewhere that your affiliate manager at a CPA network for example may question your traffic if it's not visible to their system. I could be wrong but are people cloaking to....

    a) hide their link from a potential visitor
    b) hide their link from those who could steal commission
    c) hide their link to hide which keywords sent traffic to the offer so the merchant or aff manager can't steal your "money keywords"?

    Thanks all

    PS - maybe I'm just being paranoid about cloaking links??
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
      Originally Posted by promo_guy View Post

      Excellent resources here on how to cloak a link but I thought I read somewhere that your affiliate manager at a CPA network for example may question your traffic if it's not visible to their system. I could be wrong but are people cloaking to....

      a) hide their link from a potential visitor
      b) hide their link from those who could steal commission
      c) hide their link to hide which keywords sent traffic to the offer so the merchant or aff manager can't steal your "money keywords"?

      Thanks all

      PS - maybe I'm just being paranoid about cloaking links??

      blackhat people "cloak" and hide/blank browser referers. The reason is that such people often direct not allowed incentivized traffic to their sites - or they have some fake site luring traffic to a site and make them enter their ZIPs/emails telling them some story.
      (Example: Enter your email and we send you nude pics of jessica alba...things like that.)

      Yes, they do this to make that traffic invisible to the system since the CPA network is not supposed to find out about the fake site where the traffic is coming from - and yes there are rumors that networks "steal" keywords and basically just use affiliates to harvest good keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author sanme827
    its good !!!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author ilyasm
    tinyurl.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Karrak
    I use mbpninjaaffiliate.com (Ninja Affiliate) for cloaking my links. It gives you the sitename.com/recommends/productname structure that someone was looking for. It's $97 and also allows you to track impressions and clicks in wordpress.

    For those using TinyURL or a similar free service, I would suggest testing out bit.ly as it allows you track click thrus and impressions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles Harper
    I use Mike Filsaime's Powerlink Generator.

    Cloaking, Custom Domain Directory names and Tracking all in one.

    Got a superstar scriptlance programmer to put it on for me.

    Best money I have spent this year.

    Charles
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Pueppke
    I am pretty green on all of this but can't you do this with redirects through Cpanel?
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    Dakota Daughter Enterprises, LLC
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    • Profile picture of the author kblessinggr
      Banned
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author mistermint
        Guess this thread is long in the tooth but, there is a good article on ezine about cloaking affiliate links found here

        extract: There are some criminals out there who use Stealware to rob people of affiliate profits. Stealware takes advantage of uncloaked links by replacing all uncloaked affiliate links with another link. This is direct robbery. The people who use Stealware steal directly from affiliates. This is illegal, but it happens quite a bit, and if you do not cloak your links, you are at risk for being a victim of Stealware.
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    • Profile picture of the author roozak
      Heres the cloaker I use..it's Free forever...not crippleware...easy to install..tracks click counts etc...

      ww.freelinkcloaker.com
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  • Profile picture of the author naomiabloosky
    You can use software to cloak your affiliate links, but not all of them are 100%. There are some free scripts that you can find that will help you cloak, but it's better for you to get a coder to help you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Flaura78
      I use a cloaker and tracker in one. It costs me some pennies a month but if a campaign gets cancelled I save loads of time by just changing the link to another offer, therefore the cloaked link redirects to the new one that is similar and possibly converting better...

      I used to lose money by being lazy updating my links. I got fed up. :p
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      • Profile picture of the author SledgeHammer
        Is there any problem in using HTML(META) re-direct when compared to PHP redirects ?

        HTML ones are easiest and you don't need a server with PHP support.
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        • Profile picture of the author williamrs
          Originally Posted by SledgeHammer View Post

          Is there any problem in using HTML(META) re-direct when compared to PHP redirects ?

          HTML ones are easiest and you don't need a server with PHP support.
          Sometimes it's a bit slower to redirect people with doulble meta, but I don't think that there is any major problem.


          William
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          • Profile picture of the author SledgeHammer
            Originally Posted by williamrs View Post

            Sometimes it's a bit slower to redirect people with doulble meta, but I don't think that there is any major problem.


            William
            I was speaking about the normal single META re-direction and not about double META refresh.
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      • Profile picture of the author pr5931
        Originally Posted by Flaura78 View Post

        I use a cloaker and tracker in one. It costs me some pennies a month but if a campaign gets cancelled I save loads of time by just changing the link to another offer, therefore the cloaked link redirects to the new one that is similar and possibly converting better...

        I used to lose money by being lazy updating my links. I got fed up. :p
        What service are you using, may I ask?
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    • Profile picture of the author Boolade
      i actually got a little laugh out of kenster asking the way he did about what cloaking is, because he is always helping everyone out and for once we get to help him out. but iv only seen the need for cloaking when you are doing black hat stuff, like really black hat stuff. i dont know if this example is aloud to be posted but something like iframing just the area where you submit your email part of an email submit offer and putting it on a website and saying that they need to put there email address to continue. or if you collect the email address and then put it into an email submit offer with php programming so you get double your money.
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      • Profile picture of the author jeffrey73
        There are different forms of cloaking. All of them are not blackhat. If you want to hide your ugly, long affiliate link from your potential customers, it is perfectly legit.

