Money is everyone’s obsession. We can’t satisfy ourselves with money. And, that’s why we seek new methods to make it.
As a blogger, I know you are aware of affiliate marketing. Simply put, it is a method of earning commission by promoting others’ products. The product owner gives you a unique link, which when gets clicked and make a sale, you will get a commission.
It’s always a bad idea to bombard your site with a lot of affiliate links because too many outbound links to the same domain are harmful.
Other WordPress Resources:
- How to Install a WordPress Plugin – Beginners Guide
- 8 Best Social Media Plugins for WordPress
- 5 Best Author Bio Box Plugins For Your WordPress Blog
So, what can you do about it?
If you ask me, I will say one word; link cloaking. I hope you are familiar with the word. It is masking your affiliate link with another one pointing to your own site, which in term redirects visitors to the product page.
Normal affiliate link:
http://www.bluehost.in/web-hosting/index.php?a_aid=27a2bf2a
After Cloaking affiliate link:
https://www.loudtechie.com/recommended/bluehost
Cloaking your affiliate links look clean and optimized. It also helps you to avoid extra outbound links inside your article or blog.
Is Cloaking your link is google optimized? (Important Question)
Many users asked this question about link cloaking. Is is safe to use it on your blog? Does Google penalize link cloaking?Â
No, Google won’t penalize your site for link cloaking. Beside, cloaking your affiliate links is considered to be more optimized for search engines than placing them as a normal affiliate link. Link cloaking deducts your sites OBL which also make it good for SEO.
Best Free Affiliate Link Cloaking Plugins for WordPress
I have handpicked eight of the best affiliate link cloaking plugins for WordPress. You can find the details of the same below.
#1. Pretty Link Lite
I am a huge fan of Pretty Link Lite. Yeah, they have a premium version as well.
You can cloak your links to get links, which work like internal links. So, you will not lose anything in the SEO point of view.
The best thing about this plugin is, you can track how many clicks each of your links earn. As you are able to calculate CTR, you can make changes to the placements of your affiliate links without any issues.
If you fall in love with the free version, you can go on to purchasing the premium version. It is totally worth it.
#2. Simple Link Cloaker
The name says it all. Simple Link Cloaker does it job pretty perfectly that there is nothing to get confused with.
You can choose between different link structures. Once you decide to go with this plugin, you will have no regrets because it doesn’t have any premium versions.
It is easy to download the zipped file or install the plugin itself from the official WordPress repository. I have provided the link below.
The only issue you may notice is it hasn’t been updated for a long time.
#3. Thirsty Affiliates
Next up in this list of best free affiliate link cloaking plugins is Thirsty Affiliates. You can go for either the free or the premium version.
I recommend trying out the free version first. If you like it, you can move on to the pro one. Thirsty Affiliate has a lot of advanced features. You can make links do-follow or no-follow. And, when it comes to transferring links from one blog to another, there is no better solution than Thirsty Affiliates.
The premium version includes advanced features like click tracking, scheduled links, geo-location tracking, etc.
#4. Simple URLs
On the contrary to all three plugins I have shared above, this one is a complete link management system. Simple URLs add a new custom post type to your WordPress admin panel.
You can see all your links there with the click count information. They avoid the common page-based redirection trend in affiliate marketing to get rid of permalink conflicts.
#5. WP Shorties
When you look at the download page on wordpress.org, you are going to wrinkle your forehead. Yeah, this one isn’t popular. Neither has it got reviews as well.
Still, I think WP Shorties is a promising link cloaking plugin. You can shorten and cloak link as per your requirements. One of the best features I checked out is its ability to open multiple pages on a single click.
#6. Hidden Affiliate Links
If you are looking for a tiny link cloaking plugin, this is it. You can’t find the plugin on WordPress repository. Yeah, it is an old one, but still, works like charm.
Your affiliate links will hide without any issues under the wings of Hidden Affiliate Links.
Download Hidden Affiliate Links
#7. WooCommerce Cloak Affiliate Links
You know what WooCommerce is, don’t you? It is an affiliate plugin that helps people create e-commerce websites on WordPress.
This plugin helps to mask all external links on the store.
Download WooCommerce Cloak Affiliate Links
#8. WP Wizard Cloak
Next up in this article is WP Wizard Cloak. There is nothing you will get confused with this plugin.
You can track clicks and some basic user details along with the link cloaking process.
Wrapping Up
So, you have got eight of the best free affiliate link cloaking plugins for you.
What do you think? Which one do you like? Have you used any of them before?
Don’t forget to share your opinion in the comment section down below. And also share it on your social networks.