The concept of link masking has gained significant importance among website owners.
Imagine you’re running an online affiliate marketing campaign and you’re promoting a range of products from various sellers. Each product link you share is long, complex, and not particularly appealing to potential buyers. You want to shorten those links to keep them appealing and simple for potential buyers.
This is where link masking comes into play.
Whether you’re a seasoned webmaster or just starting your online journey, understanding link masking can be an asset in your toolkit. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the concept of link masking, its mechanics, benefits, drawbacks, practical applications, and considerations for effective implementation.
What is link masking?
Link masking, also called URL cloaking or domain masking, is a method to hide the actual web address (URL) of a webpage and replace it with another, more user-friendly URL. For example, instead of displaying a lengthy and complex URL, you can present a shorter, more memorable one.
So, let’s say you have an original URL, “https://www.longandcomplexurl.com/product12345”. It’s lengthy and may not be user-friendly. With link masking applied, you’ll get: “https://www.mywebsite.com/bestproduct” displayed to users in the browser’s address bar.
You can still access the content from the actual URL behind the scenes, but users see the masked URL, which is more concise and easier to remember. This can be especially useful for branding purposes and improving the overall aesthetics of web links.
How link masking works
Link masking involves various methods. To understand how it works, let’s delve into its mechanics.
Types of URL redirects
- 301 redirect. This type is for permanent changes. When you want to use a masked URL for a long time, a 301 redirect tells search engines that the original destination URL has permanently moved to the masked one. This can help preserve your SEO rankings.
- 302 redirect. This is for temporary changes. If you’re using a masked URL for a short-term campaign or promotion, a 302 redirect indicates that the change is temporary. However, search engines may not pass SEO benefits from the original destination URL to the masked one with a 302 redirect.
- URL frame/ masked redirect. This method combines framesets to display the content of one URL while keeping the original URL in the address bar. It provides a seamless user experience.
To ensure smooth and reliable link masking, consider partnering with a reputable hosting provider like Web.com, which can help you maintain a solid online presence.
Benefits and drawbacks of link masking
Just like most available technology, link masking has certain pros and cons.
Advantages
Enhances user experience
Link masking makes your links look better and easier to use. Instead of long and confusing web addresses, it shows a simpler and more user-friendly version. This makes it easier for people to understand and remember the link.
Boosts brand visibility
Link masking helps strengthen your brand’s presence by letting you use your own domain name. This means that when people visit your website through a masked link, they see your brand’s name in the web address, which reinforces your brand identity and recognition.
When users encounter a masked link that prominently displays your brand name, they are more likely to click on it because it appears familiar and trustworthy. It shows that you’ve taken the extra step to present your web links in a user-friendly and branded manner. This attention to detail can leave a positive impression on visitors and potential customers, making them more likely to explore your website.
Strengthens security
When link masking, the original web address is concealed from users. This helps when you don’t want to expose sensitive information, such as database parameters or login credentials embedded in the URL. Without masking, anyone who sees the original URL could potentially manipulate it or share it, leading to unauthorized access or misuse. Link masking maintains control over who can access your content.
Protecting your original URL through masking also safeguards your brand reputation. When users interact with a masked link, they see a web address that aligns with your brand, reinforcing trust and credibility.
Drawbacks
Impacts your SEO
If you hide web addresses using masking in the wrong way, search engines and site visitors might find it harder to access your website when online. It can also create duplicate content, which causes SEO issues. Having the same content under different URLs may confuse search engines.
Implementation process is complex
Putting link masking into action may require some technical know-how. It’s not always as simple as just clicking a button. You’ll need to understand how web addresses work and how to set up certain things on your website.
If you’re not familiar with these technical aspects, it could be challenging to perform link masking. That’s why it’s often a good idea to get help from professionals who know their way around these details to ensure it’s done right.
Incompatibility with other browsers
Not all web browsers can work smoothly with masked URLs. When people use outdated web browsers to visit a website with masked links, they might not see things the way they should.
This can lead to a less-than-ideal user experience. To make sure your website works well for everyone, it’s good practice to test how it displays across different web browsers and consider its potential limitations, especially with older ones.
3 practical scenarios for link masking
You might be thinking, this is all cool and informative, but how can I actually use this in real life? To answer that, let’s explore when and where link masking can be particularly useful.
Sending survey URLs
Imagine you’re conducting a customer satisfaction survey for your business, and the survey tool generates a long and confusing URL like this: https://www.surveytool.com/survey?id=12345&user=9876&session=54321
Sharing this link with your customers can be overwhelming and may discourage participation. With link masking, you can transform this unwieldy URL into something much more user-friendly, like yourbusiness.com/survey
This masked link appears cleaner and more straightforward, making it easier for customers to trust, access, and complete the survey.
Promoting an event
Suppose you’re organizing a charity event and you want to promote it on social or print media. The event ticketing platform provides you with a lengthy and generic URL: https://www.ticketingplatform.com/event?id=67890&eventname=charitygala2023
Using this original URL can be visually unappealing and challenging to remember. URL masking allows you to create a more attractive and branded link for your event: charitygala2023.com
By using this masked URL in your promotional materials, you’re making it more appealing and reinforcing your branding at the same time.
Affiliate marketing
If you’re an affiliate marketer, you often promote products or services through affiliate links. These links can be quite long and contain complex tracking information, such as https://www.affiliateplatform.com/track?id=12345&product=54321&referrer=user123
Sharing such a link directly can deter potential customers. Masking affiliate links allow you to create a cleaner and more enticing link like this: .com/bestproduct
This masked link not only conceals the technical details but also presents a trustworthy appearance, increasing the likelihood of clicks and conversions.
