What is Link and URL Cloaking?
January 17, 2010 by Jim · Leave a Comment
Link and URL cloaking is where you take a Link/URL and hide it’s true destination when the Link/URL is clicked on by having the Link/URL you publish online point to your site or a Link/URL shorting service like Tinyurl.com, the person then gets redirected to the true long Link/URL.
Most all big affiliate marketers use link cloaking to hide their affiliate links in all marketing materials, this allows them to stop commission looses due to people that bypass their affiliate links and to track all clicks on that link and to have all links on the internet pointing back to their site for SEO reasons.
Example of Link/URL cloaking:
Affiliate link: http://affiliate-id.vender.hop.clickbank.net
Cloaked link: http://procloaker.com/c/Myname
Long Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/24-Apple-iMAC-2-4GHz-Intel-Core-2-Duo-4GB-
RAM-1TB-HD_W0QQitemZ160393889219QQcmdZViewItemQQptZApple_
Desktops?hash=item25583885c3
Cloaked and Shortened Link: http://procloaker.com/c/IMAC
Both links in each above will goto the same page when you set them up, which would you rather use?
By cloaking your links, visitors have no idea that you are promoting products or services as an affiliate when they see your link in your web pages or in your advertisements.
You can also use link cloaking to turn long ugly links into shorter ones that are easy to remember and do not break in e-mails.
Jim