Have you ever been on someone’s site and noticed that a link was shorter and simpler than expected? Maybe an example will illustrate this better:

http://www.sitename.com/xxxx

Where “xxx” can be anything from twitter, facebook, maybe a product recommendation, etc. (so www.sitename.com/facebook, or www.sitename.com/twitter, or www.sitename.com/recommends/productx, etc.)

I’ve had this question recently come up with a client, and I often wondered this myself until discovering just how other bloggers were achieving this.

They use a plugin that basically redirects a custom, simple address (usually an address related to your own domain) to the “long and complicated messy URL address”.

For example, I have a Facebook fan page set up for UC Web Creations, and its “true” URL is the following:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/UC-Web-Creations/114418174240

Now, using this awesome plugin, I can set things up so that the below address leads to the above “messy” address:

http://www.ucwebcreations.com/facebook

Personally, I think this is awesome, and especially if you participate in affiliate programs, which have equally long URL addresses. One of the nice thing that this plugin provides is that, not only does it make it shorter and simpler to use and remember, but it also masks your affiliate links, which increases your chances of earning those affiliate bonuses!

Another nice thing is that it’s nice and easy to use… to the left, you’ll see a screenshot of where in the WordPress dashboard you find the plugin settings access link. Unlike most plugins, it’s actually not located in the “Settings” area of the dashboard, but rather in the “Tools” area, so it makes it easy to find if you use a lot of plugins.

You’ll just need to remember what this plugin is for – I know that for me, it took a little time to get used to it, but if you keep the word “ninja” in mind, that will help tremendously. What do ninja’s do? They are masters at hiding themselves, and essentially, this plugin hides the true identity of a link!

From there, you’ll be able to add a new link, and you’ll see the following screen:

Here, you will see a field where you can input the following:

• the name you want to give to the link (for example, “Facebook Page”),
• then the Affiliate/Destination Link (this would be the actual or “true” link),
• and then your desired “Ninja Link”, which will be “yourdomain.com/whatever-you-want”.

There are a few other options as well, such as the cloaking option. If you do not use the cloaking option, when someone clicks on your shortened link, once they arrive at the destination, they will see the “long” original link, whereas if you choose to cloak it, they will never see that longer address. You may be wondering why this may be useful, as did I when I first saw this option… it actually can be used in several situation, such as a method of preventing affiliate sales theft, and also using it for a sales page that perhaps sits on another domain, but you don’t want people to be aware of it. Definitely a useful feature!

Then there’s the “Convert Keywords to Ninja Links” option, and this will basically allow you to choose some keywords directly associated with your link so that when those keywords appear on your pages and blog posts, they will automatically link to your ninja link! (Whether this be an affiliate link, a social media link, or even a sales page.)

As you might have noticed by now, this can be a very handy plugin to have, and I highly recommend it!

Now, I’m believe in being honest at all times, so there is something I’d like to clarify regarding this plugin: many available plugins for WordPress are free, however, this is what’s considered a “premium plugin”, so it is not free; there is a cost associated with it.

It normally costs a one-time investment of $97, but don’t buy it yet – I have some insider information! Next week, there will be a sale happening with a discounted price for this plugin! Feel free to hop over there to read more info on the plugin itself, but if you are interested in purchasing it, please follow my blog via my RSS feed or sign up for an e-mail subscription as I will be posting more details about the sale here on my blog!

You can read more details about the MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate Plugin here:

MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate Plugin

Do you already have and use this plugin? What do you use it for, mainly? I use it for my affiliate links and social media links, and in the future I’m sure I’ll use it for sales pages as well – there are so many possibilities! If you don’t have it yet, what do you think you might use it for? Leave a comment below to let me know – I’m curious!

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1. As Promised – MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate Special Discount
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