Masking affiliate links?

[JeanCraig]

I came across affiliate links masking tool yesterday and I am wondering if its necessary for your affiliate links or not?
Why do people mask the link? what is the main reason?

 

[elcidofaguy]

Couple of reasons.. For one affiliate links can be really long with lots of get url parameters... Its easier to remember and looks nicer when the link is first shown to be from your domain or in smaller format i.e. tinturl, bitly before the redirect to the affiliate site....

It also allows you to add statistical tracking of clicks on links before the affiliate referral. The other reason is normally to apply nofollow to the link to prevent link juice flowing to the vendor site.

In addition this approach also provides easier link management. Lets say the vendor closes shop or that you find a better affiliate offer. Its easier to change the redirect than to edit every link.

 

[aaron kev]

One more important reason is to keep your links safe from hackers. If they came across your naked affiliate link , they can hack it and redirect it to their affiliate link , means they will earn through your traffic source.

 

[Layn]

It also allows you to add statistical tracking of clicks on links before the affiliate referral. The other reason is normally to apply nofollow to the link to prevent link juice flowing to the vendor site.

I'm wondering why they can pay for clicks from affiliate links, does it have a system to track clicks from visitors? how did it work?

 

[vishwa]

Affiliate links looks ugly and very long. People easily understand that you are doing affiliate programs and bypass it without clicking. Google also hate raw affiliate links. Masking affiliate links is very easy way to sort out these problems.

 

[elcidofaguy]

I'm wondering why they can pay for clicks from affiliate links, does it have a system to track clicks from visitors? how did it work?

I'm not fully sure what you mean - but assuming you want to know how to track clicks on affiliate links. The way you do that is simple. The process goes like this:

Masked Link -> Capture Click Data -> Redirects to Affiliate Link

The masked link is what is displayed. You could use the following:

1) URL shortner like bitly, tinyurl as they capture link click data
2) Affiliate Link Plugins - typically these will capture link click data before referring the user onto the affiliate URL
3) Self hosted solution i.e. YOURLS which is similar to URL shortners. This too captures the link click data before redirecting user to the affiliate link.

Hope that helps!