WP Link Shield 2.0 [review]

34
Posted June 25, 2016 by in

Rating

Price
 
 
 
 
 


Concept
 
 
 
 
 


Execution
 
 
 
 
 


Value
 
 
 
 
 


Total Score
 
 
 
 
 

3/ 5

Creator: Michael Thomas / Chris Hitman
 
Type: WordPress Plugin
 
 

POS:

Some great features that could be products in their own right
 

NEG:

Need the upgraded 'pro' version to get the best features
 

Today Im review of WP LinkShield and an interview with vendor Chris Hitman.     Review Summery: There have been several different types of link cloaking software and plugins. At its core WP Link Shield is very similar to many of the existing solutions that exist with some exceptions that I have only ever seen […]

by Brett Rutecky
Full Article

Today Im review of WP LinkShield and an interview with vendor Chris Hitman.

 

 

Review Summery:

There have been several different types of link cloaking software and plugins. At its core WP Link Shield is very similar to many of the existing solutions that exist with some exceptions that I have only ever seen in a few other products.

The first is that it can actually pull the target URL into your own domain and block any on exit pop ups. This is very important if your doing any kind of affiliate marketing because on exit pop ups are basically just a way for vendors to capture your subscribers email address even if they don’t buy the product you are promoting. In short this stops vendors from building their list from you for free. This is something that is so important that I actually created a plugin of my own to do this.
The second is that though WP Link Shield used IFRAMEs it does not break mobile responsive sites, something that many link cloaking / tracker tools that use IFRAMEs do. If your promoting a lot of offers to customers that tend to access on a mobile device this alone can be an important consideration that makes WP Link Shield worth picking up.

Now all of this is well and good but where WP Link Shield really shines is when you move past the front end version and upgrade to the pro version. Doing this will unlock some really cool extra features that make it stand out. These are features such as:

  1. The ability to have the plugin automatically detect dead links. What is a dead link? Well simply its a affiliate link that no longer leads to a sales page. Unfortunately this happens a lot more than most affiliate marketers would like. Servers go down. URL’s change. Promos end. The pro version of WP Link Shield can automatically detect if your cloaked link is dead and redirect people to an alternate URL so they don’t just end up on a broken or 404 page. If your doing any kind of paid traffic this is super important as without this you might end up paying for clicks that lead to a broken URL.
  2.  The ability to pull in your target URL to your own domain and add in a ‘timer bar’ with a countdown time, a call to action text, and a link over the pages you pull in. This is a useful tool to add scarcity to the offer or even to a bonus or special you are giving for people who buy though your link.
  3.  The ability to add countdown timers (for scarcity) in your emails that you write that match up to the time on the scarcity bar you create with feature #2. We all know scarcity increases conversions and I have no doubt that scarcity (countdowns) in an email will increase conversions. This feature actually surprised me as I have seen stand alone products built and sold around this single feature.
  4.  The ability to add ‘bonus bars’ over the cloaked pages that you pull into your domain. Bonus bars are very similar to scarcity bars except they do not have a countdown timer.

So what do I think of WP LinkShield over all? Well you really should have a link cloaker, both for ‘pretty’ looking links and also for tracking. The FE version (for sale at $39.70), while functional and useful on its own for someone that has no link cloaker,  is very similar to existing solutions and if you have an existing tool then you might not need WP Link Shield. Where WP Link Shield really becomes valuable is in the OTOs and if your willing to get the upgraded PRO version ($47) then you are going to be able to unlock the valuable features listed above that make it a great investment even if you already have an existing cloaking solution. It’s very rare that I review OTO’s but in this case I think the upgrade PRO version is where the value is and I would suggest that if your considering WP Link Shield you keep in mind that you will need the OTO to get the most valuable features (especially if you already have a link cloaking tool). When you ‘go pro’ you get an extremely flexible tool with a lot of option that is well worth considering investing in.

approved

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus: As always I want my readers and subscribers to get the best value for their money. So I asked Chris to give me something extra special for anyone who grabs WP Link Shield though this review. He agreed to allow me to give away the following very cool bonuses:

-Save My List (easy autoresponder backup tool)

1

 

-WP Member Shield (plugin for delivering secure files you sell)

Both of these bonuses are high quality products that Chris and his partner have sold, not some PLR junk. I have added access instructions to JVZoo so you can get instant access when you get WP Link Shield by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.


About the Author

Brett Rutecky

Brett Rutecky is a full time online marketer, web developer, and entrepreneur. He has developed scores of Facebook apps, dozens of custom web sites and hundreds of scripts.

34 Comments


  1.  
    Jim Redmond

    Brett,
    How does this compare to LinkMaster?
    Thank you, Jim R




    •  

      The FE version has similar features to LinkMaster with the exception of being able to automatically change text in a post to your link (which LM has and this does not) however the OTO version of this has some features that LinkMaster does not have, this is why I say if people get WP Link Shield the OTO is really needed to get the most out of it.




  2.  
    IDoStuFF4u

    Oh, so this is Hitman…Nice interview/demo.
    I like the fact that you are up front about the OTO.




