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Newbie with questions about first solo ad, tracking and domains

by AdamPayne
6 replies
Hi all,

I am a newbie so I will be writing this in simple terms.

I am about to try my first solo. Have found a friendly, responsive provider.

My issue is with tracking.

I have a long unsightly affiliate link i am trying to promote. To attempt to get more clicks, I bought a new domain, and forwarded the link to this new domain.

When I submitted my ad copy to be checked by my provider, I used my new domain.

I then signed up for a free account with link tracker. My shortened URL can easily track clicks, but it defeats the object of buying the new domain.

My provider then told me they would cloak the links to improve possible clicks.

I guess my question is, was it pointless for me to have bought the new domain? And if not, how can I track it without making the clickable link look unsightly?

Does this make sense?

Thank in advance.

Adam
#domains #newbie #questions #solo #tracking
  • Profile picture of the author Des Lau
    Hi Adam

    I don't think it was necessary to forward the affiliate link to the domain.

    I think you should have just put the affiliate link through the tracker and given that to the provider.

    Having said that, most providers I've dealt with use their own trackers so all the above is futile if you know what I mean!
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    How many different sources will you be using to send traffic to your squeezepage?

    I use a service called TEtoolbox as I promote across multiple sources. If you're looking to make the links more attractive you could down the lines of a script that will sit on your server and allow you to have links such as /recommends/productname

    These were super popular a few years ago, but seem to have gone out of fashion now link shortners and html links can be used in email marketing.

    If you're struggling with this it may be worth finding someone who is an expert in setting up tracking and hiring them to work for you. It will be money well spent if it helps you pick the best combination of adverts and traffic sources.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Hugall
      Super great advice. Hiring people that know how to do certain things better than you is always a good idea when you decide to do any type of business. People are competitive and you can always find a good price and get grrrreat results. Just do your research which it sounds like you have started doing.
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      • Profile picture of the author AdamPayne
        Thanks to all who have replied. Much appreciated.
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        • Profile picture of the author Demian V
          I'm also using Linktrackr and have been using the following method for a few solo ad campaigns recently.

          I bought a domain to use in the ads, then set it up to redirect to my Linktrackr link, which in turn points to my affiliate link, which happens to be a squeeze page.

          For each individual campaign, I set up a new directory on my chosen domain in my hosting cPanel, with the directory being relevant to the particular campaign.

          For example, if I was running a solo ad using John Smith as a provider, it might look like "mysite.com/js1", for the first campaign with John Smith.

          This will enable you to use the domain you bought, which I'm sure looks more appealing than a Linktrackr or raw affiliate link, that's why you bought it to use in the first place!

          So each new campaign will require a new directory and a new Linktrackr link.

          If you don't have hosting and are setting up the domain redirect through your registrar, you won't be able to use this method, unless you're only running one campaign, in which case no directories are needed.

          So the set up, step by step, would look like this:

          1. Create a new link in Linktrackr, and use your affiliate link as the "destination URL".

          **Step 2 directions are for Hostgator, I'm not familiar with other hosting,
          hope it's still of help to you**

          2. Go into your hosting cPanel and create a new directory on your chosen domain, relevant to the campaign you're planning to run. This is very simple, just go to the "Domains" section and click on "Redirects". Pick your domain from the drop-down menu, and enter the name of the directory you want to use after the "/". Keep the redirect "type" setting as "Permanent". Then, copy and paste the Linktrackr link you created in the first step into the "redirects to" box. I'd keep the "www.redirection" setting as "redirect with or without www". Click "add".

          3. Put your domain with new directory (www.yoursite.com/whatever) into your address bar, and make sure you are redirected to your affiliate page, or whatever final destination URL you chose.


          I'm using this method for the same reason as you, to be able to display a more appealing looking link in any solo ads, and therefore potentially increase CTR.

          This is as simple as I could hone it down to. Hope it helps!

          All the best,
          Demian
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          • Profile picture of the author ACGroup1
            It's a good idea to own a domain, especially if the domain name is related to the campaign. Reason being, you can set up an auto-responder opt-in squeeze page on your site, adding names to your own list (an invaluable tool) and then have the landing page of your promotion replace the thank you page for the auto-responder.
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