How to: Hide Your Affiliate Link With Redirects Using Wordpress

What is an Affiliate Link?

In affiliate programs, it's a special URL that contains username or username of the affiliate and is used by the advertiser to track all traffic the affiliate sends to the advertiser's site as a part of the affiliate program. So it is with QpidAffiliate’s Affiliate Link. There are three different direct links with its member sites, ChnLove, CharmingDate and iDateAsia, respectively.

Why choose to hide your Affiliate Link?

    - It looks friendlier

Most affiliate links cannot be seen through what’s inside through the text of the URL. Instead of posting your affiliate link, you can also create a PHP page that automatically redirects to your affiliate link. Then you can send the address of this redirect page on your site to whom you intent to guide them through the affiliate link. So it’s friendlier to for a URL like

https://www.qpidaffiliate.com/index.php/promote/click?aid=80&oid=EXAMPLE

to be redirected with

http://www.example.com/dating-sites/recommend/chnlove.com

Then you may put such an address inside emails/newsletters and it will look much more attractive to your readers.

    - Easy managing your external links

Setting up redirects for all your affiliate links will save lots of work if the merchant ever changes their affiliate network or affiliate link system. If that happens, all you need to do is to change the link in just one place instead of checking all your web pages and email templates to update the links. 

How to create redirects of Affiliate Link?

Redirects can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but as this blog focuses on self-hosted WordPress, I will be going over an easy way to do this using a PHP redirect.  Here are the steps I took when I hid my affiliate links for this website:

The are more than one way to build redirects.I will introduce one as using self-hosted Wordpress with PHP redirect as it is an easy way to do this. So here it is how to hide your affiliate link,

Step 1. Create a folder, let's name it "go";

Step 2. Create a .php document-you can create it with Notepad or other programs, and name it after your affiliate link, let's make it "ChnLove.com.php";

Step 3. Copy the following code and paste it into the documnet:

<? header("Location: https://www.qpidaffiliate.com/index.php/promote/click?aid=80&oid=EXAMPLE"); ?>

Step 4. Save it to the "go" folder as created above;

Step 5. Go to your FTP server and upload the "go" folder under the public_html folder;

Step 6. Repeat creating and uploading as above if you have more affiliate links.

Then you can get a redirect link like

http://www.example.com/go/chnlove.com

Remember that the "go" folder can be named as whatever you prefer to. As for the first example, it is uploaded to a folder called "date-sites" instead of in the root folder.

Besides the above method, some publishing platform like wordpress, also offers some plugins which could accomplish the 'link cloaking ' target. Searching with key words like 'link cloaking' or 'link cloaker', you will be easy to find them.

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- More questions about this? Please contact QpidAffiliate Support Team and leave your account ID and email;
- No account with the best dating affiliate program yet? Please sign up here.

Rich media advertising materials carry out an exicting result

Firstly, I would like to share 2 index diagrams of Bryan's last 5 months' performance account. Bryan is one of QpidAffiliate.com's affiliates who has signed up for the 1,000 bonus program.

What can you find from his report? Bryan has successfully been referring more traffic and what's more important is that he converts the traffic into valid members in a more effective way.

What happened to him on last December? Please continue to read if you want to find the answer.

Banner advertising? We can do more 

 

For a long time, image banners are the mostly familiar to affiliate marketing publishers since it is almost the easiest way of promotion. There are many good features of them:

- Supported on every website
- Animated ones can attract attentions
- Visual impression
- Easy to be embed everywhere
- Designing and making is possible for beginners

But they are not perfect, image banner is a basic element of advertising and some advanced featured cannot be applied on like,

- It is simply a displaying tool
- It is can only attached with one certain link
- It can only be stuck in a certain place
- If people hate advertisements, image banners are easily ignored
- It maybe filtered by some tools

Thanks to the developing of the HTML standard and a diversification of audience's taste, more rich and interactive content are introduced into banner advertising. 

HTML banner

QpidAffiliate.com turns some pieces of HTML codes to effective advertising materials and it's call "HTML banner". We can add functions to a banner now like instant searching and easy registration.


Banner for more devices

According to researchers, mobile devices contribute nearly 20% of the Internet traffic and it will grow to a bigger percentage. With Qpid Network's mobile international dating websites releasing, QpidAffiliate.com's affiliates are able to make use of their mobile traffic now. You can find mobile banners compatible with all mobile devices and redirect to the mobile sites.


Or if your visitors love vivid content on your websites, you can use flashes.

Written-ready articles

There were webmasters coming to ask for materials to fill their new websites. Then article materials help. We can help save some time setting up a website,the sooner you start with a promotion plan the more you earn.

How Bryan levels up the performance?

