An Insight into Link Cloaking
The term Link Cloaking often resurfaces, both for good and bad reasons, forcing one to think about it with the intention of finding its true nature. Though it has invited a lot of discussion but no single statement has been issued which clarifies the confusion. The write-up is our attempt to provide some useful insights that will help the readers to understand the concept of Link Cloaking.
What is Link Cloaking?
Link Cloaking is the practice of disguising the link directed to the affiliate site and making it appear as if it is part of the site. In other words, it hides the long URL of the affiliate site and rather presents an appealing URL to the users, to which they click and are redirected to the affiliate site from where they can make a purchase. It is one of the ways used by online marketers to increase their online sales.
What Link Cloaking does?
- It masks the affiliate link
- It creates a link (short URL) which provides an idea to the users about the page they are going to visit
Why Link Cloaking is done?
There are several reasons that prompt marketers to adopt Link Cloaking including:
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Users avoid affiliate links
There is strong tendency among users not to click on the links from the affiliate sites, which affects the marketer in achieving sales targets. However a cloaked link by appearing relevant makes them click and who knows that they might buy if they get the desired thing.
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Cloaked Link is better to look at than long and confusing affiliate link
Cloaked link is made to appear neat and guide the user whereas affiliate link, being a complex mix of words and numbers repels the users. This makes Link Cloaking preferable.
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Provides protection against commission theft or Commission Hijacking
Not cloaking a link discloses the affiliate ID to those visitors/hackers who can take advantage of it to steal a part of marketer’s commission. In order to prevent hackers from using the information to get commission credit, links are cloaked.
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To maintain credibility
As a cloaked link gives the impression that link is meant to be useful it maintains the credibility of the marketer among its visitors. Also it looks unprofessional to put the affiliate link as it is on the site.
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Helps in conversions
This is one of the crucial reasons that makes online marketers practice link cloaking as it helps them increase the number of conversions.
How to Cloak A Link?
Link Cloaking can be done manually as well as there are several software programs available to do it. Few of the link cloaking plugins available for WordPress are GoCodes(Free), Ninja Affiliates (Paid) and Pretty Link Pro (Paid)
Whether it is right for marketers to use Link Cloaking for their benefit or does it really have any advantages for the users are some questions which are difficult to answer as the subject has always drawn conflicting reactions While some say it is justified to undertake link cloaking, others are of the opinion that it is against ethics. The term is controversial and we can only hope to get the issue resolved with time.
[stextbox id="info"] Probably you would also want to read our review of the best link cloaking for WordPress out there, check it out: Thirsty Affiliates Review[/stextbox]
Category: Affiliate Marketing
About the Author (Author Profile)
Sneha Rastogi, associated with LinkBuildingWorks, a leading Link popularity building firm with a team of Link Building Specialists having 10 years of experience. We are specialized in one way link buildingSubscribe
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Sites That Link to this Post
- profitblogcom | March 9, 2011
- Free And Premium Wordpress Link Cloaking Plugins | Netchunks | March 21, 2011
- Free And Premium WordPress Link Cloaking Plugins | April 18, 2011
- Ethics To Be Followed In SEO | Netchunks | June 5, 2011
Cloaking affiliate links really help a lot with SERP and also may lead to more sales. The technique is pretty old but it is ever green of affiliate marketing. Actually I think there are few good plug ins for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal that cloak links automatically.
Yup Jake, this link cloaking method has been there from as long as internet marketing has been there. It is really important for affiliate marketers to cloak their links
If you mask your affiliate link then make sure that it has a nofollow attribute, otherwise it can be taken against you if google misunderstands your intentions.
Thanks for the tip Andreas. I didn’t realize that it’s best to use a nofollow attribute when masking affiliate links.
That is a good advice Andreas, you are right it is important to nofollow your affiliate cloaked links but many marketers forget to do it.
Exactly! Google might penalized you if you do it wrongly. You really have to abide with their terms and conditions to avoid this scenario.
Steve recently posted..Vapor King Electric Cigarette
Nice guide about link cloaking Sneha!! I liked this article. Link cloaking is really helpful for affiliates.
Saksham recently posted..Best Time To Tweet!
Thanks Saksham. Happy to see you here.
By reading your post, I really wan to use Link Cloaking for my new blog. But, I need to know Whether Link Cloaking is legal. Is it save for Google?
I have ever had great blog whit high traffic because I always updated the articles manually 2-7 articles/day, but Google banned it. It make me shock.
I need to know is Link Cloaking legal for Google Policy?
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one should not confuse cloaking with link cloaking. Cloaking is a black hat technique where a different content is presented to the user and a different one is presented to search engines.
But, Link Cloaking is a common technique used by many affiliate marketers. Though it is not a black hat technique , the technique is quite controversial, debate still continues whether it is ethical or unethical.
Well, its nice to see some new wordpress plugins which I wasnt knowing. Thanks for the information. And I really think cloaking is necessary for every blogger since it helps in increasing sales.
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This past year I have been using pretty links though it is a paid plugin, I didn’t know there was free link cloaking WordPress plugin. It makes things look neater if you are redirecting to an affiliate page, I also didn’t know about the nofollow. Thanks.
Yup, there are free ones too but the free ones do not offer as much feature as the paid ones. The free ones can only cloak the link not make it nofollow or anything else
Shiva Chettri recently posted..What is a Viral Video Tips and Case Studies
Amazing……… this is a 2nd way to earn money by Link Cloaking and affiliate with some one. The reason you described here for Users to avoid affiliate links……………. is the fact.
Nasir recently posted..Reunion Decoration Tips
Nice information about link chocking… Go codes is a good plugin to use when you are a starter…
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You are right bro, Go Codes is free and has lot of helpful functions. Thanks for the comment
Shiva Chettri recently posted..Some Basic Tips For Webmasters
There are so many ways to earn money online………… ultimately the link cloaking is new tactic earning in a smart way……thanks for sharing…..!
John recently posted..Car for Blind People
Well link cloaking has been used by affiliate marketers from a long time back, it is a great way of not allowing commission hijacking or avoidance of users of the link.
Thanks a lot for the comment John
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Nice explanation on Link Cloaking, and thanks for shiva for giving suggestion to use Gocodes
Pradeep Bhandari recently posted..List of Online Youtube video Converters
Go codes is an awesome tool, it performs wonders for your links and conversion rate, for those who haven’t tried it even pro’s will like this tool.
Now what about people that dont use wordpress?
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I also use & love Link Cloaking.
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Commission Commando recently posted..1
I came across your site for the first time today and am really enjoying the content you have provided. I would like to have your opinion on much of a difference in terms of percentage of conversion takes place before and after cloaking. Is there any accepted figure ? Also how to go about cloaking multiple affiliate links using php redirects .