What is Cloaking ?

Hello Folks,

Could anyone explain Cloaking at micro and macro level ? Why do we need it for SEO, youtube and facebook ?

Thanks

 

I second this but I quickly found threads with answers:

- basically it's disguising your affiliate links.

I cant post the threads url but you can quickly find them for looking for similar threads right below

 

I cant say it much better, so:

"Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the User-Agent HTTP header of the user requesting the page. When a user is identified as a search engine spider, a server-side script delivers a different version of the web page, one that contains content not present on the visible page, or that is present but not searchable. The purpose of cloaking is sometimes to deceive search engines so they display the page when it would not otherwise be displayed (black hat SEO). However, it can also be a functional (though antiquated) technique for informing search engines of content they would not otherwise be able to locate because it is embedded in non-textual containers such as video or certain Adobe Flash components."

 

Great question! Saved me the trouble of asking!

 

Great answer. I've always thought I had an idea, but this definitely tied up the loose ends. Thanks!

 

The term cloaking, considered a form of spam by search engines, is the technique of hiding true page content from either a human or robot visitor. This technique is used both to camouflage actual page content from page thieves and to artificially present a more ?search engine friendly? website to visiting spiders. Cloaking is considered an unacceptable practice by all of the major search engines and can be cause for banning.

 

Cloaking means to either disguise your traffic source, or to hide that you are redirecting users with an affiliate link.

Good luck!

 

i don't think cloaking works very well.

 

It does. It will help convert more sales instead of people buying through their own affiliate link or getting turned off then they see your just after their money.

There's actually a very simple wordpress plugin that will help you cloak your link, making it look like your affiliate link is inside your domain.

From affiliate link: 12412515jk1h5212uih1nj3462sdf.affiliate.username.com
To this: www domain.com/customname.html

 

Cloaking is like the most already said: make your link (affiliate) like customize! So the Link people see in their browser is different like the Link you receive from your affiliate program! Why is this the best invention ever? Because the most of the time when people see something they like most of them can change your affiliate name and put their own name and you will loose your commission!

 

Was wondering how often this happens as most people shopping maybe aren't aware of this type of redirect. Because my thinking is, if you know how these type of things work then your not paying full price for a product anyway, and you have already searched high and low and everywhere else for the best deal, so your not paying retail ( on some things anyway) and someone's affiliate link.
Interested to see what percentage of people would be dishonest about it

 

The term cloaking, considered a form of spam by search engines, is the technique of hiding true page content from either a human or robot visitor. This technique is used both to camouflage actual page content from page thieves and to artificially present a more "search engine friendly" website to visiting spiders. Cloaking is considered an unacceptable practice by all of the major search engines and can be cause for banning.

 

What is the name of that plugin?

 

I think cloaking can also be attributed in modifying the PR of a website. Some guys are selling blog posts with PR 7-9 but surely though most of them are fake either by redirecting through header scripts.

 

Cloaking is the masking of the sender's name and address in an e-mail note or distribution. An individual or company that sends spam or, as they prefer to call it, "bulk e-mail" usually conceals their own e-mail address for various reasons, including the possibility that someone will swamp the originator's own e-mail server with retributional spam.

 

Well put.

 

Great answer thank you. Not to mention sounds like a great idea. ; )

 

thanks for that sharing , now I know about cloaking

 

Nice explanation sslss!

 

Great answers. Really helped me out with understanding this better.