Q: Is .htaccess better than Jim Edwards’ Affiliate Link Cloaker for cloaking affiliate links?
A: I have been using .htaccess redirects for years. I know there are a number of programs out there to cloak affiliate links, but I haven’t used any, including the Jim Edwards’ Affiliate Link Cloaker.
It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I use .htaccess as an efficient way to change out multiple links for a merchant at once, as well as to create short URLs for print material or text newsletters.
I don’t use .htaccess for the purpose of cloaking, but it does accomplish that objective, too.
Also, it’s free to set up the .htaccess redirects, while those programs cost various amounts.
Personally, I don’t see a need to pay for it when it’s pretty easy to set it up yourself.