Free Affiliate Link Cloakers vs. Paid Affiliate Link Cloakers
Considering the fact that there are so many different types of link cloakers out there, it should come as no surprise to you that they come in various shapes, sizes, and (of course) costs. Ranging from totally and completely free to over $100, affiliate link cloakers certainly seem to occupy a diverse price range and although the free versions may be the most tempting for beginners, the question that you're bound to be asking yourself is: What's the difference between them?
Honestly speaking, it depends a lot on the specific affiliate link cloakers that you happen to be looking at, but there are several general trends that you should be aware of.
First and foremost among these is the fact that many free affiliate link cloakers are not really 'link cloakers' in the truest sense of the term. Instead they're really just link shorteners that are being used to hide affiliate links to a certain degree. A good example of this type of link shortener would be the ever-so-popular tinyurl.com service. Although these shorteners do hide links somewhat, once those links are clicked the full affiliate URL is going to appear in your potential customer's browser anyway - which is why this type of free link cloaker is really very limited in terms of usage.
On the other hand, there are actual full fledged link cloakers that are available for free and will even hide your affiliate link after it has been clicked. Naturally, these are slightly better and for the simple purpose of obscuring the affilite link from sight - they could suffice. Unfortunately, most of them contain the 'real' URL somewhere in the source code, which is why they aren't really all that secure.
For the most part, the hallmark of paid affiliate link cloakers is the fact that they hide affiliate links the best. By going above and beyond what other link cloakers have to offer, you can rest assured that your link is as hidden as it can be, and should not even appear in the source code.
That said - the true advantages of paid affiliate link cloakers are the many other features that they include. Some allow for double redirecting or other methods of redirecting to a URL of your choice while still obtaining the affiliate product 'cookie' so that you can gain commissions from every sale that is made. Others include pop up or pop under advertisement opportunities.
All said and done, there are a lot of other features that paid affiliate link cloakers provide, and this is exactly what separates them from their 'free' counterparts.
Now that you know the differences, perhaps you can make a more informed choice.
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