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.


More Resources

Six Power Tips on Resell Rights
If you are planning to take the path of the reseller in your Internet Business undertakings, you will do well to use these power tips I have laid out for you. I hope you will find them useful as they have been for me.
How To Make Niche Profits Without a Website
You don't need to buy any "amazing new ebook" or a bunch of fancy software. You don't need to write hundreds of pages of content or hire someone to.
Are You Wasting Your Time In Pursuit Of Money?
There was a time when I had no idea how I could earn money on the net. I had just purchased my computer and got an internet connection.
Five Things to Look For to Join Any Affiliate Program!
Here's a really simple way..
Multiple Income Streams From Niche Markets
Multiple income streams; exciting words, but what does it mean in every-day English?In the world of Niche Markets in Internet business, multiple income streams simply means having more than one source of income. This is achieved by making money from more than just one online business.
How To Start Your Own Affiliate Program
1. Why Start Your Own Affiliate Program?Multiple web sites and distributors selling your product can result in increased sales and profits.
Affiliate is not a Dirty Word
It wasn't very long ago when the word "affiliate" left a bad taste in many a mouth. The reason was that the larger percent were Multi-Level-Marketing programs that had products or services of little value, but emphasized the way to the big bucks was in generating a downline.
Content Really is King
It is every affiliate's wish to have unique site content absent of any re-write or editing restrictions, effectively content with an "open license." Many sources do exist for content that can't be changed, but there are very few sources which allow an affiliate to manipulate the article and make it unique and specific to their site(s).
Joint Venture 101 - The Quickest Way To Build Your eBusiness - PART 1
This article reveal the same techniques that many Internet marketing experts uses every day to make millions of dollars in profits - no kidding! In my own opinion it is the most profitable and powerful concept ever used on the Internet field. So, stay close and read it carefully.
Affiliate Marketing - Make Big Bucks Through Your Internet Home Business
Affiliate marketing has become a booming industry thanks to the increasing popularity of the internet. Marketing is defined as the getting and keeping of customers.
Looking For An Affiliate Internet Marketing Tip?
Here's a few affiliate Internet marketing tips that can help you earn extra money for little effort on your part. Do you currently have a web site that sells products? If you do, developing an affiliate program may be the opportunity you are looking for.
Choosing a Niche Market to Promote - Affiliate Marketing
I think it truly goes without saying that there are some niche markets that do incredibly well, some that do "ok" and others that just totally flop.So what's a safe way of choosing a niche market to promote?The first place I would be looking is to see "how many people are actually searching those types of keywords".
The Best Affiliate Programs Increase Your Website's Earnings Potential
Taking full advantage of your website's earning potential is as simple as making use of the best affiliate programs available on the Net. Business websites and personal websites can both use affiliate links to earn additional revenue and make the most of their webspace.
Attracting Good Affiliates
Good affiliates can be hard to get. There could be any number of reasons for this, but I am going to focus on what I believe is the one major problem that prevents someone from attracting good affiliates.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing refers to the promotion of products or services through affiliates. Affiliates are usually other webmasters and ezine editors who choose to act as sales people on behalf of their principals for a commission on every sale.
How to Succeed With Any Affiliate Program
In the early days before the internet was born, starting a business was like taking a giant leap into the unknown. Aside from the involved time and money, it also causes lots of worry.
13 Killer Ways To Increase Your Affiliate Commissions
1. Start a private web site.
How to Make Real Money from Affiliate Programs
It is an often quoted statistic that about 90% of affiliates make no money from affiliate programs.The top 10% of affiliates make all the money.
How I Started My Own Work At Home Internet Business With Very Little Investment!
Have you always wanted to work at home? Have your own business? Didn't think it was possible? No more commuting in traffic (plus gasoline prices right now are ridiculous). No more "business attire" (work in your jammies) and no more Corporate America breathing down your neck.
Collect Visitors Info First Before Sending Them To Affiliate
Honestly, I'm not a big affiliate fan because in the past I haven't gotten 90% of the money promised either because they disappear before they pay out or they have so many exceptions -- paying out once a quarter, has to be over X dollars first, etc. Another negative side is that some of them think that 10% commission or some low amount is worth the 20 hours it takes for us to sell it.

