Cloaked Links

Introduction

Cloaked links are a powerful tool that allow affiliates to display their affiliate links in a 'clean' way to appear more trustworthy and enhance their SEO. This feature enables affiliates to use their own branded domains in conjunction with Routy, giving them greater control and flexibility over their affiliate marketing efforts.

For example, instead of the affiliate link looking something like:

https://affiliates.routy.app/route/98765?affId=12345&ts=12345

It will instead look like this:

https://track.yourwebsitename.com/goto/brand

In this article we will explain:

• Key Features of Cloaked Links
• How to set your traffic source to support Cloaked Links
• Adding your first Cloaked Link

Key Features of Cloaked Links

Cloaked links are specific to each traffic source - they retain all the functionalities of standard Routy links (including additional parameter tracking). However, they also offer the following benefits:

• Beautify your affiliate links for improved SEO and offer a better user experience
• Protect your revenue and commission hijacking
• Bypass platform restrictions
• Funnel traffic into whichever link you want, based on location

Set your traffic source to support Cloaked Links

To get started with Cloaked Links, users must follow these steps:

1. Go to the traffic source for which you wish to set up Cloaked Links. Press the Cloaked Link tab.

2. If your plan does not allow for Cloaked Links, press the Upgrade Plan button to enable them.

 2. Head to the traffic source for which you wish to enable Branded Links:

1.  
   • On the traffic source page, navigate to the settings tab and click the Setup button by the disabled 'Branded link' text box.

3. Specify your FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name):

1.  
   • You can input any subdomain (track, go, etc.) followed by the domain name
   • For example, "track.yourwebsitename.com" or "go.yourwebsitename.com"
   • This will be the base of your Routy links on this traffic source
   • Note that the website name does not have to be the same as the site the link will be on

4. DNS Configuration:

1.  
   • Go to the domain's DNS provider (e.g. Cloudflare) and add a CNAME record pointing to Routy's AWS load balancer (In the screenshot above this is eu-west-1.routy.app)
   • If you are unable to do this, discuss it with your tech team or reach out to us by creating a ticket

5. Verify DNS Update:

1.  
   • Once the DNS update is complete, click "Verify". If Routy can resolve the FQDN and match it to the AWS load balancer, the "Submit" button will be enabled.
   • Note: For some DNS providers, it may take up to 24 hours to update the DNS record.

6. Check DNS Record:

1.  
   • Before verifying with Routy, it's recommended to use a tool like mxtoolbox.com to confirm the CNAME was updated. Enter "cname:go.domain.com" and click the "CNAME Lookup" button.

8. Final Activation Check:

•  
  • It takes up to 20 minutes for Routy to set up the domain. Use the test URL provided to verify the activation: https://track.yourwebsitename.com/ping.

By following these steps, affiliates can successfully set up and utilize branded links on Routy, enhancing their affiliate marketing strategies. If any issues arise during the setup process, feel free to reach out to our support team for assistance.

Adding your first Cloaked Link

Once your domain is fully set up, you can start adding your Cloaked Links. Before adding your first Cloaked Link, make sure all your affiliate links are added to Routy.

• Go to the traffic source you want to set up your Cloaked Links for and press the Cloaked Links tab

• Press the Add button to add a new Cloaked Link.

• When adding your branded link, you must select a default link. This will be the 'fallback' and default option if one of the conditions is not met.

• To add a condition, simply press the "+" button and select a country and/or region, and the link you would like to direct them to.

When a user in this country/region presses the link they will be redirected to the specified link.

The diagram below gives an example of how users will be redirected:

Once you are finished from your settings, press the Submit button to save your settings. Head back to the 'Cloaked Links' section of your traffic source and you can copy and paste the link onto your website.