Affiliate Disclosure

What affiliate disclosure requires

An affiliate disclosure is a clear statement that a publisher may earn a commission if a reader clicks a link and makes a purchase. The FTC in the US treats commission relationships as "material connections" under its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials (updated 2023), requiring disclosure that is clear, conspicuous, and near the relevant content. Equivalent requirements exist under the ASA in the UK, the EU's Consumer Rights Directive and Omnibus Directive, Canada's Competition Act, and Australia's ACL.

The legal standard is not the presence of a disclosure but whether an average reader would notice and understand it. A footnote-size mention at the bottom of a long post, a link to a separate disclosure page, or a vague "some links are partnerships" statement that doesn't specify commission earnings all fail this standard in most jurisdictions.

Where disclosures must appear

On every page with affiliate links, not once per site. A general site-wide disclosure does not substitute for per-page disclosure. If the reader is on a page with affiliate links and has not been told those links may earn the publisher money, the disclosure obligation is unmet regardless of what appears elsewhere.

Above the fold or adjacent to links, not after them. The FTC's guidance uses the phrase "clear and conspicuous" — placement that a reader would encounter before engaging with affiliate content. The disclosure must come before, or appear alongside, the links it applies to.

In the body of the content, not embedded in footers or terms pages. Links to separate disclosure pages ("see our disclosure policy") do not satisfy the requirement that the disclosure be clear and conspicuous at the point of decision.

In video and social media, at the beginning, not the end. Video disclosures that appear only in end cards or description boxes after a recommendation has been made do not satisfy the standard. On social media, "ad" or "affiliate" language must appear in the post itself, not in a see-more section.

Language that satisfies the requirement

The FTC does not specify exact wording, but guidance favors explicit language over vague terms. Examples of compliant phrasing:

• "This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you."
• "Affiliate disclosure: I earn a small commission from purchases made through links on this page."
• "#ad" or "#sponsored" at the beginning of a social post (for paid relationships)

Language that is insufficient:

• "This page contains some links." (Does not specify commission)
• "Partnerships" without explaining they're paid (Ambiguous)
• Disclosure only in a footer "Disclosure Policy" link (Not conspicuous)
• Disclosure in a collapsed accordion or hidden by a toggle (Not clear)

HTML implementation

For SEO purposes, affiliate links should carry rel="sponsored" (for paid relationships where the publisher received compensation, including commission) to signal to Google that the link is commercial. This is separate from the FTC disclosure but interacts with it: if you're adding rel="sponsored" for search engines, the link is commercial enough to require a visible disclosure for readers.

Common implementation:

<!-- Disclosed affiliate link -->
<p class="affiliate-disclosure">This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission if you purchase.</p>
<a href="https://example.com?ref=publisher123" rel="sponsored noopener">Product name</a>

Placement: the disclosure paragraph should appear before or directly alongside the first affiliate link on the page.

AI-generated content and disclosure

The 2023 FTC guidance update clarified that disclosure requirements apply to content regardless of whether it was written by a human or generated by AI. An AI-generated review with automatically inserted affiliate links still requires disclosure if the publisher earns a commission.

This creates implementation challenges for publishers using programmatic affiliate link insertion (Skimlinks, Sovrn Commerce, VigLink), which add affiliate parameters to existing links without the publisher manually placing links. Publishers using these services are responsible for ensuring disclosure appears on affected pages even if they did not manually place affiliate links there.

The FTC's 2024 guidance on AI-generated reviews added another layer: if AI-generated content is presented as an authentic review or recommendation, it must be disclosed as AI-generated in addition to any affiliate disclosure. These are separate disclosure requirements.

International compliance overview

Multi-market publishers should default to the strictest applicable standard and treat disclosure as a site-wide default for all affiliate content rather than managing per-market compliance rules.

Common mistakes

• Single site-wide disclosure page, no per-page disclosure. The most common and costly mistake. A page labeled "Disclosure Policy" linked in the footer does not satisfy the per-page requirement.
• Disclosure below the affiliate links. A reader who sees the product recommendation before the disclosure has already made the inference the FTC is trying to prevent. Disclosure must precede or accompany the links.
• "Partnerships" or "relationships" language without specifying payment. Readers understand "this post was sponsored" to mean payment; they may not understand "we partner with" the same way. Use commission or payment language explicitly.
• Not updating disclosures when switching to programmatic link insertion. Adding Skimlinks or similar services changes which pages have affiliate links without changing the publisher's manual disclosure placement — creating undisclosed pages.
• Treating disclosure as a legal formality, not a reader service. Readers who discover undisclosed affiliate relationships feel deceived, and the trust damage is permanent. Disclosure done well — honest, visible, plainly worded — builds credibility rather than eroding it.

FAQ

Does every affiliate link need its own individual disclosure? No — one clear disclosure per page that applies to all affiliate links on that page satisfies the requirement. The disclosure must cover all the links on the page, appear before or alongside them, and make clear that any link on the page may earn the publisher a commission.

Do I need to disclose if I didn't receive free products or payment, just a commission on future sales? Yes. The FTC defines "material connection" to include any financial arrangement that might affect the credibility of a recommendation — including commission-based affiliate relationships where the publisher has not yet received money. The potential for future earnings is enough to require disclosure.

What about Amazon Associates links? Amazon's program terms explicitly require disclosure on all pages containing Associate links, in addition to FTC requirements. The standard language recommended by Amazon: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." The disclosure must appear on the page with the link, not only on a separate disclosure page.

Can I use a short form disclosure like "#affiliate"? Short-form disclosures like "#affiliate", "#affiliated", or "#partner" are generally insufficient because they don't clearly communicate a commission relationship to an average reader who may not understand affiliate marketing terminology. "#ad" is widely understood to mean paid relationship and is more likely to satisfy regulators. When in doubt, use explicit language.

Does disclosure affect SEO? rel="sponsored" on affiliate links tells Google not to pass PageRank through those links, which Google already expects for paid links. The SEO implication of disclosure is largely neutral for affiliate sites — Google's guidance already expects publishers to label commercial links. Undisclosed affiliate links that Google classifies as hidden paid links create ranking risk; disclosed links with proper rel attributes do not. See backlinks for how link attributes affect authority.