Exploring the Various Traces of an Affiliate Link
Contrary to popular belief, there is more to hiding all traces of an affiliate link than simply making sure that the link itself looks different. Altogether, there are so many traces of affiliate links out there that it can be hard to cover all the bases - and you should be aware that even some link cloakers don't really cover everything too! In order to appreciate just what 'tell tale' signs exist for affiliate links, you need to look at them a lot closer.
Essentially the displayed link URL is probably the very first trace of an affiliate link that needs to be hidden. It can take many forms, but most are pretty obvious and so the minute someone mouses over a linked portion of text, they're bound to notice that it leads to an affiliate link! To hide this, you could use various methods, including simply setting up some form of redirect so that you can publish a different URL and then have that URL redirect to the product website.
Unfortunately, this fails to address the next trace of an affiliate link. Even if you were to redirect from a different URL, eventually when the person actually lands on the product website, they're going to see the affiliate URL in their address bar. When they do, the game is up! Avoiding this is a lot more complicated and requires some pretty creative coding, or the use of advanced types of redirects in order to prevent it from ever happening.
Last but certainly not least, there are other traces of affiliate links which are still bound to be present. For example, some websites actually openly advertise the fact that you could become one of their affiliates, and this directly increases the risk that a customer may choose to 'steal' your commission for themselves!
Getting rid of these final few traces is really close to impossible, however there are methods whereby you can bypass the actual sales page of the product entirely, and thus prevent yourself from ever coming face to face with this scenario. Doing so requires yet more advanced redirecting - but it is a method that is really and truly effective.
End of the day, it is close to impossible to hide the fact that your link is an affiliate link completely. Sooner or later, your customers are bound to figure out that you've sent them to an affiliate product. Really, the true question is whether or not you can delay that realization for long enough to make a sale... or not!
Through the use of advanced link cloakers, you'll find that even the toughest of affiliate links can actually be masked pretty well. As such it should not be a problem for you to 'hide' your affiliate link for as long as you have to.
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