Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Exact Wording, Examples, and Where to Put It
An Amazon affiliate disclosure is one sentence, and getting it wrong is one of the few things that can cost you both your Associates account and a regulator's attention at the same time. Two separate sets of rules apply: Amazon's, which dictate the wording, and the FTC's, which dictate where and how visibly it appears. Most disclosures that fail satisfy one and not the other.
This guide gives you the exact sentence Amazon requires, what the FTC adds on top, copy-and-paste wording for every place you'll publish (posts, tables, video, social), where the disclosure has to sit to count, and the common placements that look compliant and aren't.
The short answer
Put this sentence, visibly, at the top of every page that contains an Amazon link, before the first link:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
That single line, in that position, satisfies Amazon's wording requirement and the FTC's placement requirement for a written page. Everything else in this guide is about the variations (multiple authors, video, social, tables) and the mistakes.
What Amazon requires
Section 5 of the Associates Operating Agreement, "Identifying Yourself as an Associate", is short and specific. You must "clearly and prominently" state the following on your site, or on any other location where Amazon has authorised you to use its content:
"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."
Amazon also accepts "any substantially similar statement", which in practice covers "we earn" for multi-author sites and adding your site name ("As an Amazon Associate, [Site] earns from qualifying purchases"). It does not cover inventing your own version. The full text is in Amazon's Operating Agreement.
Two things people miss. "Clearly and prominently" is Amazon's own phrase, so a disclosure only visible on a separate page or in tiny footer text is a compliance risk with Amazon, not just the FTC. And the requirement applies to every location where the links appear, so a YouTube channel or a Pinterest board carrying Amazon links needs the statement too, not just your website.
What the FTC requires
The Federal Trade Commission's endorsement rules apply whenever you have a "material connection" to a brand, and earning a commission on a link is exactly that. The FTC doesn't dictate your wording the way Amazon does; it dictates that the disclosure be clear and conspicuous. Its own guidance says to make sure people will "see and understand" the disclosure, to place it so it's "hard to miss", and to use "simple and clear" language. Concretely:
- Near the endorsement. On a page, that means before or alongside the links, not at the bottom and not on a separate page.
- Not hidden. Not behind a "more" button, not only in a profile bio, not only in a video description.
- Plain words. "I earn a commission" is understood by everyone. Vague labels like "sp", "collab" or "partner" are called out as inadequate.
- In the medium itself. In a video, say it or show it on screen; in a live stream, repeat it; on an image post, superimpose it.
The FTC's Disclosures 101 guide is written for social media, but the principles are the same ones it applies to websites. The practical takeaway is that Amazon's sentence alone is enough wording; the FTC decides whether where you put it counts.
Exact wording you can copy
Every version below contains Amazon's required statement or a substantially similar one, so it satisfies both sets of rules when placed correctly.
Top of a post (the one that matters most)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links; if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Shortest compliant version
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Multi-author site
As an Amazon Associate, [Site name] earns from qualifying purchases.
Next to a comparison table or buy button
Prices and availability from Amazon; we earn a commission on qualifying purchases.
Dedicated disclosure page (in addition to, not instead of, the above)
[Site 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 Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
YouTube
In the description: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links below are affiliate links." And say it in the video, once, near where you mention the products: "Quick note, the links in the description are affiliate links, so I earn a small commission if you buy."
Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, X
In the post text, above any fold or "more" cut: "#ad" or "#affiliate" plus "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." A hashtag alone is a label; the sentence is what Amazon asks for. Both together cover you.
Where it has to appear
| Placement | Counts on its own? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Top of each post with links, before the first link | Yes | Clear, prominent, near the endorsement. This is the one to get right. |
| Beside comparison tables and buy buttons | Yes, as a repeat | Readers who skim to the table still see it. |
| Dedicated disclosure page | No | Good practice and often expected, but a reader clicking a link never sees it. |
| Site-wide footer | No | Below the links, small, easy to miss. Fine as an extra. |
| About page or author bio only | No | Not on the page where the click happens. |
| Sidebar widget | Weak | Disappears on mobile, where most readers are. |
| Video description only | No | FTC wants it in the video itself; Amazon wants it where links appear. |
The rule of thumb: if a reader could click an Amazon link on this screen, the disclosure must be visible on this screen first. Every other placement is a supplement.
Mistakes that look compliant and aren't
- Footer only. The most common failure. It exists, so the site owner feels covered; it's below every link, so nobody sees it.
- Disclosure page only. Same problem one click further away.
- Rewriting Amazon's sentence. "Some links may be affiliate links" is FTC-adequate but not Amazon's statement or substantially similar to it. Keep Amazon's wording and add your own around it.
- Jargon. "This post contains affiliate links" with nothing else assumes the reader knows what an affiliate link is. Add "I earn a commission".
- Implying Amazon endorses you. "Official Amazon partner", "recommended by Amazon", or using Amazon's logo as if you're affiliated with the company breaks the Operating Agreement separately from the disclosure rules.
- Hidden on mobile. A disclosure that lives in a sidebar or a collapsed block is invisible to the majority of your readers.
- Missing on the pages that got added later. The first ten posts have it; the next forty were pasted from a different template and don't. This is how sites drift out of compliance without anyone deciding to.
Does the disclosure hurt conversions?
No, and the fear that it might is why so many disclosures end up in footers. Readers of buyer guides already assume the links pay you; a plain sentence saying so reads as honesty, not as a warning. The sites that convert best in every niche disclose at the top of every post, because the same thing that makes a disclosure compliant, being upfront, is what makes a recommendation credible. Hiding it signals the opposite.
Keeping every page compliant
The hard part isn't writing the sentence; it's making sure it's on all two hundred pages, in the right place, after three template changes and two writers. The fix is to make the disclosure part of how pages are produced rather than something someone remembers. That's how AffSERP handles it: every article it publishes to your site carries the affiliate disclosure by default, in the standard Amazon wording, at the top of the article where readers see it before the first link; you can swap in your own wording once and it applies to everything after. The rest of what goes into a compliant, earning site, from joining Associates to getting paid, is in our guide to how to earn commission on Amazon.
FAQ
What's the exact wording?
"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." Amazon accepts substantially similar versions, such as "we earn" for multi-author sites. Add plain-language context around it; don't replace it.
Is a footer disclosure enough?
No. Amazon wants it clear and prominent; the FTC wants it near the links and hard to miss. Put it at the top of every post with links, and keep the footer line as an extra.
Do I need it on every page?
On every page with affiliate links, yes, before the first link. A separate disclosure page is good practice in addition, not instead.
What about YouTube and social?
Yes, both. In video, say or show it in the video, not only the description. On social, put a clear label and Amazon's sentence in the post text, above any "more" cut.
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