Hi Clocky and welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]

Google knows affiliate links are a legitimate part of the internet since before they were a search engine. The affiliate links are not a reason to do poorly online. Doing them badly and trying to fool visitors is a good way to be removed from the index.

Be proud of your work and rather than disguising your links, explain them to visitors. Create a site that helps them learn more about your topic and explain that buying through your links allows you to earn a small payment, a way to show their appreciation. If you rely on any US traffic, disclosure is required by the FTC.

With the new Google update, affiliate sites are no longer welcome.

Sites with affiliate links are still welcome. The page shouldn't exist just to direct traffic to affiliate programs, though. Some signals that suggest the site is built for affiliate purposes include too many page titles that start with "the top 10" and the affiliate code being part of the theme(review stars in the sidebar, template built around aff section layout etc). Other signals include not having original images or video of the product to show you actually reviewed it.

Google also makes a lot of product related updates, example:

August 22 - Google began upgrading some review-type results to product-type results in Search. As a result, you might see a decrease in your Review snippet impressions (and clicks) and an increase in your Product results impressions (and clicks). This represents both a change in how these items looked in Search as well as where Search Console assigns these impressions and clicks.

Affiliate programs themselves play a role in performance(and trust etc)

Example: When you use the hyperlinks provided by affiliate programs there is typically a redirect chain involved, this is normal. Some programs however, like Amazon, don't allow you to link to the page Google trusts most about the product.

To test this you can perform a search for the specific item and include the name of the site you're an affiliate of in your search to find their best page for that item. Amazon affiliate links never lead to that page, even if you grab the affiliate code on that page. They have their own SEO reasons for this. Yet other programs make changes in the redirect chain so your pages have never ending changes to their outgoing links.

To combat this only link to the URL of the page you want to link to and add your program details as a url parameter, never as part of the URL itself because it will never be as trusted as the page Google top ranks. Aff programs do what's best for their business, it's not always what's best for yours.

Think about it, you are telling people about a product but the link always changes. How can your review be trusted? The aff program doesn't want your pages to outrank theirs, there's some SEO involved to it.

About your specific question: In my experience a plain uncloaked link directly to the top ranking page (according to Google) for that item is best, and add your aff details as a parameter of that link, ie: After the ? This may not be allowed with some programs so double check the TOS and it may not work with others, check the tracking.

Cloaking is also normal for sites that have a lot of affiliate links and use a link manager. Do keep the redirect chain as short as possible, though.

example: Your site >> your cloaking domain >> the aff program >> aff site's redirect to another aff site URL >> out to the product site >> redirect at the product site >> another redirect at the product site >> the item page

Better: Your site >> product buying page. Or maybe Your site >> aff program >> product page. Point is keep them short.

In 2022 you are not hiding that it's an affiliate link without some shady looking code that would make trying sus.

Several of my favorite sites on the web are review sites, of various types in various fields. They are usually explicit about getting a commission if you buy recommended or related products, books, etc via their affiliate links. That is how they survive financially. .

The sites I'm talking about are generally among the most thorough and carefully written and edited sites in their fields, and are highly trusted among readers in their niches. Several have won awards. One I believe was awarded a best blog of the year type award.

In some cases, the affiliate links for products to multiple sellers in effect also supply price comparisons for their readers.

The bad reputation run-of-the-mill affiliate sites have gotten is generally deserved.... There have been (and probably will continue to be) many pushbutton sites offering no unique content or point of view, often promoted by spammy techniques, with articles that bear no caring imprint.

If your site is one of those, you have lost the game anyway. The links themselves are of no issue to Google. The issue is about the quality of the content and how well it serves its audience... which by extension is Google's audience as well.