How to Use Affiliate Disclosure Correctly

An affiliate disclosure tells readers about a financial relationship before it affects their purchasing decision. It does not turn an unsupported recommendation into an honest one. This checklist is editorial guidance, not jurisdiction-specific legal advice.

Use plain wording at the decision point

If the statement is accurate for your arrangement, adapt: “We may earn a commission if you sign up or buy through links on this page.” Do not add “at no extra cost” unless you have verified that claim. If compensation has a different trigger, describe that trigger accurately instead of implying that only a purchase pays you.

The FTC's endorsement guidance says material connections that can affect how people evaluate an endorsement should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. It also says endorsements must be honest and not misleading. A disclosure cannot repair invented testing, savings or personal experience.

Placement checklist

• Put the disclosure before or next to the recommendation and affiliate links, where the reader can notice it before clicking.
• Do not rely only on a footer policy, a vague “partners” label or a link titled “Disclosure” with no explanation of the relationship.
• On mobile, check that the statement is readable without opening an accordion, hovering or scrolling past the purchase decision.
• Repeat the explanation where a reader could enter a long page halfway through and encounter a separate recommendation without seeing the earlier statement.
• Use language the intended audience understands. A technical link attribute is not a reader-facing explanation.

Keep the recommendation defensible

Describe your selection criteria and separate official documentation from editorial opinion. Say when an offer is unverified or account-specific. Do not call a normal referral link an exclusive discount without evidence, or describe a platform as tested when no testing occurred.

Publisher review note

Relationship: ____; compensation trigger: ____; approved plain-language statement: ____; placement checked before first link: ____; mobile checked: ____; claims needing evidence: ____. Review the statement when commercial terms or page layout change. Consider appropriate legal advice for your location and audience rather than treating one sample sentence as universal compliance.