The answer has been explained as above. Bryan signed up the bonus program on 18th, Dec, 2012 and published more materials from QpidAffiliate.com (two of them are 20121023CHL759 and 20121023IDA482) and the unique hits rise. And the new materials performs better than the ordinary image banners in a way so we are exited to see the conversion rate been rises up to a new level. That makes the excellent diagrams we saw just know.

So if you are interested in the bonus program and regretful to miss it, it is OK, because Bryan has shown us that with more expositions and powerful materials, you can realize your online affiliate marketing dream, too!

If you are not an affiliate of QpidAffiliate.com yet, join us now!

Limited time left: act to win $1,000 bonus today

Seeking hard for an affiliate program of international dating niche? A good news for profit hunters in online marketing is here! Earn high commissions and astonishing bonus with Qpid Network Affiliate Program today!

QpidAffiliate.com is hosting an bonus program which is open to all affiliates: by promoting its member sites with  latest developed and powerful promotional materials, Qpid Network will reward you with a bonus:

TOP bonus … $1,000

Splendid bonus … $200

Bonus for efforts … $50

Bonus for contribution … $25

Bravery bonus … $15

The application to the bonus program is about to close on 23:59, 28th, February, 2013!

After signing up the bonus program, a profiting mode of "original commissions+extra bonus" is activated for you. As for commissions, the payout of QpidAffiliate.com can be:

$5 per valid member

30% of the orders of your referred members

You can never find another affiliate program with such a high payout and with powerful promotional tools! Do not hesitate, sign up and be successful with the best online international dating affiliate program now!

Expose Content to Target Audience With Geo Targeting Scripts

Recently I have received a message from a partner of Qpid Afiliate Program and asking for advice. His problem could be described like this.

Nick, the partner who has joined Qpid Affiliate Program for over 3 months, is running a website containing  a big category of photos and articles and receiving massive traffic from countries all over the world. He writes dating advice as well as life tips and reviews of movie and music. The variety of his reader contribute a  good earning for him but there's a problem: many visitors who are from Asian countries also tend to click the ChnLove banners. But since these members are not from one of the specific countries listed in the valid member condition, Nick earns nothing from that. He also registered in other affiliate programs and he is disappointed with that once the visitor bounces out he is not likely return to try other products listed on Nick's websites.

So how to solve the problem- keep exposing Qpid banners to the targeting audience and make use of the traffic does not meet Qpid Network's requirement?

The answer to Nick's case is geo targeting.

I asked Nick to install geo targeting scripts in all the webpages and set such conditions:

(1) when the visitor is detected as from one of those countries, he will see 2-3 ads from Qpid Affiliate in every page.

(2) when the visitor is from a country not listed above, it's OK to hide our banners and leave the space for other ads.

After the scripts are done, we follow up his account statistics and make records. The result is quite satisfying: he sees an apparent rise in conversions in the next month because our ads are getting exposed more frequently and this also help to increase his income from other programs.

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So what is geo targeting?

As Wikipedia defines that, Geo targeting in geomarketing and internet marketing is the method of determining the geolocation of a website visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, IP address, ISP or other criteria.

The task is to implement a way to target those available countries as required.

Hostip is a good tool and pretty simple to use, all you have to do is make a connection to a API url with the IP address you wish to locate and it can return information like the country the IP address – here is a sample URL:

http://api.hostip.info/country.php?ip=64.233.160.5

As you can see it returns “US” which is the 2 character country code for the United States. We can implement this into PHP to get the current visitors country by using this code:

$ip = $_SERVER [ 'REMOTE_ADDR' ];
$country = file_get_contents ( 'http://api.hostip.info/country.php?ip=' . $ip );

$country will now hold the country code (remember it is in UPPER CASE). You can then simply check what the value is and target an advert or particular content depending on the user:

"<?php

if ( $country == "//here is your targeting country code" ) { 

?>

[QpidAffiliate's Code];
<?php } ?>"

Replace with the exact country code and "[QpidAffiliate's Code]" with the js code, for example:

<?php

if ( $country == "GB" ) { 

?>

 <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.qpidaffiliate.com/index.php/promote/js?aid=xxx&oid=CPxxxxx"></script> 

<?php } ?>

Nick adds these country codes: US,NL,AT,AU,BE,CA,CH,DE,DK,ES,FI,FR,UK,IE,IS,IT,NO,NZ

External Requests

Please bare in mind that you are requesting information from an external source, depending on server health and traffic, the response may take from milliseconds to minutes to complete. So as a precaution you should “save” the result so that you do not have to keep requesting the information from hostip.info. Here is an example code that you could use:

if (!isset($_SESSION['country'])) {
$ip = $_SERVER [ 'REMOTE_ADDR' ];
$_SESSION['country'] = file_get_contents ( 'http://api.hostip.info/country.php?ip=' . $ip );
}

You can now access the value from $_SESSION['country'], once this has been set it will no longer ask the external source saving them bandwidth and you loading time.Applying it with "QpidAffiliate's Links & Code"

<?php
if ( $_SESSION['country'] == "//targeting countries" ) {
?>
 [QpidAffiliate's code]
<?php } ?>

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Nick's story is a good case for us to learn something about affiliate marketing, so you can give it a try if you are facing similar problems.

