In an era where digital communication has become integral to various tasks, one might often wonder, “What is a VPN? Why should I use a VPN?”

Well, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is essentially a digital tool that masks your IP address, ensuring both security and the ability to access region-restricted content.

But is it possible to get a VPN for free? Absolutely.

However, identifying the best VPN requires some research. A VPN not only enhances your online security but also is immensely beneficial for affiliate marketers who need to test offers across different geographical locations.

This brings us to our next question – “How do I use a VPN tool?” and “Is VPN good for affiliate campaigns?“.

Let’s delve into a practical tutorial using the Surf Shark VPN for affiliate marketing done below by an affiliate marketer, Patrick! 👇

VPN Shark Tutorial

In this tutorial we’re going to show you how to test affiliate offers properly using Surf Shark’s VPN service with Google Chrome’s browser extension. 

When you run affiliate marketing campaigns you may promote offers in different GEOs, depending on the offer.

So, you create landing pages and you need to test if the offer is loading correctly for different countries.

In such cases you need to use a VPN tool.

VPN SurfShark is one of the best VPNs for affiliate marketing because of the number of locations that are available to test your affiliate offers. 

This is going to be a simple tutorial on how to test your own offers in just a few minutes by using Surfshark VPN.

Step 1: Download and install Surf Shark VPN.

You can download their Google Chrome browser extension here

Step 2: Click the Chrome extension

Once their browser extension is installed we’re going to click on the Chrome extension icon. 

Then, type in the name of the location that your offer is located in the search box (highlighted in yellow).

After pressing “Enter” there will be a list of regions to chose from. 

Select a region that you’d like. After, text should appear that says “Protected. Your connection is safe” in the bottom right hand column. 

Step 3: Locate your affiliate link

Now, go to your CPA network and locate your offer URL.

We want to add a test sub id into the URL. This helps let us know that our links are being tracked correctly.

Example:

https://example.com/?a=777&c=65&co=5454&mt=8&s1=test

Most affiliate networks will have a box to add text into that easily adds a sub id into your URL.

** Please note this will be different depending on which affiliate network you are using. In this example I used Clickdealer, but it can be any other affiliate network.

Step 4: Test your affiliate link

Once we added our test sub id. We’re going to copy our affiliate link URL. 

And then, paste the affiliate URL into the address bar.

After Pressing “Enter” we can determine whether or not the affiliate offer has loaded successfully by seeing if the offer page is viewable for the country that we selected (United Kingdom).

If it is not loading, then the offer is not working for that country.

Step 5: Check the stats for your affiliate link

Now we’re going to check the daily stats in our affiliate network. 

The sub id we named earlier in our URL called “test”  should appear in our tracking statistics to verify that the link is working correctly. 

Once we know our affiliate link is working we can go ahead and use our affiliate link to build a new CPV Lab campaign and make sure we get all our affiliate link tracking done correctly.

Conclusion: The unquestionable merit of VPNs in affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing, though profitable, comes with its unique set of challenges. 

Testing links across various geographical regions to ensure maximum outreach and conversion can be one of them. 

As we’ve seen, using a VPN, specifically Surf Shark in this instance, simplifies this process remarkably. 

However, a looming question might be, “Are VPNs safe?”

The answer is a resounding ‘yes‘ when using reputable services like Surf Shark. Not only does it protect your online identity, but it also becomes an indispensable tool in an affiliate marketer’s toolkit.

By facilitating a streamlined process of link testing, VPNs undeniably enhance the effectiveness of affiliate campaigns.

So, the next time you consider expanding your affiliate marketing horizons, remember the role a good VPN can play in optimizing your campaigns and safeguarding your digital footprint.

Plus, you can check the hot deal for Surfshark and get a 82% off!

**You can view how to easily build a CPV Lab campaign here.

** CPV Lab (and CPV One) is the ad tracker I trust when running affiliate marketing campaigns to make sure I get all the information about costs, clicks, CTR, ROI, conversions, etc.

Thanks for checking out this tutorial 🙂

Guest Author: Patrick Hill

Patrick is an affiliate marketer with 8+ years marketing experience. He was certified at Meclabs Research Institute in 2019 for value proposition development and a Photoshop designer. He has experience working as a technical support manager at a CPA network, and loves to make graphic design and programming easy for average people.