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Resources / Guides / Website disclaimers
Published by Usercentrics
9 mins to read
Nov 28, 2024

A guide to affiliate link disclaimers with examples

Affiliate marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses. Promoting partners’ products and services can create mutually beneficial relationships and a way for your business to generate additional revenue.

However, you do need to be up front with your customers about the fact that you can earn money if they follow links on your site and buy products. That’s what affiliate link disclaimers are for. They help you to build trust with your audience with transparency and comply with data protection and advertising regulations.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the importance of affiliate link disclaimers, explain how to create and implement one on your website, and provide examples from well-known sites.

Affiliate marketing can be valuable for generating additional income, but you need to focus on legal compliance and maintaining trust with your audience regarding your business practices if you choose to participate in an affiliate program. 

Affiliate link disclaimers inform website visitors that the site owner may earn a commission if the visitor clicks on a link and makes a purchase. These links are typically part of an affiliate marketing program, in which businesses reward individuals or companies, i.e. affiliates, for driving traffic or sales through their links. 

An affiliate link disclaimer is required for legal compliance — which we’ll cover later — but it also plays a key role in building trust and transparency with your customers. 

When you are open with your website visitors that you may earn a commission if they purchase products you promote, they will likely feel more comfortable engaging with your recommendations. In other words, this transparency can lead to higher credibility, which in turn can boost engagement and conversions. If your visitors or customers already trust you and your business, it also lends credibility to third-party businesses that you choose to have an affiliate relationship with, as well.

Affiliate link disclaimers apply to any business or individual who participates in affiliate marketing. 

Providing a disclaimer is generally a good practice for ethical marketing. It’s also important for meeting data protection and affiliate marketing standards.

Here are some scenarios where a company might need an affiliate disclaimer:

  • B2C businesses: when promoting products or services directly to consumers through affiliate links
  • B2B businesses: when recommending business tools, software, or services to other companies via affiliate links
  • Bloggers and influencers: when recommending products to your followers earns you a commission
  • Review websites: when providing affiliate links in product reviews or comparisons

Whatever your business model, if you use affiliate links, a disclaimer is essential for transparency and legal compliance.

Different countries and regions around the world have their own laws when it comes to affiliate link usage. While the specifics vary, it’s important to include a clear, accessible disclaimer on your website if you’re using affiliate links. 

Here are some key requirements from major data privacy laws.

Country or regionApplicable lawRequirements
European UnionGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)Businesses must be transparent when collecting personal data through affiliate links and obtain explicit consent for processing personal information. Disclaimers should make it clear if user data is being tracked or shared with third pirates for affiliate marketing.
USAFederal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelinesThe FTC requires affiliates and influencers to disclose whether they have any financial relationships with businesses they promote. Disclaimers should be clear and easy to understand, especially when affiliate links are used.
CaliforniaCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)Websites targeted at consumers in California must disclose if they sell users’ personal information. While affiliate links themselves may not fall under this category, a clear disclaimer is necessary when collecting user data through affiliate activities.
UKData Protection Act Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations Business Protection from Misleading Marketing RegulationsAdvertising Standards Authority guidelinesFinancial Conduct Authority regulationsThe UK follows the GDPR guidelines as part of its Data Protection Act. Businesses must be transparent about how user data is collected, including through affiliate links, and obtain the proper consent for any data processing. It’s also imperative to engage in honest, transparent, and fair marketing practices.
CanadaPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)Businesses must inform users if their data is being used through affiliate marketing practices and obtain consent for any data collection.
BrazilLei Geral de Proteção de Dados / General Data Protection Law (LGPD)Websites must provide clear notices about data collection, including information linked to affiliate marketing efforts. Consent is necessary for any data processing.
AustraliaPrivacy ActBusinesses must notify individuals about the collection and use of their personal data, including data used in affiliate programs. 

A clearly written, easily accessible affiliate link disclaimer promotes transparency and helps you comply with regulations. Creating one is relatively simple, but it needs to hit all the right marks in order to successfully build trust with your audience and achieve affiliate marketing compliance

1. Understand your affiliate program rules

Every affiliate program has its own unique set of rules and requirements. These rules can dictate how and when you need to disclose affiliate links, the type of content you can promote, and whether you need to follow specific branding guidelines.

For example, Amazon’s program requires affiliates to clearly disclose their relationship when sharing affiliate links. Failing to do so can result in the termination of your account.

Understanding exactly what’s expected of you before adding affiliate links to your website is necessary for correctly using and disclosing affiliate links. It is also essential for building lasting partnerships with the businesses whose products you promote.

2. Explain your affiliate marketing practices in clear and simple terms

Using clear language in your affiliate link disclaimer helps your audience understand the agreement you have with the business(es) whose products or services you’re recommending. This transparency ultimately builds trust and fosters long-term relationships with customers. 

