Redirect:

Redirect means that a user is not routed to the exact URL he typed into his browser address bar or the link he clicked on was aimed at, but is automatically directed to another URL.

Redirecting the traffic can be done out of several reasons:

• The actual destination URL would be too long and ugly so that users won’t type it in their browser or won’t like to click on it.

• A page within a website has moved to another location but there are still links to this page. In order to not have any broken links users are redirected to the new location of the page.

• For marketing purposes to automatically direct visitors to a new page with the hottest product on it.

• The actual URL is an obvious affiliate link and could be changed or hijacked so the affiliate would lose his commission.
  

Example:

Your affiliate link is

http://www.newproductxyz.com/.page.php?id=1234&u=egold&aff_id=12345 .

As you don’t want the affiliate-ID part of the link either chopped off or changed you display the Redirect-URL:

http://www.yourdomain.com/xyz.html .

You include a piece of code on this page so that every user automatically gets directed to above affiliate URL. This can be done either with or without delay. As the actual URL, not even the target domain, can be read from the Redirect-URL, you cannot be deprived of your commission. This technique in essence achieves the same result as link cloaking, through other technical means, though.

[ Redirect comes from re- = back or again and deregere, directus = to align, straighten, guide]

 

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