As soon as you have registered for an affiliate program, you receive a so-called affiliate link that you can use to promote the products advertised as part of the affiliate program.
An affiliate link can look like this, for example:
https://shop.website.com/ref/12345The link above is a very simple example of an affiliate link, which also shows how easy it is to recognize an affiliate link. This leads us straight to the first big problem:
Manipulation of affiliate links
Since affiliate links contain all the information, especially the affiliate ID, it is no problem for experienced internet users to manipulate such links.
Let's assume we use the following link for promotion:
https://example-fitness-shop.com/?a=12345An experienced user can recognize an affiliate link at first glance. There are several ways they could manipulate it — for example, by simply changing or removing the affiliate ID:
https://example-fitness-shop.com/?a=0In many cases, the link will still work and redirect to the correct landing page after the click, despite the manipulation. However, the affiliate won't receive a commission on any sale because their ID has been removed from the URL.
What's the takeaway?
As affiliates, we must protect our affiliate links from manipulation in order to protect our commissions.
Another major problem with affiliate links is often:
The length of the affiliate link
Let's take another look at a good example of an affiliate link:
https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=14529&awinaffid=351761&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rapidmail.de%2FDo you notice how long it is?
Using this link in an email is dangerous because some email programs automatically shorten lines that are too long. In such a rare case, the affiliate link will also be cut off and may no longer work.
Even if such long links are used on websites, they simply don't look nice. Internet users will feel uncomfortable clicking on such a link and we will lose affiliate commissions.
he sad truth is: advanced users are more likely to search for a product themselves rather than click on an affiliate link — either because they don't like the idea of someone earning money from them, or because they simply prefer not to use the link.
The solution?
Shorten and mask an affiliate link
We need to shorten and mask our affiliate links so that we can create not only nicer, but also tamper-proof advertising links, and here's how:
- Go to tinyurl.com.
- Enter the original affiliate link in the input field.
- Click on submit.
- You will then be shown a short URL that represents your new affiliate link.
Four simple steps and you have a new affiliate link that is shorter and tamper-proof.
What's the magic of this technique?
So-called URL shortening services create a redirect for the input URL. A redirect is created for your link, which leads to your original affiliate link after the click.
Conclusion
Mask and shorten your affiliate links if this is permitted by the affiliate program. Note that some programs expressly prohibit shortening, for example Amazon.
In such a rare case, shortening the link would lead to the termination of the affiliate contract!
The good news is that most affiliate programs allow affiliates to mask their links, as long as there is a certain level of transparency. By transparency, I mean that you should inform users that a link is an affiliate link. This is called mandatory advertising labeling and is an important requirement, especially for European based affiliates.
Clearly indicate next to the link — or somewhere on your website — that you earn money from qualified sales. This ensures you advertise transparently and, according to the laws of some countries, legally.
If transparency is ensured and the advertising is properly labeled, you can shorten and mask your affiliate links without any worries and protect them from manipulation while generating more clicks and earning more commission.