What is cloaking and how does it help you make money in arbitrage?

Hi! Today let's talk about cloaking, an important topic that is a bit intimidating for novice arbitrageurs (people who buy and sell online advertising). Even experienced professionals can run into difficulties when it comes to cloaking. In this article, let's find out what cloaking is, how to work with it, and what advantages it offers in traffic arbitrage (managing the flow of visitors to websites).

What is cloaking?

Cloaking is a method of spoofing content when you click on a link in an ad. Imagine that the ad leads to a page. When cloaking, moderators (people who check ads) or bots see one, prepared and safe page, and target customers (people who are interested in your offer) - another, where the main offer (advertising offer) is located.

Why is cloaking necessary?

• Bypassing bans. If you work with topics or offers that are banned on the advertising platform, cloaking will help direct moderators to a safe page to avoid account deactivation. 
• Screening out irrelevant (inappropriate) traffic. Cloaking helps to weed out untargeted traffic, such as users from other countries or from certain devices that don't fit the advertiser's requirements. This is important because the advertiser only counts leads (targeted actions such as purchases or registrations) from the regions where you send your ads. Untargeted traffic can be perceived as fraud and you as an arbitrageur will pay for it for nothing.
• Protecting bundles (strategies) from competitors. Industrial espionage and copying of successful strategies are popular in traffic arbitrage. Cloaking allows you to hide bundles (successful combinations of offerers and advertising sources) from other arbitrageurs so that the methods are not stolen.
• Hiding traffic from banned sources. Sometimes it can be tempting to use banned traffic sources (for example, sites with questionable content). Cloaking helps to hide this from advertisers to avoid stopping payments. However, this is a risky method. It is always better to work transparently.

Proxy servers and their role in cloaking

Proxy servers play an important role in cloaking. They hide the real IP address (the unique number of your computer on the Internet), making it appear that requests (link clicks) come from different places. This is especially useful for preventing bans and avoiding restrictions set by advertising platforms.

1. Anonymity and protection. Proxy servers provide an additional level of anonymity. They hide the real IP address, which makes it difficult to track actions and, consequently, ban advertising accounts.
2. Multiple IP addresses. Using proxies allows you to work with multiple IP addresses, making traffic more diverse and harder to track. This is useful when dealing with different geographical regions and devices.

Types of cloaking

Cloaking comes in two types:

• Manual. You independently create scripts (programs) to redirect users. This method requires programming knowledge and skills.
• Automatic. Online services that do the work for you are used. This is easier and faster, especially for beginners.

Example of using cloaking with the online service Cloakit

Now let's take a look at how to use cloaking using the Cloakit online service. This is a tool that will help you get started with cloaking without technical knowledge.

Step 1: Register and set up your account

1. Register on the Cloakit website. Create an account by following the instructions. You need to specify your email and create a password.
2. Choose a plan. Cloakit offers different plans depending on your needs. Start with a basic plan if you are a beginner.

Step 2: Creating a cloaking campaign

1. Add a project. After logging into your account, go to the “Projects” section and click “Add a new project”.
2. Customize the basic parameters. Specify the name of the project and the URL (website address) of the offer (advertising offer) to which you will direct target users.

Step 3: Customizing Filters

1. Set filters for moderators. Cloakit allows you to set up filters so that moderators see a secure page. You can set filters by IP address, geographic region, and device.
2. Define targeted traffic. Customize which users will see the actual offer. This can be users from specific countries using specific devices.

Step 4: Implement the code on the site

1. Generate a code to insert into your site. Cloakit will provide a code to be inserted into your website. This code is responsible for redirecting users based on the filters you have installed.
2. Paste the code into the site. Place the generated code on the landing page of the website. This is usually done in the <head> section of the HTML code of the page.

Step 5: Testing and startup

1. Test how cloaking works. Test how filters work. Try accessing the site from different devices and IP addresses to make sure that moderators see a safe page and target users see a real offer.
2. Launch an ad campaign. After successful testing, you can launch ad campaigns using customized cloaking.

Online services make the cloaking process more accessible and simple. With their help you can protect your advertising campaigns from bans and preserve your competitive advantage.

Cloaking is a powerful tool in traffic arbitrage that helps you avoid bans, save money, protect your strategies and hide traffic from banned sources. Using proxies adds an extra layer of protection and anonymity, making your work even safer and more efficient. We hope this article helped you understand cloaking. Good luck in traffic arbitrage!