subject: Contrast Between Exposed and Cloaked Affiliate Links [print this page] Contrast Between Exposed and Cloaked Affiliate Links
Affiliate link 'cloakers' have been gaining in popularity over the past few years as the internet has been growing with users. Beginners assume they know what link cloakers are and what they do and end up getting woefully confused by the very idea and fail to understand what the difference is between exposed and and cloaked affiliate links are.
Obviously, the most noticeable difference between exposed and cloaked affiliate links is the appearance of them. The appearance is also why cloaked links are popular too.
Basically, in a nutshell, exposed affiliate links are easy to spot, and generally noticeable from miles away. Most exposed affiliate links (called referral links, or hoplinks on the Clickbank network) follow very distinctive patterns. One of the most popular, on the Clickbank network for instance is: http://username.product.clickbank.com which is very blatant.
On the other hand, cloaked affiliate links are more covert. Cloaked links are so covert that they can take any form possible. A cloaked link for the above clickbank description could show up as http://www.yoursite.com/product.html. Some cloaked affiliate links may even show up as http://www.yoursite.com and have a redirect to the affiliate product.
Essentially, you can provide a new, more trustworthy user experience for your visitors as it may seem like you are linking to an area of your own site, or a page of interest.
Naturally, there are other differences too, but almost all of them are focused on the core difference talked about. For example, exposed affiliate links pose the potential for "turning off" potential customers as affiliate links are becoming commonplace these days. And with the large amount of inferior affiliate products on the market, potential customers have reason to be sketchy.
Another problem with exposed affiliate links is the fact that they can be hijacked or stolen with ease, thus robbing you of your hard earned commission, making all the work you put into your program worth zero.
Make sure you take steps to protect both your customers and your affiliate commissions and cloak your affiliate links.
