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Disguising your Affiliate
Hoplink, or 'Link Cloaking'
Link Cloaking is a process of 'disguising' your affiliate hoplink to make sure it doesn't draw any attention to the fact that you are getting 'commission' for the sale of a product or service.
Remember we said earlier that people don't like to be sold and are less likely to buy when they suspect that you earn a commission for recommending a product. Studies have shown that using a regular affiliate link decreases conversion rates and that means less sales and less commission for your efforts.
Link theft is another reason why cloaking your affiliate hoplink is a good idea. Some clickbank marketers can easily spot an affiliate link and once they land on a sales page will clear their cookies and type in their hoplink URL in their browser and refresh the page. This will immediately credit them with the sale, instead of you.
Lastly, it is just a lot simpler and more appealing to a prospect to click on a 'cloaked' link. See the example below, which link would you rather click on?
http://joyce27knxR.dogskins.hop.clickbank.net
http://www.DogSkinSolutionSecrets.com
The second link is simply more appealing and cleaner looking. It looks like it will bring you to a page that is more relevant to what you were looking for.
The solution to al of the problems above is 'link cloaking.' Here are 4 of the most popular methods to 'disguise' your affiliate hoplink:
Method 1: Use HTML code to display a different looking destination link
Simply use the following HTML code:
Example HTML code:
<a href="http://XXXXXX.dogskins.hop.clickbank.net">www.DogSkinSolutions.com</a>
This HTML code will display www.DogSkinSolutions.com but send people through your affiliate hoplink (be sure to replace the XXXX's with your affiliate ID or nickname.)
Method 2: Use “link shrinkers” to shorten your affiliate hoplink
There are many 3rd party services you can use to hide your affiliate hoplink. Most of the services are free.
Here are a few examples:
http://tinyurl.com
http://www.shorturl.com
http://www.shrinkmylink.com
http://url123.com
*on average these services convert less than purchasing a domain and using that in your hoplink - see method below. These "shrinking" services have been known to disappear from time to time, so as a warning, if you're using these services be sure to check them often.
Method 3: Purchase a domain name from a domain provider like GoDaddy.com or Register.com
This method gives you the most control over your links and higher conversions. You will need to register a domain name with a company that offers free forwarding service with URL masking. I use http://www.godaddy.com/. GoDaddy offers free forwarding and masking services and it's only $8.95 per domain registry as of publishing time.
After you register a domain name, log into your account and click on 'domain forwarding.' Then type in your affiliate hoplink as the domain to forward to. Then click on 'mask domain' and enter the display URL to match your new chosen domain name.
Method 4: Buy link cloaking software
Here are a couple of link cloaking softwares that have been recommended by affiliates:
http://www.novasoft-inc.com
http://www.affiliatelinkcloaker.com
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns please contact me personally!
Let's get started!
Sincerely,
Linda Kajda,
Author of Dog Skin Solutions & Dog Owner
http://DogSkinSolutions.com
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Dog Skin Solutions
Harwich, Massachusetts
Email: support@dogskinsolutions.com
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