Here’s a snapshot from our Amazon affiliate dashboard. While we received clicks from Pinterest, none resulted in sales. This isn’t surprising based on my experience. I’ve consistently seen that clicks from Amazon affiliate websites, optimized for SEO, lead to higher conversions compared to clicks from social media platforms.
Amazon affiliate dashboard
If these Pinterest clicks had come from an optimized Amazon affiliate website, the conversion rate could have been as high as 80%.
Why? Because users on social media like Pinterest are often browsing casually, not actively looking to purchase. On the other hand, users searching through Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo are usually more intent on finding solutions or products, making them more likely to complete a purchase if directed correctly.
Investing in Website SEO for your Amazon affiliate site ensures you attract these “ready-to-buy” users, leading to higher conversion rates and more sales.
When clicking on a website’s link from Google and visitor lands on the page, and if the visitor clicks on any link on that particular web page it auto redirects to URLs containing “shigaxapo”. But if the visitor is not from the search engine it doesn’t re-direct and behaves normally. Only visitors from search engines is redirected and other users are safe from this hacked process. In this article, I will discuss how I solved this malware.
Message I got from the client
From a client, I got a message “can you fix this problem? My website is redirecting visitors to another website, do you know why this is happening?” I hoped in quickly and replied to him “I need to analyze first because every website is different and not one solution fits all and hacking is a complicated procedure to fix”. The client agreed and allowed us to investigate the issue.
Formula to solve a problem
Note: from my past experience I have seen solving a problem or making a change or customization is requires 2 major step: 1) Analyzing the problem and finding a way to fix, it takes 80-90% of the time and 2) rest 10-15% is just actually making the change in codes or files physically.
Scenario:
I saw when I click results from Google and land on the site, and click link on the site it is re directing me to URLs containing “shigaxapo” but when I am on the site it is not re directing anymore, or if I visit the site directly as a visitor it is not re directing and as an admin when logged in it was also not redirecting.
My thoughts:
As it is redirecting to urls containing “shigaxapo”, I “inspect element” with Google Chrome and found nothing, and re direction cannot be done on WordPress by CSS or HTML it must be using javascript or php.
My steps:
So I downloaded the whole site files with Filezilla FTP and searched for the word “shigaxapo” with Notepad++ luckily I found a malware file that is not part of or any other authentic plugin by WordPress. The file was mplugin.php there I analyzed the PHP file and found codes and functions, algorithms to inject the site with such malware. From that php file, I got another file admin_ips.txt where admin ips are stored like this:
2.36.67.193
81.31.155.59
119.30.47.136
My Verdict:
Inside plugins folder it is injected/hacked, this is a plugin that hides itself and activates automatically. You can check from activated plugins that 1 extra plugin is activated but not visible from the wp-admin plugins list.
I deleted those files and ran multiple tests from different devices and re-directing problem was solved successfully. And the client was happy :D.
I will be attaching some codes or the file to make it clear. Leave a comment below if you have any questions or ask me anything.
Share this article if it helps.
If you need help regarding any WordPress/website issues, you can contact me.
Recently, due to the unrest in our country, we faced internet outages, which left me with limited options for productive work. But I believe in making the most of any situation! Instead of sitting idle, I took this time to edit my WordPress and web development tutorials for my YouTube channel and Facebook.
These tutorials are raw and real—I recorded them while working on client projects and solving specific challenges.
Here’s why I decided to create these videos:
1️⃣ Helping Others: My goal is to provide valuable solutions to anyone searching for them. 2️⃣ Showcasing My Work: These videos serve as a portfolio of my work and skills. 3️⃣ Keeping Track: It’s a great way to document my progress and growth.
I’m confident that if I focus, I can create 200+ tutorials in just two months! 😄 However, finding time to record and edit is challenging, and sometimes, circumstances don’t allow it.
Looking back, I wish I had started recording my journey from the very beginning. Imagine the thousands of tutorials I could have shared, helping countless people along the way. After all, I’ve learned so much from the internet, and giving back through my knowledge would be incredibly fulfilling.
My editing process is simple—I use Free Cam 8 to record my screen and voice while I work, and final edit with CapCut.
As a self-employed professional, I’ve had to learn various skills to meet the needs of clients and employers, from web development to video and image editing. I like to think of myself as a one-man army 💪.