Affiliate link hijacking is a big problem, some people will change your affiliate URL to their own before purchasing a product so they themselves get paid the commission giving them a discounted product.

This problem is far worse if you are promoting to the affiliate marketers crowd as they can spot an affiliate link from 100 yards away! They will just replace your affiliate ID with their own and “hijack” your commissions.

Some people just simply hate the thought that you will make a commission from their purchase and will just cut off your affiliate ID at the end of the URL. If you don’t take steps to try and hide your affiliate links from hijackers, then you will carry on losing commissions.

Using a redirect php script

This is an easy technique to implement, all you have to do is create a single php file that includes a small piece of code, so if you are trying to promote www-yourID.merchID.hop.clickbank-net then you way create a blank page called, say, http://discounts.php that just contains the redirect script, so the actual link you promote would be www-yoursite-com/discounts.

Unfortunately this technique does have one drawback, some affiliate merchant links will still be visible in the browser address bar, it works great with clickbank products.

Using .htaccess to hide links.

This is works very much the same as the one above except you don’t need to use any scripts, you just need to add a line of code to your .htaccess file.

As with the redirect script above, just create a blank page and upload it to your server, then add the following line of code to your .htaccess file.

Unfortunately this has the same drawbacks as the redirect script method, your affiliate link may still be visible on the merchants site in the browser address bar.

Using a zero-frame to cloak links.

This is the cloaking technique I use most often to hide affiliate links.

Using this method makes it look as if you are sending people to a page on YOUR site, even your URL will be still be visible in the address bar unlike the above cloaking techniques, people will think they are still on your site but they are actually viewing the merchants site.

You simply create a page as mentioned above and insert a few lines of code, I also add a title meta tag to fit the description of the product I’m selling.

However, you MUST test your link before promoting it! This technique can effect the tracking on some sites, so make sure that you will be getting credit for all the traffic you send their way.

How to hide links in a browser.

This technique is used on your website so that when someone hovers over a link, they don’t see the actual destination link in their browser status bar.

So if your actual link was www-affiliateproduct-com/uglyaffiliatelink?123 they would only see http://www.yoursite.com in their browser.

So there you have it, 4 easy ways to hide or cloak your affiliate links, using these techniques will certainly increase your sales and reduce link hijacking.

If you aren’t using any techniques to hide your affiliate links then I can guarantee that you are losing affiliate commissions! You must protect yourself from these hijackers, the harder you make it for people to recognise an affiliate link, the more commission you will make.

Search engine optimization (SEO) tips from successful Internet marketers can offer popular means of bringing more search engines and people to your websites. And more search engines plus more people is a simple formula for more clicks and sales, a win-win for online marketers in all niches.

So let’s cut to the chase, here are some top SEO tips form those who’ve been there, done that, with successful results:

1. Select a Keyword Rich Domain Name

This may not always be possible in many niche markets for the more popular keywords. Therefore you can focus on creating mini-sites that are keyword based. For example, if your website is about web hosting, you can create mini-sites about web hosting but with a lesser known keyword such as “low cost web hosting”.

2. Choose Search Engine Friendly URLs

Use search engine friendly URLs when possible. You want to be sure to use hyphens and underscores in all your URLs and preferably have the URLs be the keyword that relates to the page. For example, if the web page is about web hosting, then the URL could be web-hosting or web_hosting.

3. Check out your IP Address

For the websites you believe to be most important, ensure that they have unique ip addresses for each site. The reason this is important is many sites on a “shared” hosting service share the same ip address. If any of these sites have been banned by the search engines, it could affect your site’s ranking or even result in your site being banned as well, since it is sharing the same ip address.

4. Do some Keyword research

It’s important to do thorough research before deciding what keywords you’ll focus on when optimizing your website. A popular tool you can use is Good Keywords, a free keyword research software application.

Give these SEO tips a try and check your own results. See what works best for your products and services, and then repeat accordingly with new campaigns all year long to keep a healthy flow of traffic, clicks and sales coming your way.

Advice from a Genius
Renowned E-Biz author Sydney Johnston created the now-famous Auction Genius courses (http://Auction-Genius-Course.com) to aid people wanting to create their own e-businesses. She shares some important tips for anyone looking to learn the online retail industry:

Tip 1 — Start Small.
Many of Johnston’s students are eager to dive in head first, ready to invest all their savings into overseas imports or shopping network returns. But Johnston discourages such risky moves for two reasons.

• They haven’t considered all the costs — the enormous minimum quantities that may be required, or the price of having their goods shipped from overseas, not to mention the incidental charges they may incur in the process.

• They have little experience and, therefore, no way of knowing all that these transactions entail. Says Johnston, “You’re going to make mistakes in the beginning. The way to minimize any kind of horrible error is to learn with inexpensive items, and scale up.” Start with a minimum investment; and as you begin to make a profit, put that money back into your business rather than buying new toys for yourself.

Tip 2 — Research the Market and Test Your Results.
As you go, you’ll learn which products sell well and where you’re actually making a profit. Johnston has a “funnel theory” on finding your product niche: “You start really broad, with huge categories. Then you do your market research and you funnel down. You get smaller and smaller, until out the other end of the funnel comes a handful of products that you can really do well with.”

Tip 3 — Start on EBay.
EBay is a great tool for beginners just learning about online retail. There are several reasons why it’s a smart place to start:

• It’s quick, easy, and inexpensive.

• The traffic is built in, and the people that are seeing your listings are seeing them because they’re specifically searching for your type of product.

• It’s a good way to get exposed to the ins and outs of the business.

