Playing by the Rules: 6 affiliate link dos and don’ts in 2026

If you’re based in the United States, or if your site has visitors who are, you need to know US law for affiliate marketing. If you’re using affiliate links, you must disclose them.

The short version, based on US federal law’s most recent updates:

• If your social media post doesn’t have an affiliate disclosure before or alongside the clickable affiliate link, that’s now illegal.
• If your blog post, article, or newsletter doesn’t have an affiliate disclosure at the top or in the same paragraph as the affiliate link or button (“same screen” rule), that’s now illegal.

Below are 6 affiliate link dos and don’ts, some examples of standard US compliance, and some tips on how to use Amazon’s links properly since their terms add yet another layer of compliance requirements.

Some legal updates to using affiliate links

In the author world, our use of affiliate links is bound by multiple factors:

• The country where we live
• The country where our buyers live
• The terms of the affiliate program(s) that we sign up for

US law about affiliate marketing

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated their rules a couple of years ago. As the Privacy Policies website summarizes the 53-page FTC document, here’s an easy rule of thumb for legal disclosures:

• You must disclose affiliate relationships right away: before the text, or on the “same screen” or same paragraph.
• You must disclose every time. One post for your entire site is not compliant.

Affiliate relationships must be disclosed “clearly and conspicuously” and must be found before the reader gets to the affiliate link to allow them to weight your endorsement. Sidebars, specifically, are out because on smaller screens a sidebar is viewed after the main text or not at all. And of course a footer is the last thing on the page: this is completely non-compliant if it’s the only disclosure present on a website or in a newsletter.

In a blog post, the disclosure must come before the linked item OR be in the same paragraph or on the same screen so the reader does not have to scroll to see it. (“No scrolling” is a big thing in the FTC policies.)

Amazon’s additional affiliate requirements

Both the FTC and Amazon say a simple hashtag of #PaidLink, #ad, or #CommissionsEarned is enough to go along with a post or comment. But to add to the US disclosure law of “right away and every time,” Amazon further restricts how and where you can use affiliate links.

In addition to those general #ad (etc.) disclosures, Amazon also requires a second identification statement: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” Old program wording allowed any similar compensation-statement that got the point across—but current guidelines require this update.

This compliance phrase must appear clearly on your site—not behind a “privacy policy” page link. If it’s used on your socials, it must appear with your account.  (You can find that info here on their help pages.)

Amazon also updated their rules about allowing people to use affiliate links in their own newsletters or SMS messages.

• Formerly, any link that was not publicly visible was not allowed.
• Updated info now DOES allow Amazon affiliate links in emails or text messages, as long as subscribers have opted in to YOUR list and information!
  • By extension of this, affiliate links in groups you don’t own or run aren’t included.
  • Be cautious of using your links in

This is the Amazon Associates fine-print page and if you use Ctrl-F or Cmd-F and type “ebook,” you can find the section in question.

6 examples: Amazon affiliate links, general links, and where they go

Here is a shortlist of yes/no/sort of guidelines for where affiliate links can go. (Updated 2026)

Shortened links and Amazon best practices

Shortening links is super easy when it comes to general affiliate links, and with a WordPress blog, PrettyLinks is hands-down my favorite link shortener plugin. It uses my site URL and whatever I add to the end—like my affiliate link for the cheap DepositPhotos deal is SkinnerBooks.com/DepositPhotos, super quick to share when that comes around. And then an easy reroute to try ElevenLabs, which I’ve used for my digital-narration audiobooks on Smidgen Press like this one, is SkinnerBooks.com/ElevenLabs.

Non-Amazon affiliate links just have to be disclosed every time—like I did in that last paragraph since I didn’t put a blanket disclosure at the start of this post.

For Amazon links, there are more stringent guidelines. A company that wants to navigate Amazon’s guidelines with transparency is GeniusLink. They have either one-click redirects (which you need to be more careful using—more in a second), or they have what they call “choice pages” which make life a little easier.

Their “choice pages” (like this one for my Vellum how-to book) are compliant with Amazon’s policies, so long as you keep the default commissions disclosure at the bottom toggled ON. And they add the “Amazon” button so there’s no “cloaking” or other hiding of where they’re going.

The single-click link requires more from you since you have to make SURE that you are disclosing that the items are Amazon links, not just obscuring the links by writing “click [here]” without any specificity. (Again, there’s that “cloaking” which Amazon frowns on severely.)

GeniusLink has a great writeup on their stance and their disclosure to Amazon in this article, and it’s worth a read even if you don’t use their service.

If you DO choose to use a single-click redirect, YOU have to handle the legal disclosure of being clear you’re sending people to Amazon, since it’s a direct click.

Here’s what those Simple Link and Choice Page options look like when you click “New”:

You can find out more about GeniusLink at SkinnerBooks.com/geniuslink; I’m an affiliate for their company.

Their tiers start at a reasonable $6 per month, after a 14-day free trial, and they scale with the clicks you actually use—which means if you have a spike of clicks one month with a newsletter blast, you don’t have to remember to go downgrade your account if the following month doesn’t report as much engagement.

Thanks for reading.

I’d love to connect on Instagram or Facebook, and now on Substack!

Share thee well (har har), my friends!

~Jody

This is not an exhaustive list and should not be viewed as legal advice. I’m just here to help sort out the fine print where I can.