Anyone can use one or multiple redirects for any reason. A simple affiliate link will have at least one redirect.
We can use redirect to collect our own data, before a user gets onto the final landing page.
All the above stands until people start using it for the purpose of hiding stuff. Going after those would be a job of those that are in any connection to the program given.
What gets me is when owners of those, so called, tracking domains start redirecting them to sites that are not owned by them. They do it for the purpose of misleading people and to pretend they are one of those companies.
For example, [example] “dot” net redirects to legitimate site [example] “dot” com. I am pretty sure that the owner of his/her business has worked very hard to get that business going, and yet, some small cheater is capable of compromising it just like that.
Another example is “[example 2]”. Big legitimate company being “screwed” in the same fashion as [example].
Some folks are really pure dirt and bottom of the Internet and nothing else, and I feel disgusted about what they do and how they do it.
Have your say please…
P.S.
Again, IMO, this has nothing to do with Google, except that it is a practice used on Google AdWords the most, as far as I could get it.
For those not getting the technicalities of it:
An affiliate has [example].NET that redirects (301 or whatever) to [example].COM
In his AdWords ads, he uses something like [example].NET/CAMPAIGN/SoandSO.html which is nothing but a redirect through affiliate link. That way he hides his link (somewhat, links can always can be captured), and maybe tries to full networks and merchants as the real traffic comes from his site, not from Google directly.
Many of these affiliates do NO NO things on the web. Part of their protective plan is to pretend their domain is owned by a legitimate body, possibly big reputable company.
[edited by: buckworks at 12:28 am (utc) on May 15, 2008]
[edit reason] Use example.com - it will never be owned. [/edit]
Part of their protective plan is to pretend their domain is owned by a legitimate body, possibly big reputable company.
It is about Johny Johny buying a domain name that is the same or similar to what companies like DoubleClick use.
How about if some are doing it to able to have their own tracking to protect themselves by making sure the "big reputable company" isn't ripping them off. Isn't that a possibity?
I'm not following this one above...
