The Affiliate Link Cloaking Little White Lie

vito

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There may be some useful information here for many of you. I just sent this email to my list. To respect the forum, I have removed any link to me.

(You are only allowed to post URLs to other sites after you have made 15 posts or more. Sorry but this includes Smiley faces & email addreses as well)

Okay, but the links in the email are actually important - your loss.

One of the things that really frosts me is spending money and
time on needless scripts. Let me give you one example that is
pervasive - Affiliate link Cloaking.

Why in the world do you need to pay for affiliate link cloaking
scripts when your web server already supplies all the needed
mechanisms including tracking?

The last time I checked, my server stats package kept track of
the following:

Report number of "human" visits

Report unique "human" visitors

Report session duration

Not ordered records tolerance and reorder for visits

Statistics for visits are based on

Statistics for unique visitors are based on

Report countries

Report regions (US and Canada states)

Report cities and major countries regions

Report ISP

Report Organizations name

Report hosts

Report WhoIs information on hosts

Report authenticated users

Report/Filter robots (nb detected)

Report/Filter worms (nb of families detected)

Report rush hours

Report days of week

Report most often viewed pages

Report entry pages

Report exit pages

Not ordered records tolerance and reorder for entry/exit pages

Detection of CGI pages as pages (and not just hits)

Report pages by directory

Report pages with last access time/average size

Dynamic filter on hosts/pages/referers report

Report web compression statistics (mod_gzip,mod_deflate)

Report file types

Report by file size

Report OS (nb detected)

Report browsers (nb detected)

Report details of browsers versions

Report screen sizes

Report tech supported by browser for Java/Flash/PDF

Report audio format supported by browser for
Real/QuickTime/Mediaplayer

Report search engines used (nb detected)

Report keywords/keyphrases used on search engines (nb detected)

Report external referring web page with/without query

Report HTTP Errors

Report 404 Errors

Report 'Add to favorites' statistics

Other personalized reports for miscellaneous/marketing purpose

Daily statistics

Monthly statistics

Yearly statistics

Benchmark with no DNS lookup in lines/seconds

Benchmark with DNS lookup in lines/seconds

Analyzed data save format (to use with third tools)

Export statistics to PDF

Graphical statistics in one page / several / or frames

Now, I don't know about you, but that list seems to supply plenty
of data points and this list is from only one of the free
webserver stats packages available.

Okay, how do you do cloak a link? A simple server redirect.

Before I show you how to do it, I want to explain something
extremely important. If you are using link shortening services
like tiny URL, please step away from the banjo and crack pipe and
think.

Why would tiny URL be so interested in supplying you with a
links shortening service? Altruism?

In a word - data

Hear this and hear it good - ANY time your information passes
through another server, that server can collect YOUR data. If
you want to see how important data is becoming watch Google and
see what new tools they supply for you to use and also read the
section in the following article called: Data is the next Intel
Inside.

(O'reilly link removed by your system)

With all the listed companies out there trying to collect and
CONTROL all kinds of data, why are so many internet marketers
just willing to give it away?

Because they don't know any better. And worse, they don't seem
to know the BEST tools for the job. Some of these tool choices
are like deciding to cut grass with a scissors. Maybe you get to
understand the mating behavior of the common Black Ant, but that
ain't gonna put any greenbacks in the bank.

Data and its implications are pervasive and becoming more
important all the time. Do you think products occupy certain
places on the store shelf based on guesses? Data protection (and
disinformation for corporate spies - data) is also a great
reason for cloaking as well, and yet, no one talks about it.

Guess what, I will in the future. I will even cue up the
Camtasia and show you how to actually do it. Everyone is hung up
on cloaking for SEO. There is so much more to it and I won't
just give you a useless outline. I will SHOW YOU.

Okay, on to the redirect. It's so simple The man in "Flowers for
Algernon" could do if after regressing back to mentally
challenged state.

The great thing about a server side redirect is you can create
any subdirectory structure you want off of the main domain. It
doesn't even have to exist physically - (i.e.
domain.com/buy-it-now/) This logical representation is made
possible by a little file called .htaccess, Apache's
directory-level configuration file.

(htacces link removed by your system)

This ability to create any directory you want can be used for
BRANDING or to deliver a call to action - BUY-MY-GREAT-STUFF-NOW

So, in Cpanel go the redirect tab and create your redirect:

(examples links removed by your system)

and redirect to the desired location - affiliate link, or
whatever.

The great thing about this method is it's fast, free and you get
your data.

Now in cPanel again, go look at your stats. I'll have more on
stats (and, shhh, you don't want to be struck by lightning,
cloaking) in subsequent emails.

There is so much more to this technology game than you can get
from these $47.00 ebooks selling outlines. Where is the damn
beef? The heck with any old beef, I'm about to deliver steak.

Did I mention, I like my work?

There is a reason other marketers have come to me for technical
advice. Now, I am using my brain for tech and combining forces
with Tommy's brain for sales and marketing. Tommy has more ideas
in one day than some people have all year.

To hear what I mean, sign up to be a Blutonian at:

(location link removed by your system)

It's free and there are some videos there that will really get
you thinking.

As E.T. so eloquently stated: INPUT

Talk soon,

Vito

P.S.

Pino has been assigned some covert kneecap rearranging. I
thought it was about time to redevelop his anatomy curriculum
and give him a deeper understanding of some of the finer points.
Don't be surprised if he comes to your door with a hammer in one
hand and a pizza pie in the other - kidding...

Jimmy smoked crack and I don't care...
 
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