If you earn from a recommendation, say so first
A recommendation that pays you is still a recommendation, and readers are entitled to know before they act on it. The rule is about placement as much as wording.
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Short answer
If you receive payment, commission, free products or any other benefit connected to something you recommend, that connection should be disclosed clearly and close to the recommendation. A line in a policy page is not enough. The disclosure needs to reach the reader before they click. Nothing here is legal advice.
What has to be disclosed
Any material connection between you and what you are recommending. Commission on a sale, a payment for the post, free products, a discount, or a business relationship.
It is not only cash. A product sent to you at no charge is a connection a reader would want to know about.
The same applies to recommending a business you part own, or a supplier who sends you work in return.
The test is whether a reader would be surprised to learn you benefit. If the honest answer is yes, that is the disclosure telling you it is needed.
- Commission on a sale made through your link
- Payment for writing the post
- Free products or services you were sent
- A discount given in exchange for coverage
- A business relationship with the company recommended
- Part ownership of anything you point people at
- Referral fees flowing either direction
Where it goes
Before the recommendation, close enough that a reader sees it in the same glance. Not at the bottom of the page and not on a separate disclosure page alone.
A reader who clicks your link from halfway down the article never reaches a footer note, which is why placement carries as much weight as the words.
A short line above the list or beside the link does the job.
Placement carries as much weight as wording, because most readers arrive partway down a page from a search result and never see a footer.
How it should read
Plain and specific. We earn a commission if you buy through these links. Not the vague phrase this post may contain affiliate links.
Avoid jargon. Some readers do not know what affiliate means, and a disclosure they do not understand has not disclosed anything.
Keep it in the same voice as the rest of the page. A legal sounding block reads as something to skip.
Avoid the word affiliate on its own. Plenty of readers do not know what it means, and a disclosure nobody understands has disclosed nothing.
What does not count
A link to a supplier you simply rate, with no benefit to you, needs no disclosure. Recommending a business because they are good is ordinary.
A page listing your own services is not an affiliate relationship. It is obviously yours.
The question is always whether a reader would be surprised to learn you benefit. If yes, disclose.
Recommending a supplier you simply rate, with nothing flowing back to you, needs no disclosure. Being useful about other businesses is ordinary and worth doing.
Sponsored content
If somebody paid for a page or a mention, label it at the top. Sponsored, paid partnership, or advertisement. One word does it.
A sponsored page that reads like editorial and is marked only in a tag nobody sees is the arrangement most likely to attract attention.
Being upfront also protects your own credibility, which is the asset that made the sponsorship worth buying.
Label it at the top, in one word. A sponsored page that reads like editorial and carries its label in a tag nobody sees is the arrangement most likely to attract attention.
Reviews you were paid for
Reviewing a product you were given is fine. Not saying so is the problem, and it is the most common version of this failure.
State what you received, then review honestly. A disclosed critical review carries more weight than an undisclosed positive one.
If a payment came with conditions about what you could say, that is worth disclosing too, and is worth thinking about before agreeing.
Keeping it maintained
Affiliate relationships end and pages stay up. A disclosure describing a programme you left is inaccurate in the other direction.
Keep a list of pages carrying disclosures and review it when a relationship changes.
Every page written by Website Builder Studio passes a check that runs before anything publishes, and disclosures you write publish exactly as you gave them. Nothing here is legal advice.
Relationships end and pages stay up, so a disclosure can become wrong in the other direction — which is the same maintenance problem described in content freshness.
Keep a list of which pages carry a disclosure. Relationships end, and a disclosure describing a programme you left is inaccurate in the other direction.
Questions people ask
Does a disclosure page in the footer cover me?
Generally not on its own. The expectation is that the disclosure reaches the reader near the recommendation, since many arrive mid page from search.
What if I only earn on some links?
Say which, or disclose at the top that some links pay you. Precision is better, and a general notice is far better than nothing.
Is a hashtag enough on social media?
A clear label placed where people see it before engaging is the expectation. A tag buried at the end of a long caption is the pattern most criticized.
Do I need to disclose a free trial I was given?
If it influenced what you wrote or would surprise a reader to learn, disclose it. The test is what the reader would want to know.
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