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Link hijacking happens when a third party intercepts or alters your affiliate link so that they - not you - receive credit for the referral.

It usually occurs after your page has loaded, and without your knowledge. The user still reaches the merchant site, but your affiliate ID is replaced, removed, or bypassed - meaning you lose the commission.

This can happen through several mechanisms: browser extensions, malware, redirect injections, URL manipulation, or other tampering tools that operate on the user side.

The most frustrating part? It's often out of your hands. You can take every reasonable security measure, but a single browser extension installed on the user's device can silently overwrite your links without you ever knowing.

And this isn't just theory. Major affiliate revenue losses have been tied to browser extensions and automated hijacking. If you want to understand how widespread and real this problem is, here are some reported cases:

  1. The Verge on Honey and influencers - Describes how mainstream extensions may disrupt affiliate earnings without directly altering links.

  2. Reuters: Capital One lawsuit from creators - Highlights legal action from influencers over affiliate commission redirection.

  3. Wall Street Journal: How coupon extensions hijack revenue - Explores industry-wide debate on whether browser add-ons unfairly divert affiliate income.

Your affiliate links may or may not be affected by these specific cases, and Honey, for example, may not directly inject its own IDs-but that doesn't mean you're safe. There are concrete steps you can take to improve your affiliate link hygiene and reduce risk.

Link cloaking disguises your destination URL behind a cleaner, branded path. While it won't stop all hijacking, it makes it harder for third parties to manipulate your links.

Compare:

  • example.com/start.php?aff_id=123
  • yoursite.com/visit/casinoname

The second is less likely to be recognized and altered by browser extensions.

But cloaking isn't just about hijacking resistance. Here are some additional real-world benefits:

  • Brand trust: Clean, readable URLs look more professional and trustworthy to users.
  • Centralized control: You can update or rotate destination links from one place without editing every page.
  • Analytics: Easier to track click data when there's a routing system.
  • Geo or device targeting: Cloaking makes it possible to serve different destinations based on the user's location or device.
  • Content protection: Reduces the chance of competitors or scrapers directly copying your affiliate links.

2. Use the rel Attribute Properly

After cloaking your links, use rel attributes to give browsers and crawlers context. These help protect your site and signal that these links shouldn't pass SEO value.

  • nofollow - Tells crawlers not to follow or index the link
  • sponsored - Indicates a paid or affiliate relationship (Google recommends this for transparency)
  • noopener - Prevents the new tab from accessing your original window (window.opener)
  • noreferrer - Removes the HTTP referrer header, hiding your site as the traffic source

✨ noopener is especially important when using target="_blank". Without it, the destination site could access your original tab via JavaScript, posing a security risk.

3. Block Bots and Prevent Indexing

You can protect your cloaked links from scrapers, SEO bots, and automated abuse.

Here's how to exclude them in robots.txt for affilaiet links usng visit slug:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /visit/

You should also:

  • add rel="nofollow" to cloaked links
  • exclude /visit/ URLs from your XML sitemap

These steps help reduce the risk of link scraping (it's a real thing), redirects triggered by the crawlers, indexed affiliate links, links being copied or misused, etc.

4. Use Server-Side Redirects (Not JavaScript)

How you redirect matters. JavaScript-based redirects (window.location) are more vulnerable to hijacking and can fail on slower devices or blocked scripts.

Use HTTP-level redirects (301 or 302) via PHP, NGINX, or your WordPress redirection plugin.

Why server-side is better:

  • Works even if JavaScript is blocked
  • Fires faster and more reliably
  • Harder for extensions to override
  • Lets you track clicks accurately

🔒 Cloaking + server-side redirects is your baseline best practice. It won't stop hijacking entirely, but it significantly reduces the risk of tampering, broken tracking flows, and client-side failure.

Link hijacking is just one way affiliate earnings get lost. Here are additional risks worth considering:

  • Link leakage through copy-paste: Users who copy your affiliate link and open it in incognito mode or on a privacy-focused browser may prevent proper tracking.
  • Affiliate ID manipulation: Malicious actors may copy your links, swap in their own affiliate ID, and publish them elsewhere-stealing potential conversions.
  • Cookie blocking: Some browsers or browser extensions block tracking cookies altogether, making it harder for your clicks to be attributed.
  • Scraper abuse: Automated bots may copy and republish your links on low-quality sites, leading to brand dilution or affiliate bans.
  • Link fatigue and expiration: Some affiliate programs rotate or deactivate links over time. If you're not tracking that, you could be sending users to dead offers.
  • Unauthorized promotion: If your link shows up on sites that violate affiliate program rules (e.g. coupon farms, adult content), your account could be suspended-even if you didn't post it there.
  • Overexposure and compliance risk: Publicly exposing your affiliate IDs too widely can attract fraud attempts, poaching, or program violations.

Being aware of these risks helps reinforce why affiliate link hygiene, redirection control, and routine monitoring are so essential.

TLDR;

Affiliate link hijacking isn't just a technical nuisance - it's a real threat to your revenue, especially in competitive niches like gambling, Forex, or finance. While you can't control what happens in a user's browser, you can take meaningful steps to protect your links and make hijacking much harder or unprofitable.

Here's a quick checklist to reinforce your defenses:

  • ✅ Cloak your links using server-side (HTTP) redirects
  • ✅ Use rel="nofollow sponsored noopener noreferrer" on all affiliate links
  • ✅ Block bots and prevent indexing with robots.txt and sitemap exclusions
  • ✅ Monitor your outbound click logs and conversion reports for anomalies
  • ✅ Be aware of browser extensions, scraper bots, and cookie blockers

Want to go deeper to audit and improve your current link setup? Get in touch.

Levon, founder of DinoMatic

Written by Levon, Founder of DinoMatic

Hey, I'm Levon — a web developer who loves helping gambling and Forex affiliates build fast, SEO-friendly websites that convert. I've created WP themes like Spinoko, Akurai, and FXT, designed for lean setups that don't compromise on performance or rankings. I write from hands-on experience — I test, tweak, and share what works.

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