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INTRODUCTION:

It is strongly advised that you cloak your affiliate links in order to prevent someone from 'stealing' your affiliate username and/or commissions. Any unscrupulous person can 'mouse' over or click on your links and clearly read details of your affiliate I.D. and hoplink specifics.

There are a few reasons why you should cloak your affiliate links:

(a) they usually look simpler and are more attractive to the eye;

(b) the shortened, disguised codes are offputting to any Internet scam artists as they cannot get a good 'read' on your personal details;

(c) the observance of cloaked links on your websites and in emails will demonstrate to your readers that you handle security issues with the upmost importance and this will establish a basis of trust between you and your clients in situations where money changes hands.

GETTING THE RIGHT SECURITY SOFTWARE:

There are many software programs available, for under 50 dollars (USD), that will help you to protect your affiliate marketing commissions. Some are better than others and you should always do some research before paying out money for one. Usually installed on your own webpage, click counting software won't display the target URL as the links point inwards to the software.

When someone clicks on the link, the click tracking application redirects the visitor to the URL that you have specified within the script. The click tracking software also provides a great way to monitor the effectiveness of your ads and doesn't just rely on the stats that merchants provide.

It's crucial to guard you commissions as you want to get paid for what you do, a major reason in itself why you should be cloaking! Fraud is possible with affiliate marketing but you can protect your interests. Fraudsters have expert knowledge that you can actually screen yourself from.

SELLING TO YOUR OPT-IN LIST TO MINIMIZE FRAUD:

Here is an idea I had; I believe that you could protect your affiliate sales more easily if you sold, via cloaked links, to you email opt-in list; the advantage of doing this is that you would have a closed' customer base for many products. For the other items you wish to sell online, in the open arena, you could use the latest protection software.

Now you may say that somebody on your opt-in list may be unscrupulous and steal your commissions anyway, but at least you have a much narrower field to examine for whoever might be doing the unethical work. In the short term, for anyone who doesn't want to spend the money on expensive

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