Also, please note that this article is to share a particular marketer's story than providing a common solution.It is suggested to contact your affiliate manager for personalized advices.

Promote the Dating Sites with Powerful Promotion Tools at QpidAffiliate.com

If you are searching for the best online dating affiliate program, then Qpid Affiliate Program is the choice.

You maybe a dating review blog editor, or you have an email list of subscribers who are interested in dating and marriage, or you are running a website of which visitors are mostly men or you gain many Facebook likes or Twitter retweets everyday... And you decide to make money from these, then join us now at QpidAffiliate.com!

One of the reasons to become our partner for you is that Qpid Affiliate Program provide sorts of promotion materials. This will help affiliate partners promote our sites in more ways and creates the potential for higher commissions. Previously, simple image banners were the best way to promote sites; but today more and more fresh and innovative elements are emerging. Affiliates who want more interactive banners, material for WAP mobile sites, and templates for email campaigns will find just what they're looking for!

Let's see which type of promotion materials fits you best:

* I have advertising spaces, I need attractive ads
>> Image banners, Text ads
* I have advertising spaces and need my ads to be more interactive
>> HTML banners

* I wish to catch every vistors' eyes as much as I can
>> Pop-up banners
* I think pop-up ads are a little annoying, is there an alternative without too much distraction?
>>Pop-under banners

* Most of my visitors are using a PC and I love funny ads
>>Flash banners
* Most of my visitors are using mobile devices
>>Mobile banners

* I write product reviews and need supporting information
>>Tips, Reviews, Direct links
* I would like to share some success stories from the couples with my readers
>>Testimonials

* I have an opt-in email list and my subscribers are welcome for dating recommendations
>>Email templates
* I don't have a website, I would like to promote it to my Facebook or Twitter fans
>>Direct link
* I have another promotion plan which is not listed above.
>> Contact your Affiliate Manager and get advises and help.

How do you feel about the Affiliate Program? Come on in and try those powerful and easy promotion materials!

QpidAffiliate.com offers a flexible selection of promotional tools and materials to help our valued partners maximize their profit. Be among the first to profit from QpidAffiliate's new advertising material!

Affiliates,How to Benefit from the Dating Industry Market

• Online dating service is really popular in recent year, thanks for the climate of explosion Internet or more specifically speaking, the social networks. . For those who are in the dating industry market make steady, even sometimes, unbelievable profit. But it doesn't mean you need to own a dating service site yourself  in order to take a share of the spoils. More easily, you can start earning in the dating industry market by setting up your own website or blog, and then becoming an affiliate of some of the top-ranking dating sites. You'll earn commissions and bonuses for promoting these big names on your blog or website.
• 
  

1. There is an Affiliate Resource Center page in the eHarmony's site, go and join to earn money for people you refer to the site. You'll need to provide your website or blog name in order for eHarmony knows how you will be promoting its service. You will also need to give your full name, address, contact information and payment information. When you're accepted as an affiliate, you'll aquire a personalized link to show on your site or blog. This link tracks people who go eHarmony's site by clicking on it. If someone visits eHarmony through your link and subscribes to the dating service, you'll get credit for this. Your commission depends on the length of service to which your visitor subscribed. But, the target visitors may only gather in Canada, the UK and the United States.
   
2. Visit the Match.com affiliate program page and join. You'll apply through Commission Junction or linkshare, and provide information such as your website or blog name as well as your personal details, these are all necessary for you to get paid . The registration is need to be approved, if so,  you'll receive an affiliate link as well as other affiliate marketing tools. The earning depends on the type of subscription you refer. Match.com also awards bonuses to top performers. However, don't forget that, you can only get paid if you bring some paid members.
   
3. Navigate to the  Qpidaffiliate.com page and join. Qpidaffiliate is known for the affiliate platform as Qpid Network. Offering dating services for foreigners dating Chinese, Asian, and Russian Women that are seeking love and friendship which is a very attractive demographic.With this platform you can become an affiliate of the whole qpid network dating services. You'll still need detailed personal information for payment purposes, plus your blog or website name.  More convenient, it's a self-approved program, which means that, you can start your dating industry earning career right after registration. Click the links& code bar, so you can promote the service. QpidAffiliate affiliates can earn at least 3 dollar for every valid member, it is quite easy if you get a dating topic related web or blog, the per order commission mode is also available and profit you from ten to thousand, depends on the numbers of orders you refer.