More Affiliate Revenue Information:

Related Articles

Backend Profit Secrets and Viral Marketing
Once you truly understand the power of backend profits, you'll explode your marketing results and create an unstoppable viral machine.The techniques I will reveal to you have often been taught in many marketing courses and articles.
Affiliate Program Basics
Affiliate Program is a ground floor opportunity. All you have to do is send visitors to your affiliate web site by placing a textlink or banner on your website and receive a commission on each sale, without the complication and expense of selling anything yourself.
Affiliate Communication
Communication is Key!When building an affiliate network communicating with affiliates is important for merchants to maintain a good relationship. An affiliate's web site targets visitors, who may not necessarily view a merchant's web site, and therefore expands a merchants market.
Why Many Affiliates Fail
The title is ugly, but the statistics don't lie. Only 1% of people that attempt to make worthwhile money from affiliate programs actually succeed.
8 Ways To Promote Your Affiliate Products
Many affiliates fail in affiliate marketing because they limit their marketing strategies to placing referral links in their web sites, distributing links to business sites through multiple emails or posting their links to other web pages. Doing any of these alone would not guarantee sales and thus, your commission.
One Little-Known Secret to Wealth the Gurus Never Told You About!
When I started my internet marketing career, I knew that in order to succeed online I had to duplicate what my mentors were doing.I had read several popular ebooks at that time, written by marketing gurus, and each of them explained how to research niche markets in order to find out what products to create or sell.
Webmaster Affiliate Programs - How to Separate the Good from the Bad
More and more people are turning to the Internet and specifically, affiliate programs, to make money online. However, it is not as easy as you might think to determine the good affiliate programs from the bad, especially if you do not know much about affiliate programs to begin with.
Is Earning Money With Affiliate Marketing A Myth?
Day 1 - What Are Affiliate Programs?Welcome to the wide world of affiliate marketing!Affiliate marketing (sometimes called referral marketing) is based business people.So, what is an affiliate and what does he or she do?The affiliate marketer acts as a "middle man" between merchant and consumer, but without adding anything to the consumer's cost.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing refers to the promotion of products or services through affiliates. Affiliates are usually other webmasters and ezine editors who choose to act as sales people on behalf of their principals for a commission on every sale.
6 Affiliate Mistakes Youre Probably Making...
Everyday I see more and more affiliates making the same mistakes. The worst part is that they're just doing what they're taught by the so-called "experts.
Secrets of Super Affiliate
Most affiliate program owners say 80% of their affiliate sales come from 20% of affiliates. Here is the difference between top 20% affiliates and the rest.
Keeping Your Sub-Affiliates From Quitting
One of the biggest if not the leading problem for internet marketers is keeping your affiliates from quitting. The time and effort that has been put forth to get your affiliates can seem like a waste of time if soon after joining your program they either opt-out or become inactive.
Mining For Gold With The Best Affiliate Programs And Hitting Pay Dirt
Colin McDougall tinkered around with affiliate programs earning a few dollars, nothing much to write home about, even had his own e-commerce site, known as the man's mall. In theory that site was supposed to offer all sorts of gadgets for guys.
How To Super Charge Your Affiliates
In my article "Affiliate Marketing What Is It And Why Use It?", I stated that only 5% of your affiliates will do 95% of the sales. If you don't follow this guide, you might not even get that.
Become An Affiliate Champion: 10 Tips
Affiliates programs are one of the easiest ways to make money in the internet. Small fortunes have been made for smart people who have taken advantage of this powerful marketing technique.
Discover The Affiliate Program thats Right for You
Are you looking for a profitable Affiliate Program?When you start to examine the possibilies for your homebased business, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the sheer number of "opportunities" available. A search for "Affiliate Programs" in Yahoo alone, will yield over nine million matches!As with anything worthwhile in life, starting a homebased business using affiliate programs, should not be done without doing some homework.
Never Get Burnt by a Cycler Program Again!
A cycler or doubler that offers nothing of real value is likely a scam and for the most part is illegal. Check out what you are buying, and look at the cylcling or doubling as a bonus or rebate.
Generate More Sales in ANY Affiliate Program - Part One
It is my opinion that the best AFFILIATE PROGRAM ever?is still the AFFILIATE PROGRAM YOU own.BUT?For those who are content in promoting other peoples programs?I will share with you a few of my strategies for FREE!But before I do that, let's see why most affiliates FAIL in just about any given affiliate program.
Are You Doing Well As An Affliate Marketer?
I have been working on the Internet now since December 2004 and I have done all the things one needs to do to earn an income from the use of my computer at home. There are many resources and so many different programmes and opportunities that it amazes me.
Creating an Income Stream with Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs (also called Referral Programs or Partnership Programs) are essentially commission-based sales schemes. You recommend a site to your users and pick up a percentage of any sales those users generate.