FTC and Amazon disclosure checklist for affiliate sites

November 5, 2026 · 5 min read

A checklist drawn from the FTC's own guidance and Amazon's and Google's documentation, linked below. It isn't legal advice; if your situation is unusual, ask a lawyer.

The checklist

Every page with affiliate links has its own disclosure. The FTC says a single disclosure on your home page isn't enough, because people land on individual pages, and that each post should carry the disclosure it would need if seen on its own.
It comes before the links, or right next to them. "The closer the disclosure is to your recommendation, the better," and readers may miss one at the bottom of a page. A footer-only disclosure fails this.
It says you're paid, in plain words. The FTC notes readers may not understand that "affiliate link" means you get paid; "paid link" right next to a link is enough, and so is a sentence like the one below.
It's on the page, not behind a link. A link labeled "Disclosure" isn't enough: the FTC says many readers won't click it.
It's visible without clicking "more" or expanding anything, on a phone as well as a desktop.
If you're an Amazon Associate, your site says "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases," or a substantially similar statement, clearly and prominently. That's in Amazon's agreement, separate from the FTC.
Affiliate links carry rel="sponsored". Google asks for paid links to be marked that way (rel="nofollow" is still accepted), and networks such as Awin ask the same.
Emails and social posts with affiliate links disclose too, each one on its own.

Wording that works

We earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Put it in the first lines of the article, above the first link. Keep it short enough that people actually read it. Leave out the Amazon sentence on sites without Amazon links.

Setting it up once

WordPress: a reusable block (or synced pattern) inserted at the top of every post with affiliate links, or a theme or plugin setting that adds it above the content automatically.
Comparison tables and buy buttons: a short "paid link" label beside the button covers readers who jump straight to the table.
Link plugins and redirect tools usually have a setting to add rel="sponsored" to every affiliate link.

Checking every page

On a site with hundreds of posts, the usual gap isn't the wording, it's the pages that never got the disclosure: old posts, pages a writer added, and pages where a theme change moved it to the bottom.

Check every page's disclosure, free

The free check reads up to 100 pages and lists those with no disclosure, a disclosure only in the footer or below the links, wording that only says "affiliate links", a missing Amazon statement, and links without rel="sponsored".

Check my disclosures

Sources: FTC: Endorsement Guides, What People Are Asking · Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement · Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links · Awin: Adding the sponsored attribute to affiliate links.