Your disclaimer should be easy to understand, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dry or boring. Crafting your disclaimer is an opportunity to inject your brand’s voice into the text and give your website visitors a consistent experience. After all, this information is about relationships, so keeping it human-sounding is beneficial.

3. Identify all the sponsored content on your website

To properly disclose affiliate links, you need to identify every place on your website where they appear. This can include blog posts, product reviews, banners, and even email newsletters. 

A good starting point is to search your site for affiliate link patterns, such as specific tracking codes or referral links. You can also use browser extensions or tools that highlight affiliate links as you navigate your site. It’s helpful to periodically review content that may have been updated or added over time. 

Once you’ve identified all locations, make sure each one includes a clearly visible disclaimer.

4. Place your disclaimer in a highly visible place on your site

Like email disclaimers, fair use disclaimers, and others, your affiliate link disclaimer needs to be placed where people can easily see it. This isn’t just a best practice: it’s often required by data privacy laws and advertising regulations.

For instance, both the FTC and the GDPR emphasize that disclosures must be clear and conspicuous so users can easily understand the nature of the links. A disclaimer that’s buried in the fine print likely won’t hold up under these laws, which could open you up to financial and legal liability.

To make your disclaimer highly visible, place it at the top of any page that contains affiliate links. Depending on how long and detailed it is, you could also insert it near affiliate links, perhaps in italics between paragraphs. 

The goal is to make it easy for visitors to spot your disclaimer without interrupting their browsing experience.

5. Update your disclaimer regularly

As your site evolves and you add new affiliate partnerships or products, the language or placement of your disclaimer might need adjustments. Regularly updating your disclaimer also keeps your business aligned with evolving regulations, as well as any changes your affiliate partners may have made to their programs.

We’ve gathered some affiliate link disclaimer examples that you can review to help you create one that is clear, compliant, and effective.

Wirecutter

Wirecutter has a brief affiliate link disclaimer at the top of all of their product review blog posts, placed right under the menu and above the article headline. 

It simply states, “We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.” This makes it clear that Wirecutter and its parent company, the New York Times, can make money from sellers if readers purchase through their links. 

The disclaimer is straightforward and to the point, providing clarity and transparency. However, it does fall short when it comes to design. 

While it’s placed in what should be a prominent position on the page, the disclaimer is in much smaller text than other copy on the page, making it easy to overlook. It’s also basic black text on a white background on a site that is all black, white, and gray. It would be more effective if the text were highlighted or formatted differently to draw attention to it without disrupting the flow of the page.

Lori Ballen

Marketing trainer and real estate agent Lori Ballen places an affiliate link disclaimer on a dedicated page, as well as at the top and bottom of every page that features affiliate links. 

The disclaimer page includes a clear description of the site’s numerous affiliate relationships, such as with IDX Broker, Tailwind, and Amazon, and provides transparency on how the affiliate links benefit Lori Ballen. 

The transparency and the detailed explanation of the affiliate relationships is excellent, but the length of the text could be overwhelming for users looking for a quick explanation. A more concise summary could be helpful for visitors who just want the key points.

Minimalist Baker

Recipe website Minimalist Baker’s affiliate link disclaimer is placed on a dedicated page and explains that they only recommend products they would genuinely use or recommend to friends and family. It highlights how they prioritize offering helpful information over making a quick profit, which helps to build trust with their readers. They also use the opportunity to include some personality for brand voice consistency.

However, the page has some drawbacks. It’s not linked from the privacy policy, on-page disclaimers, or any key pages on the website, which can make it difficult for visitors to find. The site’s on-page disclaimers are also not very prominent.

Minimalist Baker could benefit from adding a heading to their affiliate link disclaimer page and introducing more distinct formatting to their on-page disclaimers. These steps would help to draw attention to these terms without disrupting user experience.

Nomadic Matt

Travel site Nomadic Matt’s affiliate link disclaimer is located on its own page and explains that the site earns a commission from bookings. It points out that the money earned through these links comes at no extra cost to the user and emphasizes that Matt recommends these products or companies because they’ve improved his own experiences.

This transparent and straightforward disclaimer clarifies how the affiliate earnings help support the website’s content. 

That said, a potential improvement would be to disclose more specifics about the number of affiliate relationships or types of companies Nomadic Matt works with, which would further enhance trust. The disclaimer would also benefit from being placed more prominently on the site, as visitors may overlook it if they’re not actively searching for the page.

Keep your affiliate marketing practices compliant

Affiliate marketing can be a valuable strategy for increasing revenue and forming fruitful business partnerships. However, transparency with your customers about these practices will go a long way toward building credibility and maintaining long-term relationships.

Follow the steps outlined in this article to create and implement a clear and effective affiliate link disclaimer that protects your business and fosters trust with your audience. However, website disclaimers are just one piece of the compliance puzzle.

For businesses looking to further improve their privacy compliance efforts, the Usercentrics CMP enables you to achieve and maintain compliance with major data privacy laws while building a website and brand that visitors trust.