How Link Cloaking Works

Most people don't really understand how link cloaking actually works, so this page is dedicated to helping you to understand the basic concepts of cloaking.

Types of cloaking

Java Scripts
Some of the most common forms of cloaking are done through the use of javascripts to hide or disguise your link info that is displayed in the browser's taskbar when you "mouse over" the link text.
This is pretty effective for eliminating the "bare link display" problem in the task bar, however this method has some drawbacks. 
 

Some of these drawbacks are:

  • Many times the javascript will only work with Internet Explorer
  • A viewer can simply view your page source and get all your link info
  • Your visitor must have java script enabled on his browser, or it won't work

 

Re-Direct Method
This is the most effective type of link cloaking and the method used by any quality cloaking tool.
This is done by creating a "re-direct" page. A re-direct page is a web page that contains an invisible frame inside the main viewing window.
Think of this invisible frame as another web browser window.  Or a browser window inside a browser window.

Huh?  I know, it sounds confusing!  Let me try to clarify this with an example:

Let's say that your affiliate link is  http://YourAfilliateID.keifersoft.hop.clickbank.net
When you click on this link, your web browser opens up the destination page in your browser window and you see all its content displayed on that web page.

Now let's say that you have created a re-direct page on your website, and you named your re-direct page "Cloaker.html".  When you open "Cloaker.html", you are viewing the web page from inside your own web site. For example  http://www.yoursite.com/Cloaker.html.

Framed inside your browser window, is another window that is pointed to http://YourAfilliateID.keifersoft.hop.clickbank.net. which is displayed inside the main browser window.

All the content from the target page "amazingcloaker.com" is being displayed inside your web page at "yoursite.com/Cloaker.html". 

Everything you're looking at appears to be located on your own web site even though it is really coming directly from your merchant's site.

Now you might be thinking "Won't the merchant be angry if you're disguising the link to his/her web page?" I have to say that I have NEVER seen a merchant object to getting referrals to his/her web site along with the sales that follow.

The bottom line is that you are sending them traffic and generating sales for their product(s) at your own expense and effort.
They are certainly not going to complain about a cloaked link, unless they have a screw loose or something. In that case you're better off without them.

With a re-direct page, everything looks the same.  All the content from your target site is displayed exactly as it would be as if you clicked on the bare link itself.  The actual link is completely cloaked.  In this example the "address bar" would show  http://www.yoursite.com/Cloaker.html.  

No-Frames Re-Direct Pages  
Re-Direct pages can also be created with PHP or ASP scripting without using frames. These re-directs relay you straight to the destination site and you leave the originating site altogether. Their page is not displayed inside your own webpage, nor does it give the illusion that it is part of your web site. If you don't like the idea of your merchant's product page appearing to be a part of your own website, this could be a good alternative.
The source code of the No-Frames re-direct page is unreadable by the visitor because there is no HTML for the browser to interperet, therefore the visitor is sent directly to the target website. The AmazingCloaker supports this feature as well.

Whether you use framed or unframed pages, you would now simply replace your bare affiliate link in your product web page to your cloaked link, ie - "http://www.Yoursite.com/Cloaker.html" This works because your affiliate info is already embedded inside your re-direct page source code.

Also, in this example the status bar would display "http://www.yoursite.com/Cloaker.html" when you mouse over your new link.

The AmazingCloaker encrypts your affiliate link in the source code of the framed re-direct page for extra security.
Plus you get the added bonus of using the "auto cookie". This allows you to cookie your visitor even if he/she bypasses your affiliate link and goes straight to the vendor site. Now you will still receive credit for the referral!

As a result, you have the peace of mind that your links are secure, your conversions are increasing, and your merchant is happy because he/she is not losing your referred traffic because of other ineffective or flawed cloaking methods.

To see what a cloaked re-direct page generated by AmazingCloaker looks like, Click Here

To see some examples of cloaked links Click Here



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