Link Cloaking - helpful or hurtful?

by 8 replies
10
Hey guys,

I have a quick question regarding link cloaking. I currently have a site set up with Wordpress, and I've found a plugin called 'ILWP Simple Link Cloaker' which I use to cloak my affiliate links.

I've read a few different things in terms of benefits in terms of CTR, but also heard that Google doesn't like cloaking.

So, what do you guys think? Is using this plugin going to hurt my odds of getting a first page google ranking?

Thanks!
CcK
#search engine optimization #cloaking #helpful #hurtful #link
  • It doesn't like cloaking, I think, correct me if im wrong people, it is in the top 3 things which can harm your site the most.
  • Ok your mixing up two different cloaking methods here. The cloaking that Google does not like is website cloaking, where lets say you set up a blog to help you rank well in the serps, then you would cloak your blog to direct traffic to a money page, while at the same time, the spiders only see the blog content.

    Google hates affiliate links on websites and it will harm your ranking, it's an absolute must to cloak affiliate links on your site. Plus to your visitor it looks lie they are just being redirected to another part of your blog.
  • I use the PrettyLink plugin to cloak my links...

    With the new FTC regulations, you should have a disclosure statement indicating you are receiving compensation for any affiliate links on your site.

    I'm not a lawyer, so check with a real professional when it comes to legal statements.
  • You are not really cloaking, you are just redirecting. Google isn't being tricked.
  • You can use a simple PHP redirect in combination with a no follow tag. If you want to go a step further, redirect through 2 domains to be safe. The first redirects to another redirect file on a different domain.
  • I have always been "worried" about programs like this rewriting my affiliate id. Why not just hide your affiliate links in a php redirect. Then just name and upload the redirect and your done.

    Code:
    <?php
header( 'Location: http://www.youraffiliatelink.com' ) ;
?>
  • yeh im not a big fan of cloaking either, i guess im on googles good side then (y) haha
  • Before I used the php redirect in here, my method of cloaking was using the Redirection wordpress plugin. I'm also assuming you own a .com where you can use FTP, and stuff so using the php redirect would be best and it's simple to do.

    @mloveridge17 - well, it does help build your genuine-ness =P that always help.
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