Link Cloaking

Link cloaking may have a bad reputation, but it’s actually a great way to both brand and protect your affiliate marketing links. You can choose one of two ways to cloak your links, either with or without using a plugin.

The plugin method is highly recommended for people who are less tech-savvy, although the other way is not that difficult and could be easily implemented. This process only takes a few minutes and requires absolutely no coding experience.

By quickly creating your own affiliate marketing links, you will be able to avoid getting your commissions usurped by scammers online. Additional benefits of link tracking are increased click-through rates (CTR), better tracking, elevated email delivery rates, and it becomes easier to manage your links.

Link Tracking Service

If you prefer a less hands-on approach to link cloaking, a link tracking service is a great option you should consider. This kind of app cloaks your affiliate marketing links for you, making them less obvious to outsiders. The service will hide the following details from any external figures, leads and scammers alike:

• Your service or product’s name
• The website address linked to your product or service

The only thing that will remain visible is your tracking link, which is used to track where each deposit or sale (depending on the service or product you are offering) came from. While there are popular, free tracking services, we do not recommend using them. The tracking tends to run out at some point, and some people use them to spam leads.

Cloaking Script Code

A third option is adding a Cloaker to your website or blog, a plugin designed to provide that extra layer of protection. The Cloaker is a script that offers a non-technical way to shield both your blog and your brand from unwanted attention.

Using this plugin further enables affiliate marketing link tracking and makes your website URL address your affiliate link. What could be better than that?

Another massive benefit of this tool is that it can be easily added via your WordPress Admin Panel. Both free and premium plugins like Pretty Link are available and work well in hiding sensitive information from hackers.

“Not taking the proper steps to protect your business is basically asking for scammers to take your money”

PHP Script

Last but not least is employing a PHP script is a bit more complicated than the others as it involves using PHP redirect. This method is better suited for those affiliate marketers who are more tech-savvy and feel comfortable handling code.

Choose the URL address you wish to hide into the PHP script, and proceed to upload that to your server. The name you pick for this file will become your tracking link.

Once again, this method is less suitable for beginners or anyone who is not tech-savvy. If you find this course of action or coding in general to be challenging, then it is best for you if you choose to stick with the less complex methods we have mentioned above.

Bottom Line

Cybercrime has become a serious problem over the past 10 years or so, and scammers and hackers seem only to become more creative as time goes on. Do not make yourself vulnerable, as they could easily steal your commissions.

Find the method that suits your individual needs best, and be sure to implement it into your website or blog. Protecting your affiliate marketing links means you are shielding your business and income from unnecessary risks.