Free Affiliate Link Cloaker & Redirect Generator

What Is Link Cloaking?

Link cloaking is the practice of replacing a long, ugly affiliate tracking URL with a clean, branded URL on your own domain. Instead of sharing tracker.net/aff_c?offer_id=123&affiliate_id=456, you direct visitors to yoursite.com/recommends/product - which then invisibly redirects them to the offer.

This has three key benefits: clean links build more trust with readers, they are easier to remember and type, and they can be updated centrally if the destination URL ever changes - without having to update every blog post and social media post where you shared the link.

Three Ways to Cloak a Link

This tool generates three different technical implementations based on your hosting environment:

• HTML Meta Refresh: Save as an index.html file. Works on any web host, no PHP required. The browser immediately follows the meta refresh tag to the destination. Best for simple static sites and subdirectory approaches.
• .htaccess Rewrite Rules: A server-side redirect rule for Apache-based hosting (most WordPress sites, cPanel hosts). The redirect happens at the server level before any HTML is sent, making it fast and SEO-friendly.
• PHP Header Redirect: A header("Location: ...") call that executes a 301 or 302 redirect at the PHP level. Fastest execution, and the status code can be controlled for SEO purposes.

Best Practices for Cloaked Links

• Use a /recommends/ directory: The convention yoursite.com/recommends/productname is widely understood by readers and signals transparency about the affiliate relationship.
• Always disclose affiliates: FTC guidelines require disclosure of affiliate relationships regardless of how the link is formatted. Cloaking a link does not exempt you from this requirement.
• Do not cloak links to Amazon: Amazon's Associates Operating Agreement explicitly prohibits cloaking links to Amazon. For Amazon, use our Amazon Affiliate Link Builder to generate direct, compliant associate links instead.
• Use 301 for permanent links: If you are promoting a product you expect to feature long-term, use a 301 redirect so search engines pass link equity appropriately.