How to be successful affiliate without a website

For some one who what to do a home business, affiliate is a nice choice. It is  the most common way that you join into the affiliate marketing world by building a website, and if you're interested in creating a long-term business you'll inevitably need to put together a website.

However, if you're still learning about web design or you're simply not interested in building a website, there are other ways to get your affiliate links out there, so this lesson will teach you Affiliate Marketing Without a Website.

Remember: the key with affiliate marketing is get your affiliate link in front of an interested audience - how you choose to do that is completely up to you! With that in mind, here are a few methods you could try:

#1: Post on blogs and forums

This is a really simple way of getting a taste for affiliate marketing - all you have to do is find a product you'd like to promote, then start posting on blogs and forums with your affiliate link in your signature.

Here's an example from our very own forum: you can see that both of these members have an affiliate link in their signatures. They're both pretty active and respected members of the forum.

Of course you should only post on blogs and forums where people would be interested in the product - you're not going to get many bites for a dog training affiliate product when you're posting on a classic car enthusiast forum.

Similarly, you’ll find that you have a lot more success if you're making useful and interesting posts and if you become a regular on the site; the two members above, for example, are active and respected members of our forum. Once you have established yourself people will begin to respect your opinion and will be more inclined to click on your link. If you simply spam a blog or forum with useless posts you’re likely to be banned and your posts deleted.

#2: Write a viral eBook or some other "viral" product

A “viral” product is one that is designed to spread (often quickly) to a great many people - this can be a great way of getting your affiliate links out there without ever having to create a website. You can produce a short 30-page eBook or a "special report" on a particular subject, insert links to affiliate products into it, then distribute your book through whatever means you like – you could tell people that they're welcome to give it away, sell it or put it on their websites. You can kick it off yourself by selling the eBook on eBay for a small amount.

If your book is informative and useful, rather than simply laden with affiliate ads, you might find that it spreads quite well.

#3: Write ads or reviews for classifieds websites

You're probably already familiar with using sites like Craigslist to look for old furniture or car parts, but you can also use classifieds sites to promote affiliate products. Consider writing ads or reviews for affiliate products and posting them with your affiliate link.

Some sites you might want to try are:

 http://www.usfreeads.com

 http://epage.com

 http://craigslist.com

#4: Build a Squidoo lens

Building a Squidoo "lens" is a great way of getting started as an affiliate without needing to build your own website from scratch. A "lens" is like a 1-page mini website where you can talk about a subject you're passionate about (eg, your affiliate market and associated products!). It's hosted on the Squidoo site, and you don't need to know anything about web design to make it look fairly professional.

A Squidoo lens allows you to build a page on a topic, insert ads, reviews and other content as you please, all without having to write any HTML.

The best part, though, is that Squidoo is also part social-networking site, so simply by being on Squidoo you will begin to attract traffic interested in your topic and looking for recommendations. Squidoo is especially easy to monetize, and Squidoo lenses have tended in the past to do pretty well in the search engines.

To sign up and start creating your lens, visit Squidoo.com.

#5: Promote affiliate products directly through pay-per-click advertisements

We've left this method for last because, quite frankly, it's not one we recommend. This method involves creating pay-per-click campaigns through search engines like Google and Bing, and promoting the merchant website directly through your affiliate link.

Source From affilorama.com

So instead of using PPC to promote your own website, you send them straight to the merchant.

There are a number of downsides to this method.

1 First, with Google's AdWords in particular, there will only be one paid listing for a particular website displayed at any given time. This means that instead of competing against other advertisers for one of eight spots on the page, you're competing for just one spot. If you bid a large amount and write an attractive ad then you might see your ad displayed, otherwise you can forget it.

2 Secondly, you have no control over the quality of the merchant page. Increasingly the search engines are looking at the page you're promoting and deciding whether this offers a good experience for their users. If the merchant site has little content, or poor quality content, you could end up paying a much higher amount for your advertisements.

There are always new affiliates who see this as a fast and easy way to get started, but we really recommend that you try the other methods we've introduced first.

The Summary:

Now, you've learned some ways of getting your affiliate link out in front of an audience without having to build a website, such as...

 Posting on blogs and forums

 Writing a viral eBook or some other "viral" product

 Writing ads or reviews for classifieds websites

 Building a Squidoo lens

 Promoting affiliate products directly through pay-per-click advertisements

Hope it can be uesful, good luck!