Amazon Affiliate Site Legal Pages: Privacy Policy, Disclosure and Terms You Actually Need
Legal pages on affiliate sites tend to be either missing or copied from a generator and never read.
Neither is a good position, because three different parties care about these pages for three different reasons: Amazon, whose Operating Agreement names specific requirements; the FTC and its counterparts, who care about disclosure; and privacy law, which cares about what you collect. The good news is that the complete set is four pages, two of them short.
This post lists what each party requires, the pages that cover it, what goes on each, where they live on the site, and the mistakes that turn a formality into an account closure.
It isn't legal advice; it's the set of pages an affiliate site needs and the reasons, so the hour you spend on them is spent on the right things. The disclosure post has the exact wording for the disclosure itself.
The short answer
Four pages: a disclosure (Amazon's sentence, on every page with links), a privacy policy (what you collect, including via analytics and ads, and how visitors opt out), an about page with who runs the site and how products are chosen, and, optionally, a short terms page.
Put the disclosure line under the title of every post, link the other three from the footer, and update the privacy policy when you add a tool that collects data.
Who requires what
| Requirement | Who requires it | Page that covers it |
|---|---|---|
| Statement that you earn from qualifying purchases | Amazon Operating Agreement | Disclosure (sitewide line + full statement) |
| Clear disclosure near affiliate links | FTC (US), ASA/CMA (UK), equivalents elsewhere | Disclosure line on each post |
| Privacy policy if you collect visitor information | Amazon Operating Agreement; analytics tools' terms | Privacy policy |
| Consent for non-essential cookies, right to access/delete data | GDPR (EU), UK GDPR, state laws like CCPA for larger sites | Privacy policy + cookie banner |
| Note that prices/availability may change, when showing API data | Amazon Operating Agreement | A line near any displayed price |
| Who is responsible for the content | Google's quality guidelines (not law) | About page |
Page 1: the disclosure
Amazon requires the statement "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases" (or the equivalent for your store), and requires that it be visible to visitors.
The FTC requires that a disclosure be clear, conspicuous and close to the links, which a footer or a separate page doesn't satisfy. Both are met by one short line under the title of every post that contains affiliate links, plus the full Amazon sentence on the about page or footer.
A separate /disclosure/ page is fine as the home of the full statement, but it doesn't replace the per-post line.
Page 2: the privacy policy
This one does the most work.
It should say, in plain words: what you collect (analytics data, email addresses if you have a newsletter, comments), which tools collect it (name them: Google Analytics, your email provider, your ad network), why, how long you keep it, how a visitor can ask for their data or have it deleted, and that affiliate links lead to Amazon, which has its own policy.
If you have EU or UK visitors, which you do, add the lawful basis (consent for cookies, legitimate interest for basic analytics) and a contact email.
Generators produce a usable draft. The parts to check by hand are the list of tools, which has to match what's installed, and the contact details, which have to work. A policy that names tools you don't use, or omits ones you do, is the common failure.
The cookie banner
If you run analytics or ads and have European visitors, those visitors need to opt in to non-essential cookies before they're set. A lightweight consent plugin handles it. If you run nothing that sets cookies, you don't need one; Amazon's tracking happens on Amazon after the click, not on your site.
Page 3: the about page
Not a legal requirement, but it belongs in the set because it's where the disclosure, the method and the person meet. Who runs the site, why this topic, how products are chosen and compared, how the site makes money (the Amazon sentence again), and how to get in touch.
Google's reviewers are told to look for who is responsible for a site; this is the page that answers. The E-E-A-T post covers what to put on it.
Page 4: terms (optional)
A content site that sells nothing doesn't need terms. It's worth a short page if you want to state that product details and prices may be out of date, that you're not responsible for purchases made on Amazon, and that content is yours and can't be copied. Three paragraphs; a generator's version trimmed to what applies.
Where they go
- Disclosure line: under the title of every post with links, in the template so it can't be forgotten.
- Full Amazon statement: footer, about page, or a /disclosure/ page linked from the footer.
- Privacy policy, about, terms: footer links on every page. Google and reviewers look there.
- Price note: next to any price pulled from Amazon's API, with a timestamp if the data isn't refreshed hourly.
Mistakes that cost accounts
- No disclosure at all. The commonest reason in the account closure post. Amazon checks.
- Disclosure only in the footer. Meets neither Amazon's visibility requirement nor the FTC's.
- Claiming Amazon endorsement. "Amazon's recommended" or Amazon logos used as if the site were official. The trademark guidelines forbid it.
- Printing prices by hand with no note. Prices must come from the API and carry the availability note.
- Collecting emails with no privacy policy. Breaks Amazon's terms and the email provider's.
Doing it with AffSERP
AffSERP's X Best Review tool writes the disclosure line into every guide it produces, above the first affiliate link, and prints no prices, so the per-post half of this list is handled when the guide publishes.
The site-level pages (privacy policy, about, terms) are yours to write once and keep current; the Informational Article tool can draft an about page from a few notes on who you are and how you choose products, which is the one of the four worth writing well.
FAQ
Does an Amazon affiliate site need a privacy policy?
Yes, in practice. Amazon's Operating Agreement requires one if you collect visitor data, analytics tools require one in their terms, and EU and some US privacy laws require one when you have visitors from those places, which every site does. It's a page that takes an hour and removes three separate risks.
Where does the Amazon affiliate disclosure go?
On every page that has affiliate links, before the first link, and Amazon's wording ('As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases') somewhere on the site in full. A disclosure only in the footer or on a separate page doesn't meet the FTC's 'clear and conspicuous' standard; a line under the title does.
Do I need a cookie banner on an affiliate site?
If you set non-essential cookies (analytics, ads) and have EU or UK visitors, yes: those visitors need to be able to opt in. If you run no analytics and no ads, the Amazon link itself doesn't set a cookie on your site, and you can skip the banner. Most affiliate sites run analytics, so most need one.
Do I need a terms of service page?
Not for Amazon, and not by law for a content site. It's worth having if you sell anything, run a newsletter with rules, or want a place to say that product information may be out of date and you aren't liable for purchase decisions. Short is fine.
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