Affiliate Link Disclosure: This is Why It's Important

Affiliate Link Disclosure: This is Why It's Important

If you have affiliate links on your website, it is important to indicate this. You do this in the form of affiliate link disclosure, also called an affiliate disclaimer. If you do not make it clear that you are using affiliate links, this can cause you major problems in combination with your affiliate program.

In this blog, we explain why affiliate link disclosure is so important and how you can best approach this.

Why is Affiliate Link Disclosure So Important?

Bloggers and other influencers have enormous influence on the people who read, watch, or otherwise consume their content. The suggestions can have a huge influence on what people buy. That is why the US FTC has issued guidelines that you can adhere to.

In the Netherlands, it is also mandatory to adhere to certain rules, and the FTC guidelines provide a useful basis for this. If you are paid to promote a product or service, you must declare this. Otherwise, you could face significant lawsuits.

What Should Be Included in the Affiliate Link Disclosure?

There are two points that should always be included in an affiliate link disclosure. First, it must state that you use affiliate links. It is also important to explain what it is and what it brings you as an influencer. This can be as short and extensive as you want, as long as it contains the correct information. One sentence can be enough.

There are three guidelines you can adhere to when writing an affiliate link disclosure:

1. Make it understandable: ensure that readers understand what it says and do not use long or difficult language.
2. Don't make assumptions: it's better not to assume that your readers already know what affiliate marketing is; explaining is always better.
3. Length: the affiliate disclaimer only needs to be a few sentences in the text itself; longer is unnecessary, as long as you let them know that you will get paid if they click on the links.

Where is the Best Place to Place Affiliate Disclaimers?

There are several locations where you can place affiliate disclaimers. Usually, a sentence is chosen in the footer, but this is not sufficient according to the FTC guidelines. There are two options that are sufficient according to the guidelines: at the top of the article and just above the affiliate link. It is not necessary to post the disclaimer multiple times.

In most cases, it is useful to write a larger introductory page where readers can read what exactly it is. This can then also be linked in the articles themselves. Here, you can also reassure your readers that you only recommend products that you like.

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