[updated Nov 13, 2019] Section 5 of the Operating Agreement for Amazon Associates states you need to identify yourself as an Associate.
This is the standard disclaimer:
“[Insert your website name] is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to [insert the applicable site name (amazon.com or whatever)].” (source: Section 5)
In October 2019, Amazon Associates sent an email to people in the program emphasizing the need to show your affiliate disclosure before your affiliate links.
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It’s should display this text on every page that may have an affiliate link.
In the Oct 2019 email, Amazon stated that you can and should keep it simple. This is the sample disclaimer:
“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
In Section 5, it states:
“You must clearly state the following, or any substantially similar statement previously allowed under this Agreement…”
So if you have a disclaimer that was previously noted, then you should be okay. The overarching point is that you need to let the visitor know that you’re getting a commission and there is an affiliate situation.
Can I put the Amazon Associate disclaimer in the footer? Or the sidebar?
I don’t think so. It’s possible for a visitor to click an affiliate link before seeing the disclaimer in the footer or sidebar of your site. The footer is obviously at the bottom of the page, but you might be wondering why the sidebar is a problem.
The sidebar gets pushed below the main content for mobile devices or other narrow views.
Where should I put the Amazon Affiliate disclosure?
I put it at the top of any post with an affiliate link so there is no confusion — after all, not everyone reads all the way to the footer.
If you’re in the US and need to follow FTC rules, it’s best to say something like, “I make a commission if you use that affiliate link…” You should do that because not everyone knows what an affiliate link is. (I know it seems crazy to us since we’re geeking out on the affiliate marketing!)
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Other Affiliate Niche Site Questions
- How Much Do Niche Sites Earn with Amazon Associates?
- How much do Amazon Affiliates make?
- How many posts do I need before I launch my niche site?
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- How long should the content be on affiliate sites?
- Is it ok to publish multiple posts at once?
- Do you use other affiliate programs?
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- Do you cloak Amazon affiliate links?
- Do you use sidebars on your site?
- The Amazon Associate Report looks wrong or hasn’t been updated — what gives?
Hello Doug.
Ive started using a plugin for all of my sites to roll a disclaimer out to the top of all of my posts. I have noticed that when I index new posts, this disclaimer appears as the meta description. Am I doing something wrong here? Will this affect SEO or will the meta description update over time as Google better reads my posts?
Not sure its an issue but I am using Yoast to manually create my meta descriptions.
Thanks for all your content particularly enjoying your YouTube videos at the mo.
Best
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy – if you use the Yoast plugin, then you can update the metadescription to a couple sentences that describe your post. Alternatively, if you’re using Gutenberg, you can create a reusable block and just add it in to your posts after the first couple of sentences so that it doesn’t pull into your metadescription. Hope that helps!
Jen
Can you share what plugin you’re using to roll out the disclaimer
I’m using Ad Inserter
This is very helpful! Curious if you have to disclose when you’re using an affiliate link on your website to sell your OWN product (sold exclusively thru amazon)?
Hey Ernie, you still have to disclose that you’re earning from a purchase. The FTC wants consumers to know when publishers have an incentive.
Is the Amazon Affiliate Disclosure required for non U.S. residents sites too?
Yes.