Implementing link masking in 6 easy steps
Now that you know all about the basics of URL masking, you’re ready to get started. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up URL masking:
Step 1. Choose a reliable hosting provider
As you start your online journey, one of the first things you’ll need to do is to choose a hosting provider. Think of it as your website’s home on the internet.
You may still be using free web hosting for your website. However, free web hosting URLs look like: www.yourname.freehostprovider.com. On the other hand, paid web hosting allows better URL customization.
It’s a great idea to team up with a hosting provider you can trust. These reliable providers even offer the technical know-how and support you’ll need. Web.com’s hosting services offers user-friendly tools and professional services you need to get online.
Step 2. Access your hosting control panel
The control panel is the command center for your website, where you’ll manage everything. It’s where you’ll find all the tools and settings you need to customize and run your website smoothly. To get started with URL masking, simply login to your hosting control panel.
Step 3. Locate the URL masking option
When looking for the URL masking option, navigate to the section that deals with link masking or forwarding. For example, in Bluehost, you can find this in your cPanel’s file manager. Then, you need to locate the index.html file so you can edit its code.
Step 4. Enter original and masked URLs
The next step is filling in the blanks. You’ll need to provide both the original URL, which is the web address you want to hide, and the new URL, which is the one you’d like people to see. This step helps the system know where to take site visitors when they click on your masked link.
Step 5. Select redirect type
You have a few options here:
- 301 redirect
- 302 redirect
- URL frame or masked redirect
Be sure to pick which you think is best suited for your links.
Step 6. Save your settings
Once you’ve entered your original and masked URLs and picked the redirect type that fits your needs, confirm those settings and save them. Take a moment to review your choices, and when you’re satisfied, hit that “save” button. This step ensures your URL masking setup is good to go and will work as intended.
Link masking and SEO: What you need to know
SEO improves your website’s online visibility. Just as we mentioned earlier, link masking can influence your website’s SEO. Here are some key considerations and tips to keep in mind:
- Use 301 redirects properly. When URL masking for permanent changes, it’s crucial to use the appropriate type of redirect. A 301 redirect tells search engines that the original URL has permanently moved to the masked one. Doing so helps maintain the SEO authority and rankings of the original URL. It ensures that search engines recognize the masked URL as the new location for the content.
- Avoid excessive masking. While URL masking enhances user experience and branding, excessive masking can confuse search engines. If you mask too many URLs or use masking inappropriately, you may face indexing and ranking issues.
- Monitor your site performance. After implementing link masking, keep a close eye on your website’s performance and SEO rankings. Regularly monitor your website’s analytics, including traffic, click-through rates, and user behavior. Additionally, track your SEO rankings for relevant keywords. You can use link-tracking software to easily identify any potential issues or changes in SEO performance caused by URL masking.
- Check your content quality and relevance. SEO isn’t just about URLs but also about the quality and relevance of your website content. Regardless of whether you use URL masking or not, focus on creating high-quality, informative, and relevant content that meets the needs of your target audience. Strong content is a cornerstone of good SEO.
Alternatives to link masking
Masking a URL has its benefits, but you’ve got plenty of options in case you don’t want it. Website owners can check out these alternatives that achieve the same results as URL masking techniques.
1. URL shortening services. URL shortening services like Bitly, TinyURL, and Ow.ly provide a straightforward alternative. They take long and complex URLs and create shorter, more manageable versions. These shortened URLs are easier to share on social media, emails, or printed materials. While they don’t involve masking, they simplify link sharing and often come with click tracking and analytics features.
2. Custom domain names. Instead of masking, consider registering a custom domain name that’s easy to remember and reflects your brand. Use this custom domain for sharing links and improving your website’s professionalism and branding.
3. Anchor text links. Instead of using masked URLs or shorteners, you can create anchor text links within your website’s content. This means linking specific keywords or phrases within your text to the destination URL. It makes your content more reader-friendly and improves SEO by providing context.
4. QR codes. For printed materials or promotional items, you can use QR codes as an alternative to long URLs. Users can simply scan them using a smartphone and be directed to a specific webpage. QR code generators are also convenient as they’re widely available online.
5. Deep linking. If you have a mobile app, consider using deep linking. Deep links take users to a specific location within a mobile app, enhancing the user experience and making it easier to promote app content.
6. URL rewriting. Some content management systems (CMS) and web servers allow for URL rewriting. This means you can create user-friendly and descriptive URLs without masking.
7. Descriptive folder and file names. When structuring your website, use descriptive folders and file names for your URLs. This practice not only makes URLs more user-friendly but also benefits SEO by providing clear information about the page’s content.
8. Branded short domains. Consider using a branded short domain (e.g. yourbrand.link) to create user-friendly links. This approach combines the simplicity of URL shortening with branding, allowing you to maintain a consistent web presence.
9. Redirect pages. This creates simple redirect pages on your website using clear and descriptive URLs. These pages can serve as shortcuts to specific sections or resources on your site.
Send cleaner and shorter links today
Link masking is a valuable tool for improving user experience and brand visibility online. However, it comes with its set of advantages and drawbacks.
Before implementing URL masking, carefully weigh its pros and cons, and ensure you follow best practices to maintain a positive impact on your SEO. Add URL masking into your online marketing strategy. With the right approach and Web.com’s reliable web hosting services, it can be a powerful ally in your digital journey.
