This is a quick how-to requested by two SEO Club members.

The problem? Affiliate links are normally ugly and easy to spot: http://productsite.com/affiliates/affiliatelink?youraffiliatenumber=324. This means that:

• Some websurfers are reluctant to click on affiliate links. They may be naturally suspect of someone linking to a product for money or they may just resent generating money for the writer they're reading.
• If the affiliate link is obvious, its easy to hijack. If you remind me they have an affiliate program, I could easily go to productsite.com, sign up as an affiliate and take the commission when I purchase there.
• There is actually spyware out there that can automatically hijack links for some of the most popular affiliate programs.

1) Affiliate Link Cloaker Plugin

• Download: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/core-enhancements/site-links/1075/details 
• Method: Install the plugin and place your link in betweeen [cloak][/cloak]
• Pros: Works well on both Joomla 1.0 and 1.5
• Cons: You need to enter all your links manually, for every page and every link.

2) iJoomla.com Redirect

• Download: http://www.ijoomla.com (actually a demonstration of #3 below)
• Method: Install Redirect. Take your affiliate link and enter it into the component. It will come out looking like this: index.php?option=com_ijoomla_redirect&id=1. Then you can use it enter it manually or use Simply Links to link every occurance of a word to your affiliate account. For example: iJoomla.
• Pros: Works well and provides good statistics on link clicks.
• Cons: Its $50. Also, its not really designed for this link cloakin, I just think affiliate work is a better use for it than trying to damn in all your Page Rank.

3) Joomla's Default Weblink Component

• Download: Not needed
• Method: Go to Components >> Weblinks. Take your affiliate link and enter it into the component. The link will be in this form: domain / weblinks / category / link name, so it will come out looking something like this: http://alledia.com/weblinks/joomla/ijoomla. Then you can use it enter it manually or use Simply Links to link every occurance of a word to your affiliate account.
• Pros: Easy to use and you just need to install Simply Links if you want to use it site-wide.
• Cons: Stats aren't quite as good as Redirect. To find out how often a link has been clicked, just check in Components >> Weblinks for the number of hits.