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Protecting your affiliate links is essential in today's It's All About Me world. You will discover that some visitors to your site will appreciate your information and appreciate the fact that you taught them about a product or service. But, for some reason, they don't want you to earn that deserved commission for the information they received.

Four & 1/2 Ways to Protect Your Affiliate Links

Redirect Pages

• Begin by creating a separate directory for your website. I usually call my directory goto.
• Using your robots.txt file, hide the goto directory from the search engine spiders (robots)
• Create a new html page and use the following code between your head tags:

< -meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=affiliatelink"-> (without the - marks)

• Save the page with whatever name you feel is best.
• Simply link to that page instead of using your affiliate link. Your link would be goto/whatevername.html.
• Click here to see how it works. The page will open in a new window. You will not leave this site. Once you see how it works simply close that new window. You'll still be on this page.

htaccess Redirects

• Before you begin, check your website's file directory to see if an htaccess file is already there. It should be in the root directory. You do not want to overwrite any existing data in the file.
• If one is already there, download it to your desktop. Open it with Notepad or a similar text editor.
• Your coding would be: Redirect /whatevername affiliate link
• Now for the tricky part. You will save your htacess file as a text file and upload it to your website server using an ASCII format. Once loaded, you must rename it by deleting the .txt extension.
• A Simpler Way - Some webhosting services have a redirect program built into your Control Panel that automatically changes your htacess file for you. No messy coding, uploading...or fear that you'll bring your site down.
• You should also be aware that some of these automatic programs have a 65-character limitation, so long affiliate links could not be redirected with this method.

PHP Redirects

• Begin by creating a separate directory for your website. I have used a directory titled jump.
• Using your robots.txt file, hide the jump directory from the search engine spiders (robots)
• Create a PHP page and save it in the jump directory. To make things simple, I usually name the page jump.
• Code your link like this:
  if ($m == "whatevername") {$link = "affiliatelink";}
• The link on advertised product or service would be http://www.yourwebsite/jump/jump/whatevername

Javascript Redirects

• I do not use javascript redirects unless forced to by Commission Junction or some other affiliate program that only supplies javascript links. I don't create them on my own for one simple reason. If the visitor to your site has javascript turned off, your link will not work.
• My feeling is simple: why bother?

Use Redirect Links for Site Optimization

Redirect links can also be valuable to your link strategy. Word is that "outgoing" links may hurt your ranking when it comes to organic searches.

A redirect link has the appearance it is linking to another page on your site. Well, actually, it is. But it doesn't stay there long. And "that other page" is hidden from "most" search engine robots.

Use Redirect Links in Your eBooks

How many free eBooks have you downloaded that contain dead links? You can use redirect links in your eBook and, if the link changes, simply change your redirect!!! The eBook stays fresh.

Conclusion, Disclaimer, Etc.

Information contained in this article is believed to be true at the time of writing. Technologies change more often than newborn babies. That's why we provide up-to-date Google Ads in the right-hand column. You can use them to find more information.

Larry Jameson is CEO of NetVentures Unlimited, Inc. and monitors developments in both the IT industry and the online marketing industry. His articles are a regular feature at www.homebusinessop.com. Though specializing in SEO Web Design, he has written several books including, "How to Generate Free Web Traffic," "Is Your Online Business Legal?" and "A Guys Guide to Candles." In December 2008, Larry and his wife Beth saw a long-term dream come true with the publication of Brain Injury Survivor's Guide, a how-to book about living with brain injury. Larry's web design for McGhee Insurance Agency won the 2006 - 2007 Silver Award from the American Webmasters Association and his design of Brain Injury Guide won the 2008 - 2009 Silver Award. He is a Charter Member of the International Council of Online Professionals and a member of the International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance.

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