| Affiliate marketers know that their hop link is the | | | | that you have to register several domain names if |
| vital link to their commissions. Because of this reason | | | | you have multiple products. Also a particular domain |
| it becomes very important to ensure that the hop | | | | may be unavailable, so you will have to resort to a |
| link looks as inviting to click on as possible. Let's face | | | | more convoluted and lengthy URL which may defeat |
| it - most hop links, to put it plainly, look like spammy | | | | the purpose of the redirect in the first place. |
| garbage. For a long time I use to think I didn't have a | | | | 3) Use a PHP Redirect |
| choice since I was unwilling to pay for link cloaking | | | | This method is by far the most robust method of |
| software until my business picked up. However I | | | | link cloaking, but it also takes a little bit more time. In |
| eventually discovered a couple of ways you can | | | | order for this to work, you'll need to have a domain |
| make you affiliate link appear more inviting. | | | | name and a hosting account. If you already have a |
| 1) Use a URL Shortening Service | | | | website, then this method is perfect for you. |
| This is the easiest way to make your links look | | | | Using your domain registrar's interface, create a |
| shorter and more appealing. You may have seen links | | | | folder with the name of your promotional product. |
| on the internet that look something like this:http: / | | | | Now open up your favorite text editor such as |
| tinyurl.com/1234 | | | | Notepad, and type the following PHP code: |
| (I just chose the number at the end at random) | | | | < ?php header( 'Your_Affiliate_Hop_Link' );? > |
| The website creates these shortened URL that lead | | | | Of course make sure you substitute the |
| to the website you specify. It also has the ability to | | | | Your_Affiliate_Hop_Link with your actual hop link. |
| have a 'custom alias' so instead of the '1234' in our | | | | One more thing, make sure you leave the single |
| example, it might look something like this:http: / | | | | quotations in place when you paste you link. Save |
| tinyurl.com/my_affiliate_product | | | | the file as "index.php" Now upload "index.php" into the |
| There are a couple of problems with this type of link | | | | new folder you created. Now when you want to |
| cloaking. The first is that the URL has no indication of | | | | direct someone using your affiliate link your link will |
| where it might be taking you. Another downside is | | | | look something like this:http: // |
| that it fails to reinforce your website name, and so | | | | Assuming that the folder you created was called |
| you lose out on brand promotion. Also, keep in mind | | | | "cool_product." |
| that TinyURL might not keep your URL around | | | | The disadvantage to this method is that it is time |
| forever. If you send your customers to a broken link, | | | | consuming, especially if you have many products you |
| you risk losing their trust and business. | | | | are promoting. However, if you have an existing |
| 2) Use a Domain Redirect | | | | website, this method is very effective. |
| This method is definitely a pretty good link cloaking | | | | Getting people to click on your hop link is extremely |
| technique. The process involves purchasing a domain | | | | vital if you intend to do well in affiliate marketing. |
| name in your niche. Using your domain service | | | | After you get some sales you can purchase link |
| provider such as you can set up a redirect to your | | | | cloaking software that will save you a lot of time in |
| affiliate hop link URL. A domain redirect is not very | | | | creating PHP redirects. However, until then you can |
| expensive since you can get a.INFO domain name for | | | | rely on one of these three methods to make your |
| around $0.79/year. A downside to this technique is | | | | hop links look more attractive. |