Most affiliate sites have a disclosure somewhere. Fewer have one a reader is likely to see before clicking.
This post is about the second kind. It covers where a disclosure belongs and what to write, then what the tools on your site do and do not handle for you. We are a plugin company, not lawyers, and the rules differ by country. This follows US guidance from the FTC, and it is not legal advice.
The short version
If you earn a commission when readers buy through your links, say so. Say it plainly, and put it close to the recommendation.
The FTC’s published answer for affiliate marketers is that you should disclose the relationship “clearly and conspicuously” on your site, so readers can decide how much weight to give what you wrote. Their example wording is simple: you get commissions for purchases made through links in the post.
That is the standard. The rest is working out what it means for your layout.
What the FTC asks of site owners
We read two FTC publications for this: the staff Q&A on the Endorsement Guides, which has a section for affiliate marketers, and the influencer brochure Disclosures 101. A few points come up in both.
Closer is better. The FTC says the closer a disclosure is to your recommendation, the better. A disclosure in the footer, an About page or a long terms page is easy to miss. The brochure says disclosures are likely to be missed when they sit only on an About page, at the end of a post, or behind a click.
One disclosure can cover a review. If the affiliate link sits inside a product review that opens with a clear disclosure, and the reader can see the disclosure and the link at the same time, one disclosure may be enough. If the two are separated, readers may not connect them.
Wording matters. The FTC staff say consumers might not understand that “affiliate link” means the person who placed it gets paid. A “buy now” button on its own is not adequate. “Paid link” right next to an affiliate link should be adequate. “Commissionable link” is probably not clear.
Use plain words. The brochure suggests terms like “ad”, “advertisement” and “sponsored”, and warns against vague shorthand. It also says to disclose even if you believe your opinion is unbiased.
Without a relationship, nothing to disclose. The FTC says that if you have no relationship with the brand and just recommend something you bought, you do not need to declare that you have none.
Where to put it
For most affiliate content, two placements work together.
| Placement | Works well when | Weak when |
|---|---|---|
| A line at the top of the post | The whole post is built around affiliate links | The page is long and the links are far from the top |
| A short note next to the link | The link sits in a list, a table or a button | You rely on it alone for a post full of links |
| A site-wide page | You need somewhere to explain your policy in full | It is the only disclosure |
Put the plain statement at the top, and use a short note beside links that sit apart from it, such as a comparison table or a “where to buy” box. Keep the policy page too, but treat it as a reference and not as the disclosure itself.
What to write
Start from the FTC’s own example and adjust it to your voice:
We earn a commission when you buy through links in this post, at no extra cost to you.
Keep two cautions in mind. Do not promise “at no extra cost” unless it is true for the program you are promoting. And do not shorten the statement to a label the reader has to decode.
Next to a link in a table, something like “(paid link)” or “(we earn a commission)” does the job. A bare “affiliate link” is the one the FTC staff doubt most readers will understand.
Affiliate disclosure examples by placement
Here are lines you can copy and adapt. They follow the FTC’s own example wording, so change them to match your program and only keep the parts that are true for you.
At the top of a review or roundup
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Next to a link in a comparison table or list
(paid link)
(we earn a commission)
Under a button or “where to buy” box
We earn a commission if you buy through this button.
In a newsletter
This email contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we earn a commission.
On a sponsored post (a brand paid you to publish, which is different from an affiliate link)
Sponsored: this post was paid for by [brand name].
Two habits make any of these work. Put the line where the reader meets the link, not a screen away from it. And keep it in plain words: “commission”, “paid” and “sponsored” are understood, while shorthand like “aff.” or “commissionable link” is not.
What WB Ad Manager does here, and what it doesn’t
It is worth being exact, because it is easy to assume a tool has handled this.
It does not write your disclosure. There is no disclosure shortcode for affiliate links or sponsored posts. The line at the top of your post is yours to write.
The rel options are not disclosure. Each link has a checkbox for rel="nofollow" and one for rel="sponsored". Those tell search engines about the relationship. Readers never see them, so they do not replace a visible statement. Do tick sponsored on affiliate links. New links come with nofollow ticked and sponsored not, so it is a manual step.
The ad label is for ads. The plugin can print a label above or below an ad, which reads “Advertisement” by default. You can change the text in the plugin settings. It applies to ads placed by the plugin, not to affiliate links inside your writing.
You control the link text. Drop a link into a post with the [wbam_link id="123"]Anchor text[/wbam_link] shortcode and you choose the anchor text, and you can add your note beside it. A cloaked link does not change what the link is, and we cover that in what is link cloaking.
A ten-minute audit
Pick your five most-read affiliate posts and check each one.
- Is there a plain statement near the top, before the first affiliate link?
- Can a reader see a disclosure and the link at the same time, without scrolling away?
- Are links in tables and buttons labelled in a way a reader would understand?
- Is sponsored ticked on every affiliate link? Open each one in Links > All Links to check.
- Does your newsletter use the same wording as your site?
Start with the posts that earn the most, because they carry the most exposure.
If you are setting up branded links, link cloaking in WB Ad Manager is free, and the affiliate use case walks through it. Cloaking does not hide a link from readers either, which affiliate link de-cloaking explains.