Considering the fact that affiliate link 'cloakers' are so popular nowadays, it is almost assumed that everyone knows what they are, and what they do. Sadly, this simply isn't true and many beginners actually end up getting woefully confused by the very idea of affiliate link cloakers, and fail to understand just what the difference is between exposed and cloaked affiliate links are. Avoiding this confusion is going to be one of the best steps that you ever take in affiliate marketing!
Honestly, the most obvious difference between exposed and cloaked affiliate links would have to be their appearance. In fact, this is the main reason why cloaked affiliate links are so popular too!
In a nutshell, exposed affiliate links are really easy to spot, and you should be able to see them from miles away. Most exposed affiliate links (or hoplinks as they're otherwise known) end up following several distinctive patterns, but one of the most popular would have to be: [http://merchant.com/cell-phone/?hop=1234]. As you can see, it really is quite distinctive, and the fact that it is an affiliate link is really blatant right from the second that anyone glances at that URL.
On the other hand, cloaked affiliate links are a lot more sneaky. In fact, they're so sneaky that they could take any form whatsover! Some cloaked affiliate links might show up as something like: http://www.yourwebsite.com/like/product.htm. However, others might show up even less obviously and take the form of: [http://www.productname.com].
Essentially, it could seem as though you're not even actually linking as an affiliate, but just directing someone to a website of interest - that's the true benefit of cloaked affiliate links and it is the reason why they're so different from the exposed variety.
Naturally, there are other differences too, but almost all of them are focused on the core difference that we just talked about. For starters, exposed affiliate links are a big 'turn off' for potential customers. Partly, this is due to the fact that there are so many inferior affiliate products out there that savvy customers have actually caught on to this fact and have started avoiding affiliate products altogether as a result.
Equally threatening is the fact that exposed affiliate links can be hijacked or stolen with ease, thus robbing you of your hard-earned commission and making all the work that you put into it completely and utterly void.
Now that you know the difference between exposed and cloaked affiliate links, you should be able to see why cloaked affiliate links are the best possible solution to the problems faced by affiliate marketing. Be sure that you don't miss out and start to apply this newfound knowledge of yours as quickly as you can!