  3.  
    Jim Redmond

    Thank you, Jim R




  4.  
    kami ilmane

    I was lucky enough to get a review access to wp link shield. I tested it for over two weeks, and I couldn’t find any bugs using my test site.
    I love the “get from url” option which let you get all the metadata stuff so that I don’t have to worry about the copy and the graphics for my FB posts .
    I also love the FB preview so that I can see exactly what the post would look like on FB.
    Well done Chris. great plugin.
    And thanks Brett for the review and for inviting Chris to provide more info about the product. It’s always nice to put a face to a product.
    Best of luck guys.
    To your success both. Have a great weekend everyone here..yeah….summer is here!!
    Kami




  5.  
    Robson

    Hello Brett! Once again you have save me some money. Since I do have your wonderful product LinkMaster as one of my important Business tool, I decided not to invest on WP LinkShield 2.0 at this time, since they have similar features. Thanks for the wonderful review of the product.

    Robson – Mastermindswins




  6.  
    Attila Bodnar

    Hi Brett, my question is only , that I see you dont use link cloakers on your site, why?




    •  

      Because there is no need to cloak a link on my site when my links are attached to a graphic or to text. The point of a cloaker is for posts on social media, in your emails, ads etc. as Chris took the time to explain in our interview.




      •  
        Attila Bodnar

        And whats about Google. Can Google see a Jvzoo link as affiliate link? And this not can do negative imapct in Seo results? And the next important question , if I cloack my affiliate link with these great plugins, can be this a positive point for my Seo results?




  7.  
    Joe

    I purchased the original back in August of last year before they had a Pro version. After reading Brett’s review, I contacted support and asked if there was a way for me to purchase the Pro upgrade. They noticed I had purchased the software two times with 20 minutes apart, which I had not noticed, and they gave me the Pro upgrade for free since I had made two purchases.

    There are not many IM folks who will do something like that on their own and I would like to publically thank them for their kindness. The I’m world would be a lot better if everyone treated their customers they way they have treated me.

    Needless to say, I recommend this software very much, if for no other reason than the way they treat their customers.




  8.  
    Gunnar

    Hi,I’m a bit confused. I’ve bought a plugin whit the same name
    Sunday 23rd of August 2015. Vendor Michael Thomas.
    I checked JVzoo and there was a new version 2.1.
    Could you clarify it for me?




  9.  
    Karl T

    Just to confirm from a pure cloaking standpoint

    Linkmaster is every bit as effective in terms of cloaking then WP Linkshield – all other features aside?

    Also have to wonder if “lifetime” updates to WP LS 2 means the same thing as lifetime updates for the original WP LS released last August. Given there was no upgrade path (free or paid) for v1 owners, have to presume that you’d have to set up the links all over again in v2.




    •  

      Yea the FE of WP Link Shield and LinkMaster (which has no OTO) are essentially the same. Link Shield handles mobile responsive pages a bit better, and Link Master has the ability to automatically make specific text in your posts turn into your link, but other than that they are essentially the same. As I said in the review, the really cool stuff for WP Link Shield comes when you upgrade to the PRO version. As for their upgrades policy etc. honestly I don’t know. They said it was upgrades for live. All I know is what they said.




      •  
        Joe

        Brett,

        When I received the response from support, I was also told that with the original version last year, the OTO was for two different programs that I do not remember the name of, but if you purchased them along with V 1.0, you would also get the upgrade to the Pro level for V 2.1. Hope that helps clarify things for folks.




  10.  
    David F

    Is it possible just yo buy the pro version only.




  11.  
    Thel

    Hi Brett,

    Where can I get your bonus? Bought FE version and OTO1 and 2.




  12.  
    marc

    What´s is “FE version”? and if I have a Linkmaster for U$19,00 I think this is very cheap for the LS for the U$39,00,ok?




  13.  
    Mart

    Hi Brett,

    So what’s difference between Pretty Links pro and Link Master / W linkshield.

    Are they all the same. Can they all cloak links effectively on websites and social media?




    •  

      I cant answer questions like this, I report on products I review, its up to you to do research on other products I didn’t review (such as Pretty Links) if you want to know the difference.




  14.  
    ari

    i get it,

    thanks brett…




  15.  
    David Sweney

    Hi Brett,

    I was planning on passing over this tool until I read your review above. Then I started doing more research and the more I found, the more convinced I was how important having a GOOD link cloaker is for online marketing.

    The offer of the agency access for Video Takeover that you added the other day was the final push I needed to get the FE, OTO 1 and even OTO 2 of WP Linkshield. I do like the fact that this plugin will not mess with mobile viewing as many other such plugins do plus the other features in the upgrades.

    Having these was important for use on my own sites and when grabbing information from other sites that I post on my fan pages in the niches I focus on. The agency offer was just icing on the cake, and yes overdelivering!

    As you said, “Never again, and I say ” No problem, I am already in!” Thanks and cheers!

    Dave




  16.  
    Steve

    Hi Brett …

    I just purchased WP Link Shield , but don’t see your bonus in JVZOO…





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