        On the other hand, if you are cloaking to send Facebook or Google one way and the traffic another way, that may be a blackhat technique. Especially when your offer violates their TOS.


        Originally Posted by Boolade View Post

        i actually got a little laugh out of kenster asking the way he did about what cloaking is, because he is always helping everyone out and for once we get to help him out. but iv only seen the need for cloaking when you are doing black hat stuff, like really black hat stuff. i dont know if this example is aloud to be posted but something like iframing just the area where you submit your email part of an email submit offer and putting it on a website and saying that they need to put there email address to continue. or if you collect the email address and then put it into an email submit offer with php programming so you get double your money.
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  • Profile picture of the author affiliate2010
    I use .....ly - you know what I mean Mate
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    • Profile picture of the author mistermint
      You can use software to cloak your affiliate links, but not all of them are 100%. There are some free scripts that you can find that will help you cloak, but it's better for you to get a coder to help you.
      Good point because, quite a few can break the cookie so you don't get the credit for a sale.
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    • Profile picture of the author Super-Sam
      i used clixtrac.com a while ago.

      its free and you have many options like rotation, views, ctr...
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  • Profile picture of the author Ramin
    I usa Tinyurl...and works very good for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author kuterdan
    One of the cloakers that I use is covert links, it's fairly in-expensive and works for anything I've needed it for. It's simple because you just plug in your information and it creates a webpage for you. It's great for direct linking because you clone your target website but your domain remains in the address bar. The other great benefit is that you get to add meta tags into your page like: description, keywords, titles, etc... which will be a nice boost to your SEO. The other program that I use is Phantom Link Cloaker. This one does everything that covert links does but what really makes this one a gem is that you are able to create an optin message that appears over top of your main page. So your offer to build your subscription list is the first thing visitor see transparent over your affiliate page. That feature in itself is worth the price of the script. The software isn't cheap at $97 but think of the power of building your list first before the product being offered starts dropping down optin forms. For those of you that want to go absolutely free then bit.ly is a great alternative and yes you can track clicks with bit.ly
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  • Profile picture of the author G Allan Roberts
    Yes, I like to use a simple php

    <?php header("Location: YOUR LINK HERE");?>

    Save that a php file from notepad and up load it to your file server

    ie. myaffiliatelink.php

    your website url/myaffiliatelink.php
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    • Profile picture of the author crimsonbook
      I have a dumb noob question. Is masking my aff link and forwarding my domain name against Google rules? :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author Fox30
    Tracking202 as a link cloaking feature. That's what I use.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mattiyu
      When forwarding your domain name as a whole you are not maximizing the domain's full potential. You can open it up a bit by creating folders within the domain to use your affiliate linking ie -www.yourdomain.com/folder (name you choose).

      Be mindful of some of the url shorteners that maybe in the spam listings which could keep your message from getting out to it's intended target - your list.
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    • Profile picture of the author gotdmw
      it sounds like there is not 1 perfect way to cloak ur link...

      i use redirect 301 (custom edit into the htcaccess)

      dont all of these methods accomplish the exact same thing?
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    I use a double meta refresh script on my domain, and I double and triple check it by visiting the cloaked link on Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari (it should not go to your offer in those 3 browsers - if it does, then your referrer info is leaking).
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Since this thread appears to keep getting resurrected, I'll throw in my suggestion for WordPress Blogs. I like to use the Pretty Link plugin. It allows me shorten my URL, making it appear to be from my blog, instead of someone else's URL shortener, plus creates tracking reports.

    WordPress › Pretty Link WordPress Plugins
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  • Profile picture of the author Mega B
    I use my own url site TwURLit.com it works a treat and have never had any trouble and i guess its easier than normal cloaking techniques.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    You do a meta refresh redirect, or a php redirect. Use google to get these, they are quite easy. You have to have a domain to do this, of course. Just make a simple html file for each redirect on your hosting.
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  • Profile picture of the author JosephCosgrave
    Search for threads created by george brown. he has a method completely for free
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  • Profile picture of the author RhondaGiarraffa
    Wow, lots here on link cloaking.

    I created a few tutorials on this subject. They are at no cost for anyone who wants to view them. I personally use a software that I do talk about in the tutorials. I use it because I need to get things done FAST... The tutorials also go over how to put your cloaked links in banners and pictures.

    I have post them on my site at affiliatetrainingpros.com

    This link is not to break any forum rules it is only to direct to the videos that may help you.

    If you want to cloak your link with out software, there are the steps to doing it.

