IMPORTANT NOTICE: Since the article below was posted, Pretty Link Lite has been modified to NOT allow cloaked links and a few other features, because they are apparently in violation of WordPress.org’s plugin policies!  Be sure that when you download any free Pretty Link Lite plugin, that it is version 1.4.50 or earlier.  Again, Version 1.4.51 or higher does NOT allow URL cloaking, the Pretty Bar and Pixel tracking.  If you are a current user of the Lite version and want to continue cloaking, I recommend that you do not upgrade to the current Lite version and stick with 1.4.50.

Essentially you now have two choices:

1. For the time being, the free version of Pretty Link that still contains these features can be found here. If you are a current user of Pretty Link Lite, it’s probably a good idea to grab this .zip file of 1.4.50 and archive it to your PC.

2. Alternately, you can always be assured of having the most current version of Pretty Link Pro, containing  all the latest features, including cloaking/pixel URL generation and future releases by going here.

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve searched for and purchased many different scripts that would hopefully redirect and cloak my affiliate links properly, only to discover that NONE of these solutions worked well enough for me.  I’ve tried some hosted solutions, including paid ones, but always dreaded the fact that these programs might eventually disappear.  I paid for some scripts that could be uploaded to my shared server too, and found their operation lacking.

Shortly after I jumped into WordPress, I discovered an absolute gem (plug-in) that is easily integrated into a blog at the push of an upload button.  It’s called Pretty Link, authored by Blair Williams.  After using Pretty Link for several weeks, I can give this free plug-in a five-star thumbs up.  *****  What’s really cool is that it this plug-in isn’t “bound” to your blog.  In other words, you can map any affiliate link of your choice and use the program to redirect links in all your advertising.

Want to use a temporary redirect that reveals the landing page URL after redirect?  No problem.
Want to use a fully cloaked and persistent redirect?  No problem.

Pretty Link offers the marketer incredible flexibility and a myriad of options which are defined per link.  All this, coupled with a clean user interface makes this resource hard to beat and one that I am going to stick with.  Obviously whether you choose to use it is really up to you, but you’d be crazy not to try it out.

From your administration panel in WordPress, just search the WP repository for Pretty Link and start using it right away.  IMO, you’ll be very happy with the results.