# Affiliate link redirects

{% hint style="warning" %}

### Important Note for Amazon Associates

Using local redirects for **Amazon affiliate links** may violate the Amazon Associates Program Policies.\
Enable link cloaking for Amazon only if you understand and accept the risks.\
Many publishers prefer **direct (non-cloaked)** links for Amazon.
{% endhint %}

### What Are Local Redirects?

Local redirects (also known as *link cloaking*) let you replace long, messy affiliate URLs with clean, branded links hosted on your own site.

**Example:**

```
https://example.com/go/polymaker-polyterra-pla-175-black-ab12cd/
```

When a visitor clicks the clean link, your site instantly redirects them to the merchant’s affiliate URL.

### Benefits

* **Cleaner, more trustworthy links** — human-readable, branded URLs can improve click-through rates (CTR).
* **Consistent site-wide structure** — customize your redirect prefix and status codes for uniformity.
* **Light obfuscation** — can hide affiliate parameters from basic crawlers (not intended for SEO manipulation).
* **Ad-block resilience** — some simple filters may be bypassed (advanced blockers can still detect redirects).
* **Analytics support** — works seamlessly with **Click Statistics** and **GA4 event tracking**.

### How to Enable Link Cloaking

#### 1. Enable per Module

1. Go to **Content Egg → Modules**.
2. Choose your desired module.
3. Set **Link Cloaking** to **Enabled**.

<figure><img src="https://4254262503-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M3fnB7iKYwDc1Xhr3H3%2Fuploads%2Fmbu6AFKJoK6muZRhqSda%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=b51bf09e-0d60-4e26-a327-8674f56a8e60" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

> Each module can have different settings, allowing you to follow each affiliate network’s policy.

#### 2. Wait for Indexing

After enabling, Content Egg will index all existing product links in the background via **WP-Cron**.

* On large sites, this may take a few minutes.
* Ensure that **WordPress Cron** is enabled and running.

#### 3. Configure Redirect Behavior (Global)

Go to **Content Egg → Settings → Frontend** and set:

* **Redirect Status Code** – Choose **301**, **302**, or **307**.
* **Redirect Prefix** – Default is `go`, but you can use `recommend`, `visit`, `deal`, etc.

> After making changes, **purge any caches or CDN** to ensure your new links work immediately.

### Choosing the Right Redirect Code

| Status Code                  | Description                                        | Recommended For    |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| **302 (Found)**              | Common and safe for temporary redirects.           | ✅ Affiliate links  |
| **307 (Temporary Redirect)** | Similar to 302, preserves HTTP method strictly.    | ✅ Affiliate links  |
| **301 (Moved Permanently)**  | May pass link equity, but risky for affiliate use. | ⚠️ Not recommended |

### Troubleshooting & FAQ

#### Why do some links still appear direct?

* Indexing may still be running — give it a few minutes.
* Ensure Link Cloaking is enabled for that module.
* Confirm that **WordPress Cron** is active.
* **Clear your site and CDN caches.**

#### My clean link returns a 404 error.

* Go to **Settings → Permalinks** and click **Save Changes** (this flushes rewrite rules).
* Then, **purge your caches/CDN** again.

#### What’s the 6-character suffix in the slug?

It’s a deterministic fingerprint that ensures **uniqueness and stability**.\
It does **not** contain personal data.

#### Does cloaking bypass ad blockers?

Not completely. Cloaked links may avoid **simple domain-based filters**, but advanced ad/tracker blockers can still detect redirects.

**Tips to reduce blocking:**

* Use neutral prefixes (e.g., `/visit/`, `/deal/`) instead of `/go/` or `/out/`.
* Avoid terms like *affiliate*, *ref*, or *track* in your HTML.