Today we will show you a few examples of Affiliate Disclosure Statements for your website.
Website owners have long used affiliate links to earn revenue from their pages.
A regular advertisement is an unmistakable endorsement of a product. Even a link can be framed as an advertisement with the right wording. Affiliate links, on the other hand, are not the same. The site owner is not compensated based on the number of visitors. They are also not compensated when a user clicks on them. Instead, payment is made when someone clicks on the link and purchases using a tracking code.
Unlike advertisements, affiliate links do not require an endorsement of the product being sold. A site, for example, could simply be a “price comparison web page with links to various types of products.” The site’s owner makes no claim that one product is superior to another. The only difference is that the links leading to the product imply a financial relationship between the website and the product.
Disclosure Requirements of the FTC
The FTC decided to regulate this business model in 2009 lightly. They wanted to ensure that users were aware of the site’s financial relationship with the products they linked. The FTC stated that all affiliate links must be clearly labeled as such in a press release.
However, they left it up to the site owners to decide how this should be implemented. There was only one rule: the consumer had to be aware of what was happening. The FTC did not specify whether this would be a site-wide or individual notice for each affiliate link.
While affiliate links were not explicitly mentioned in the FTC guidelines, they later issued a number of clarifications that addressed the issue. They discuss conspicuous messaging and the disclosure of affiliate links in this.
Where Should Your Disclosures Be Placed?
The FTC has stated where the links should NOT be placed. If you’re wondering whether you can cram them into a “Terms of Service” agreement or an “About” page, you’re in for a letdown. These links must be easily visible to the user at the time they are viewed. The implication is that the disclaimer cannot be placed at the bottom of the page after clicking the link.
What if you make it clear that affiliate links are used throughout the site? Is it necessary to provide a separate disclosure for each and every link? Unfortunately, that is a matter of opinion. The guidelines advise you to keep in mind that different people may have different interpretations of the content, so it’s best to be safe and make the disclosures anyway.
Affiliate Disclaimer Statements:
Here are a few examples of starter statements to use on your site:
To add to the top of the page:
This site contains product affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.
To attach a specific link:
Paid link
Affiliate links are subject to the following disclaimer:
Please remember that you may receive a commission when you click on our links to make a purchase. This, however, has no bearing on our reviews and comparisons. We will do our best to keep things fair and balanced to assist you in making the best decision for you.
The bottom line is that you will not violate FTC regulations if you make a “best effort” to make your disclaimers visible. You don’t have to go overboard – just make a reasonable effort to follow the law, and you should be fine!
