Protecting Yourself From Affiliate Link Thieves

So, you have worked really hard to build a fabulous affiliate site. You took the time to add your keywords and relevant information about the products. Your pages load quickly, and your site is even listed in the search engines for specified terms. You look at your stats, and you see a regular flow of traffic coming into your site. You get really excited! You log in to your affiliate program manager, and.... WHAMO! You have very few commissions from sales, and your click-throughs are extremely low. Suddenly, you are asking yourself, "what the heck happened here??" The answer... You might possibly be the victim of affiliate link hijacking!

In this revolving world of the Internet, we are constantly being bombarded by spammers, spyware, viruses, and hackers. Now, we have to worry about link hijackers stealing commissions that are rightfully ours. So, what is link hijacking and how do you prevent it?

In the simplest terms, link hijacking occurs when someone replaces their affiliate ID with yours. The result? They get the commission instead of you. You did all that work, but someone else is getting paid? Yes! You may be wondering how this happens.

Let me explain. I first heard about this phenomenon while visiting various discussion boards on affiliate marketing. Many affiliates had experienced a decline in sales while their site's traffic stats remained high. Common discussions found in affiliate forums include various software programs which "steal" information. Many of these programs download themselves onto a person's computer, either knowingly or unknowingly. These programs can override your affiliate links each time the customer visits your site, therefore giving credit to someone else.

Many times, people download packaged programs that contain these types of software. The innocent surfer may not even realize they have a program running in the background. Anyone who takes part in the Internet community, whether it be a webmaster or a surfer, should stay informed about these programs by visiting parasiteware.com on a regular basis.

Link hijacking comes in various forms... not just from downloads. Let's say your affiliate link looks like this: www.url.com/?123456 , where 123456 is your affiliate ID. A link hijacker is interested in the product and wants to purchase it. He also wants the affiliate commission from the product. He takes your ID 123456 and replaces it with his ID 999999 to look like this: www.url.com/?999999 . The result? He gets the commission from the product purchase. He modified the link to benefit himself. You lose.

Here is another example of link hijacking: A customer comes to your website and sees a link to the product that he wants to buy. When he moves the mouse over your link information, he sees your affiliate url in the status bar of his computer. Instead of clicking your affiliate link, he decides to manually type it into his address bar, leaving off the affiliate referral code: www.url.com. This results in no affiliate tracking information and no commissions for you. You lose again!

So how much money could you be losing? I have read that an estimated 10-30% of commissions are lost due to affiliate link hijacking. (In a recent article from "revenue" magazine, the estimate was as high as 40-50%). Can you imagine the kind of potential revenue that you might be losing right now?

Take Action by Protecting Yourself From Revenue Loss

In the constant search for new scripts and software to improve my websites, I have run into several affiliate cloaking devices. Most of them cost around $50 or more. However, I did run into one cloaking script that is free. It is called Affiliate Link Cloaker (ALC). The site owner simply asks that you subscribe to their newsletter.

By golly, I love free stuff, don't you! If you are interested in learning about this script and how it works, you can visit their site at webmasterinabox.net/affiliate_link_cloaker.html . They have other scripts that you might find useful as well. Now, get out there and protect those links!

Stephani Richardson is a work at home mother of 4 who has been actively involved with affiliate marketing and home business opportunities since December 1999. She owns and operates several business related websites including 1 Work At Home Dot Com.

In The News:

Powered by Feedzilla



Contact Us Today For Ad Information...

Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Cheap Domain Names

How To Evaluate An Affiliate Program

Ok so you think you have found a good affiliate... Read More

Ebook Review: The Super Affiliate Handbook

Rosalind Gardner's 270 page ebook "The Super Affiliate Handbook" is... Read More

Focus on Success ? How To Make Affiliates Work For You

How do we go about getting success with affiliate programs... Read More

3 Ways to Squeeze Even More Revenue Out of Your Traffic Equaliser Pages

Ever wondered if, apart from Google Adsense, there were other... Read More

Never Too Old

NEVER TO OLDMy great granddaughter said I was too old... Read More

Tracking Phone Sales Is Important To Your Affiliates

Today the majority of affiliates are looking for compensation when... Read More

Using Google AdWords For Affiliate Selling

While many people may have you believe otherwise, selling online... Read More

Heres Why Affiliate Marketing Is So Lucrative

There are people who think of the world as a... Read More

Affiliate Income Optimization

In my time researching the search engines, I've noticed something... Read More

Why You Dont Succeed As An Affiliate ?

Affiliate Program have exploded on the internet. Thousand of people... Read More

The Easiest Way For Beginners To Make Money Online

There are obviously many ways to make money online, some... Read More

Are You Wasting Your Time In Pursuit Of Money?

There was a time when I had no idea how... Read More

Back-End Selling With Affiliate Marketing

More and more people are getting into online businesses for... Read More

Are Your Affiliate Programs Eating Away Your Money And Time

So many times I have heard this. So many examples... Read More

8 Reasons Why Affiliate Marketing is the Better Option

Many people are confused when they first become iterested in... Read More

Looking For An Affiliate Internet Marketing Tip?

Here's a few affiliate Internet marketing tips that can help... Read More

Generate More Sales in ANY Affiliate Program ? Part One

It is my opinion that the best AFFILIATE PROGRAM ever?is... Read More

Best Affiliate Products, Where to Find them and Choose the Best ones

The BIG QUESTION on everyone's mind is...Can you make money... Read More

Affiliate Marketing at a Glance: Helpful Hints

Regarded as one of the choice Internet marketing systems offered... Read More

Attracting Good Affiliates

Good affiliates can be hard to get. There could be... Read More

Affiliate Marketing Nightmare - Dont Let This Happen To You!

Everyone knows that affiliates can make or break a company's... Read More

How to Become a Super-Affiliate

Did you begin your affiliate marketing business like this? You... Read More

Your Own Affiliate Program

What better avenue to drive high quality and targeted traffic... Read More

Make Money Online With Affiliate Programs

If you have wanted to find a way to make... Read More

Is Earning Money With Affiliate Marketing A Myth?

Day 1 - What Are Affiliate Programs?Welcome to the wide... Read More