Affiliate marketing is an incredible way to earn money online.
If done right, you can earn thousands of dollars from every product you promote.
Here’s our earning report from the Semrush affiliate program.
As you can see, we generated nearly $327,000 from just ONE affiliate product.
Although there are a ton of ways to increase your affiliate sales, you need to remember ONE important thing: “affiliate disclosures”.
Whether you know it or not, it’s illegal to not include an affiliate disclosure when you use affiliate links within your website to make money online.
So in this post, we’ll discuss several important things like;
- What is an affiliate disclosure?
- Affiliate link disclosure examples
- Affiliate disclosure best practices and more
Let’s get into the details without much ado.
Affiliate Link Disclosure Best Practices for Bloggers & Marketers [With Examples]
What Is an Affiliate Disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a disclaimer statement that informs your website visitors or potential buyers that you’re being paid by the company (or product) you’re linking to as an affiliate.
Here’s the affiliate disclaimer example from BloggersPassion;
As you can see above, we’re currently using the affiliate disclosure at the footer and it’s enabled throughout the site. That means, our footer along with the affiliate disclosure will show up no matter what post you’re reading on BloggersPassion.
Did you know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can take legal action or set hefty fines for anyone recommending a company or product without proper disclosures present?
If you’re living in the US or promoting a brand, product, or company that’s based in the US, you MUST comply with the FTC guidelines. So make sure to include an affiliate disclaimer on your website if you’re promoting affiliate products.
Side note: If you’re curious, visit this page to read all the FTC guidelines on Internet marketing where you can download a FREE PDF. It also offers practical tips on how to create effective disclosures online.
Top 3 Affiliate Link Disclosure Examples
Want to create an effective affiliate disclosure on your website? Are you looking for the best affiliate disclosure examples? This section is exclusively for you where we’ll show you three amazing websites that use affiliate disclosures effectively.
1. Affiliate Disclaimer Example from Smart Passive Income
We love Pat Flynn and his blog Smart Passive Income. Pat teaches how to build successful online businesses from scratch and also talks about the PROVEN affiliate marketing strategies to grow your affiliate commissions.
He has one of the best affiliate disclaimers on the Internet (see it here).
Have a look;
As you can see, his affiliate disclaimer is completely personalized and he clearly tells his audience that he’ll earn an affiliate commission for any purchases you make from his website.
If you’re planning to build a personal brand with your blog and also promoting affiliate products, you should definitely check out his disclaimer page for inspiration.
2. Affiliate Disclaimer Example from Pinch of Yum
Pinch of Yum is one of the most popular food blogs on the web and there are over 1 million people who follow this amazing blog on Instagram.
Here’s how the Pinch of Yum blog’s affiliate disclosure looks like (see it from here);
As you can see, on their “getting started with your own food blog” page, they show their disclaimer on top of the page where it gets maximum visibility.
If you’re planning to promote an affiliate product or creating a resource page (or a guide where you include multiple affiliate links), it’s a good idea to follow this blog’s approach.
3. Affiliate Disclaimer Example from Dr. Axe
DrAxe.com is one of the top natural health websites in the world. Dr. Josh Axe is the founder of the blog who’s a doctor of chiropractic, and certified doctor of natural medicine.
Here’s how the Dr. Axe blog’s affiliate disclaimer page looks like (read it here);
As you can see, his blog’s affiliate disclosure page is pretty simple, straightforward, and concise.
If you want to create a small yet effective affiliate disclosure on your website, you can take inspiration from this blog.
How to Write an Affiliate Disclosure: 6 Best Practices for Website Owners
Before jumping into the affiliate link disclosure best practices, here are two simple things you MUST include in your affiliate disclosures;
- that you may receive a commission for recommending products from your website
- that you have affiliate links on your website or blog
Let’s now talk about the best practices for writing affiliate link disclosures on your website.
1. Your affiliate link disclosure should be clear
You should NOT trick your website visitors. Make your affiliate disclosures extremely clear and easy to understand. A clear affiliate disclosure could be as simple as “an affiliate link”, “paid link”, or “Aff Link” which you can use while adding affiliate links.
Here’s an example;
As you can see above, whenever you use an affiliate link, you can quickly mention it as an affiliate link in the brackets.
2. Your affiliate disclosure should be clearly visible
Your website visitors should NOT hunt for your affiliate disclosures as they should be placed near any affiliate link or in a visible location that they will notice easily.
The best place for bloggers to show affiliate link disclosures are;
- At the top of the blog post (on every post you include affiliate links)
- or beside the affiliate link mentioning (such as “affiliate link”)
Here’s an example;
As you can see above, the affiliate disclosure is displayed at the very top of the blog post and is clearly visible.