    Step 1:
    Create a new folder on your desktop and give it a name. You can name it whatever you want. Most folks will use either the name "go" or "recommends"

    Step 2:
    Open the folder and then right click and hit the "create new text document" link.
    Step 3:
    Rename the text document to whatever name you want that will reflect the product you are promoting.
    Step 4:
    Create the code as illustrated here:
    <php? header("location "http://YOUR AFFILATE CODE GOES HERE");
    ?>
    Step 4:
    Click on the File drop down menu and click "save"
    Step 5:
    Highlight the file extension and rename the extension from .txt to .php and click save.
    Step 6:
    Upload the folder to your site.
    Step 7:
    Check your new link to make sure it is working properly.
    Your new link will now look something like this..
    http://yoursite/thenameofyourfile/yourextensionname.php


    Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author SacredWealth
    I use exactly the same technique outlined by RhondaGiarraffa and it works great and the links look cool.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

    I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
    Prosper202 - enable cloaking
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  • Profile picture of the author marimack
    I recently had to re-install my operation system and went with Windows 7. Then someone told me that Windows 7 has enhanced its' PCP's and most cloaked links can't get past them. I don't know if I explained that right as i don't have a clue what PCP's are and hope to never need to know!

    Anyway, I am worried about this. I mostly have been using viral url and have had some warnings and a TE rejection for a couple of days earlier this week, but seems fine now. Have also used tinyurl, but have gone through the comments here and some have noted that it looks unprofessional and I think i would agree with that.

    Can anyone comment on the Windows 7 issue?
    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Affiliit
    Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

    I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
    p202 cloaking
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  • Profile picture of the author camm
    Simple php redirect always works for me

    create a folder (ie go, order, etc)

    Add your affiliate link in a php redirect(see below) and save it in the folder as index.php and upload to your hosting account. Your link will then be yoursite.com/go

    Code:
    <?php
    header( 'Location: youraffiliatelink' ) ;
    ?>
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  • Profile picture of the author kchui1028
    Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

    I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
    Cloak Affiliate links?? what for?
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinDupre
    Prosper202 and some slight mods I had a programmer do to make it 99% failproof. Don't see why you'd need anything else.
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  • Profile picture of the author cryptone24
    Josh Spaulding has a free cloaker that you upload to your server called "clever cloaker".

    I think what you also want is a cloaker and redirecter.

    (For Example) sometimes you may want to just link to an order page. Many of the free cloakers dont do that, they just link to the home offer page.

    The only one I found that does this is Easy Redirect Script but this cost $77.00--http://www.easyredirectscript.com/index.php Not An Affiliate Link

    As for me...i am gonna stick with "Pretty Links". Is free plugin, I can track clicks, have 4 different options for cloaking, and also no-follow and open new tab option and best of all I still retain my web address as part of the cloaked link.
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  • Profile picture of the author jeffereeno
    Prosper202 although they have gone through a bad patch now being bought out then mbo. Used to use them quite a lot but now have built my own cloacker.
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    • Profile picture of the author genietoast
      $77 to cloak and redirect? Wow. It's cheaper to buy a domain name on Go Daddy and do the same thing.

      Sean McAlister's got a Free Wordpress Plugin called JV Press Go Pages Plugin. Works like a charm but it can slow down the loading time of your blog.

      The PHP script redirect seems best option because its free and easy to do. You write the script on Notepad and FTP it to your server.

      However, this is not as easy to do for Mac users who don't have Notepad but use Text/Edit.

      Text/Edit is an Rich Text File (.rtf) which doesn't bode well with the PHP script extension...unfortunately.
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      • Profile picture of the author QuickSurf
        Originally Posted by genietoast View Post

        $77 to cloak and redirect? Wow. It's cheaper to buy a domain name on Go Daddy and do the same thing.

        Sean McAlister's got a Free Wordpress Plugin called JV Press Go Pages Plugin. Works like a charm but it can slow down the loading time of your blog.

        The PHP script redirect seems best option because its free and easy to do. You write the script on Notepad and FTP it to your server.

        However, this is not as easy to do for Mac users who don't have Notepad but use Text/Edit.

        Text/Edit is an Rich Text File (.rtf) which doesn't bode well with the PHP script extension...unfortunately.
        What do you do if you have a Mac? I only have a Macbook Pro.
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  • Profile picture of the author flashing2008
    If you use wordpress. you can install the plugin cparedirector2
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  • Profile picture of the author clg21
    Originally Posted by aekaplan View Post

    I know there are some software programs out there, but what do you Warriors do? Use programs or code? Would you mind sharing how to do this? Thanks so much!
    Ninja Link Cloaker by Matt Haslem. It works like a charm. I use it in conjunction with Adtrackz for tracking.
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  • Profile picture of the author jayesser
    If you are using wordpress - an you should be - use a plugin called "pretty links". It allows you to have www.yourdomain.com/anything u want. Its the only link cloaker Iuse and it works great. I dont believe in using online link shortner services
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  • Profile picture of the author deannatroupe
    I just use a site called thatswise.com to cloak my links. It's free to use and really easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author tim_reeves
    Wow this is an old thread! Check post 4 by Kenster - oh how far some have come...
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    • Profile picture of the author maree
      Originally Posted by tim_reeves View Post

      Wow this is an old thread! Check post 4 by Kenster - oh how far some have come...

      Your're right!! Amazing. It gives hope to all of us!
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