Why Link Cloaking is Necessary For Affiliate Marketers
- Posted On : June 25, 2010 7:13 am
- Posted By : Sandip
- Member Since : August 19, 2009
There is much confusion about link cloaking. The term itself seems suspicious, like it’s a black hat technique of marketing or a way to cover your identity. The simple fact is, it is practically nothing like that. What it’s is something that any internet marketer should become aware of and use, for a number of reasons.
When you’ve got an affiliate partnership, you add widgets or code to your affiliate ads. That way, when people click the link, they are directed to the affiliate site. Your details are embedded in the link, so, in principle at least, always get the commission on the sale. If your link is not cloaked, even so, a lot of issues can go wrong.
The very customers who should appreciate your information about a service or product occasionally think they are being smart by eliminating your affiliate ID from the link. They falsely think they will get a far better deal that way. They’ll not. All are going to doing is denying you your well-earned commission.
Next, sophisticated hackers can use the information on your link to rob your commissions. The commission gets paid out, but not to you. Although hackers are generally trolling for high traffic affiliate sites and usually are savvy enough to steal simply a portion of sales, even small enterprises are at risk.
What link cloaking does is change your affiliate link with another your choice. When someone clicks on your link, they are still redirected to your affiliate link, but it is invisible from the view of the individual who clicks the link. This does several things for you.
The very first thing that happens is that there is no longer an affiliate ID for your greedy customer to get rid of. Actually, that seldom happens, but why risk it? Besides, plenty of possible customers get dubious when they see those strange looking links. They will make you look bad to them. Your cloaked link offers you authority and legitimacy to them. You are worthy of your good reputation, so why not do every thing in your power to maintain it?
The main thing you have done is safeguard yourself from hackers. They have nowhere to begin if they don’t have your affiliate id. In effect, you have hijacked the hackers!
As you can tell, link cloaking has nothing to do with shady black hat marketing methods. On the other hand, it’s a legitimate tool you should use to safeguard yourself and improve your online credibility. If you do not cloak your links, in fact, it makes you appear amateurish in the eyes of both your customers and the companies you are affiliated with.
Many online marketers take it one step further and produce an iframe page online. This is a page that appears precisely like the page that the customer will be directed to when they click on the link. In the eyes of the client, this assures them you have a direct and legitimate connection with the company.
If you have any doubt left in your head, simply ask the company with which you are affiliated. They will always appreciate because you respect their policies, even if they say they do not allow it. Usually, though, they will encourage you to do so.
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