3. Disclose on each page where the affiliate link is used
The best practice for affiliate link disclosure is this: whenever you’re using affiliate links to promote products, make sure to add a disclosure.
Especially go through all your high-traffic (or income-generating) posts and see if you’ve added an affiliate disclosure if you’re promoting any affiliate products. If not, add a small one or two-line disclaimer to stay safe.
4. If you’re NOT sure, just include one
If you’re unaware of which posts to include your affiliate disclosures, just include one as there’s NOTHING wrong. You’re just being extra safe. It also builds trust with your audience.
5. Use (or tweak) this affiliate disclosure template
If you’re struggling to create an affiliate link disclosure, we recommend you either use or make some changes to the following affiliate disclaimer template.
“Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. I only recommend products that I use and love. Thank you for your support.”
6. Install an affiliate disclosure plugin
As we already discussed, when you’re promoting products of companies from the US, UK, or Canada, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) requires an affiliate disclosure from bloggers.
But when you have a ton of blog posts on your blog, adding affiliate link disclosures manually can take a lot of time.
To overcome this problem, you can consider installing free plugins like WP Affiliate Disclosure. This plugin helps you easily add a customizable affiliate disclosure that will automatically display on all your posts (or specific posts).
Here’s how it looks like;
As you can see above, you can easily include a disclosure at the top (or end) of your blog posts. You can show them on all the pages or certain pages where you’ve included affiliate links.
7. Make sure to include an Amazon Associates disclosure
If you’re promoting Amazon affiliate products on your site, you must include an affiliate disclosure.
Here’s a simple way to do it.
You can use a simple disclaimer such as;
“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
In fact, Amazon itself recommends you to use it to identify yourself as an Amazon Associate partner.
You can also check out the latest guidelines from Amazon Associates if you’re promoting their products.
FAQs | Affiliate Link Disclosure
Here are some of the related questions around affiliate link disclosures and their best practices.
What is an affiliate link?
An affiliate link is a UNIQUE URL that contains an affiliate’s ID assigned to a specific product or service. If someone clicks the affiliate link to purchase something, the affiliate gets commission depending on the product they promote.
How to create an affiliate link?
To create an affiliate link, you need to first find a product to promote. Then, you should sign up for their affiliate program so they’ll give you an affiliate link to promote the product. When someone purchases their product through your affiliate link, you’ll get paid.
What is affiliate link disclosure?
Affiliate disclosure is a way to let your website visitors know that the products you mention and link to in your content may be affiliate products and you may get paid for that.
Is affiliate link disclosure necessary?
Yes, since promoting products for profit is regulated by law (in the majority of the countries), affiliate link disclosures are a legal necessity.
In the US, if you use affiliate links anywhere on your website, you’re required by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to include an affiliate link disclaimer.
Should I create an affiliate disclosure page on my website?
While it’s NOT mandatory to create an exclusive affiliate disclosure on your website as long as you’re showing affiliate link disclosures on any page where you promote affiliate products.
But it’s a good practice to have a dedicated affiliate disclaimer page especially when you’re using affiliate networks such as Amazon Associates.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting others’ products or services. As an affiliate, you earn a commission whenever someone purchases something using your affiliate referral link. The affiliate link is unique to each affiliate and includes an ID that’s specific to the product.
What are some popular affiliate networks?
Here are some of the most popular affiliate networks you can join to promote a wide range of affiliate products.
– Amazon Associates
– ClickBank
– CJ Affiliate
– ShareASale
– eBay Partner Network
– Awin
– Impact (Radius)
Where can I put my affiliate links?
As an affiliate for a product, you may want to include your affiliate links in the following channels.
– Your website or blog posts
– Inside your emails
– Social media handles like Facebook, Twitter
Just make sure to read the affiliate guidelines of the product you promote as few product vendors don’t let you use affiliate links in some channels such as PPC ads.
Essential Resources for Affiliate Marketers:
Final Thoughts on Affiliate Link Disclosures
No matter what your location is, it’s always a good idea to include affiliate disclosures on your websites to avoid legal complications in the future.
Affiliate disclosures also help you build trust with your website audience, so be sure to include them whenever you promote affiliate products.
Do you have any more questions about affiliate link disclosures and their best practices? Let us know them in the comments.
Anil Agarwal who owns Bloggerspassion.com, is a full-time blogger and SEO expert who has been helping people build profitable blogs for over a decade. Bloggers Passion has been featured on premium online sites like Forbes.com, Huffingtonpost, Semrush, Problogger, Crazy Egg, The Next Web and so on.
Keep reading the article at BloggersPassion: Learn Blogging & SEO from Anil Agarwal. The article was originally written by Anil Agarwal on 2021-03-01 08:26:13.
The article was hand-picked and curated for you by the Editorial Team of WP Archives.