Tip 4 — There’s No Such Thing as “Get Rich Quick!”
Starting an e-business is just like starting any other business — it takes patience and persistence. Don’t expect to be magically rolling in money overnight. And don’t just jump at every “opportunity” that comes along, for fear of missing out. Research it first; if it sounds too good to be true — well, you know… If you take the time to understand what you’re doing, there’s plenty of room in the e-commerce industry for you to make money.

Have you ever wondered why some businesses may set up shop in areas that might not be very conducive to business and do quite well, while others are placed at major thoroughfares where walk by and drive by traffic are all but guaranteed, yet within six months they fold and the place goes up for lease or sale? The truth of the matter is that success is not always determined by your location – although it does play a vital role – but more often than not it is dictated by customer loyalty.

Here are four reasons customer loyalty is vital to your business:

1. First and foremost is the fact that a loyal customer is a repeat customer. This person will know about your business practices, about what to expect from your goods or service, the advantages and the disadvantages, and she or he will do business with you in such a way that it is a mutually satisfying transaction.

2. As you establish a relationship with your customer, you are also establishing a relationship with the customer’s family. Thus, it is not uncommon to have the wife bring in the dry cleaning for the family and turns her mother, mother in law, aunt, and best girlfriend on to your business. As the husband is sent one day to pick up the dry cleaning he becomes familiar with the business, and he will tell his brother, business associates, and others who are looking for a drycleaner. Thus, you are suddenly becoming a commodity which is being shared with others.

3. While family referrals are great, business referrals are even better. If you are a dry cleaner, you will want the dress maker down the street to recommend your services to its customers. Similarly, if there is bridal shop with which you may have some professional ties, then these business referrals are simply priceless! Customer loyalties – when you have other business owners or clerks shopping at your store or utilizing your service – are quite often the gateway to a great number of new walk in customers.

4. Yet the fourth and perhaps most important reasons why customer loyalty is vital to your business rests in the fact that many major purchases are not made during the initial contact. For example, if you are a furniture store, you might have someone come in looking for a computer desk. While these may be expensive – depending on the materials – by and large these items are small fish. Yet if the consumer is satisfied with the product, the delivery, the setup and also the price, the odds are good that she or he will be back when it is time to furnish the nursery, buy that new wall unit, or acquire that bedroom set that was saved up for!

So, customer loyalty is one of the many foundation stones you have to put in place if you are going to build a successful business.

Joel Comm, the Internet Marketing guru, has developed and refined one of today’s most well-known and revolutionary industry books, ‘What Google Never Told You About: Making Money with AdSense’. In his highly sought-after third edition, fully beefed up, updated with the latest techniques and expanded to include even more money-making AdSense techniques than ever before, Comm gives us the architecture and toolbox every to-be online entrepreneur and Internet Marketer requires to truly prosper.

He begins his book with the basics, a refresher course for more experienced AdSense users and an outstanding core foundation for those just beginning. He speaks clearly and understandably, avoiding highly technical jargon and defining terms in the books comprehensive glossary. He explores techniques anyone can use to launch an unlimited stream of cash with no money down, no experience, no inventory and minimal time investment.

Readers acquire a thorough understanding of website development, profitable domain naming, web hosting, content creation and search engine optimization. In his book, Comm also demystifies the lucrative world of blogging and how anyone can use this new medium to make money working from their home, office or abroad. He explains, in easy to understand language, the secrets to profits, what makes some websites sell and others falter right down to fine details like the colors and link locations on a page.

In addition to offering guidance on what you should do, Comm also explores frequent pitfalls and mistakes both new AdSense users and seasoned professionals need to know. He discloses the biggest (and often costly) mistakes AdSense publishers fall into, along with practical ways to avoid them. His techniques, followed step-by-step, can help anyone earn significant advertising revenue online.

Comm leaves some of the most powerful information geared toward established AdSense Internet Marketers for his chapter on troubleshooting. This chapter dispels the myths and sheds light on common obstacles faced in ad publishing. Through years of experience, Comm is able to rectify why publishers might be getting low revenues, traffic levels, clickthrough rates and click prices. He shows why too many public service ads may be running through your ad stream and why ads may have a low relevance to your page. Each chapter, page and lesson is powerful as a whole or individually as a reference.

There are a few different types of online events one can host and it will depend on the online event host’s purpose for hosting the event. Below are 3 of the more common types of online events.

1. Online Event showcasing exhibitors – This type on online event is where exhibitors showcase products that they are offering. They can offer discounts during the online event. The online event host has exhibitor booths available during this event. The FOCUS of this kind of events is EXHIBITORS.

2. Online Event showcasing guest speakers and exhibitors – In this type of online event, all participants benefit from learning some information from guest speakers. Exhibitors are also there to offer products and specials. There is a schedule of events as far as seminars/workshops being offered and there are exhibitor booths available during the event. The FOCUS on this kind of events is providing information via GUEST SPEAKERS and EXHIBITORS.

3. Online Event showcasing the host’s expertise. – For this type of online event, the host can look for sponsors for the event to help cover the costs of holding the event. There is a schedule of events for the workshops being offered by the host but there are NO exhibitor booths available during the event. Exposure is offered to sponsors of the event via text link on the online event site. The online event host is giving sponsors exposure to the audience that she is marketing the online event to.

Before you decide to host an online event, decide on what type of online event you would like to have. Once you figure that out, you will have an easier time planning out your event. You will know what your online event focuses on and you will have an idea on how much to charge your sponsors or exhibitors.