Affiliate program rules beginners should read first

Check where you may place the link

Some programs restrict email, paid search, coupon sites, social platforms, redirects or direct linking. Others require approval of certain promotions. Check the current agreement before publishing, especially if you plan to change channels later.

Respect the merchant’s branding rules

Confirm whether you may use a logo, brand name in ads, screenshots or domain names. Write as an independent publisher; never imitate an official support site. Promotional claims should be supportable and must not promise results that the merchant has not substantiated.

Disclose the relationship

Explain plainly when you may receive a commission and place that explanation near the recommendation. Review the FTC’s endorsement guidance if it is relevant to your audience and activities, and obtain qualified local advice for other legal requirements.

Record the changing terms

Keep dated copies of permitted traffic rules, qualifying actions, attribution windows, reversals and payout requirements. Recheck before launching an advertisement or altering a tracking link. Our commission explainer shows why a click alone is not an approved transaction.

Review the terms in four separate passes

First, find permitted promotion channels: organic search, social posts, email, paid ads and coupon sites may have different restrictions. Second, read the permitted claims and branding rules; some agreements prohibit bidding on brand terms or mimicking the merchant's identity. Third, identify what counts as a qualified action and when credit can be removed. Fourth, record payment timing, tax documentation, termination conditions and dispute procedures. The details vary by program, so avoid assuming a “standard” rule.

Save the actual agreement URL and retrieval date. A screenshot from another affiliate's dashboard is not a contract. When a term is ambiguous, get a written answer from the merchant or network before investing in content based on that interpretation.

Example of a rule conflict

Suppose you plan to place a referral link in an email sequence, but the program only permits links on an approved website. A useful email can still send readers to an independent explanation on your site if the rules allow that route, but do not invent a workaround to bypass the restriction. Similarly, a merchant's approval to use a logo does not make your publication an official support site.

Your own claims also need support. If you have not tested software, say so. If a sales page makes an unusual income promise, attribute the claim rather than adopting it. A program's willingness to pay commissions does not verify its promotional claims.

Maintain an operating record

For each offer, track the approved account, permitted placements, official link, rule version, disclosure language, any answers from support and next review date. Recheck when changing domains, adding advertising or changing traffic channels. If a term cannot be verified, do not design the site around the missing detail.

The program-selection guide covers reader fit, and the tracking guide explains which events you can and cannot independently observe.

Treat each new channel as a fresh permission check

A site approved for organic informational articles may not automatically be approved to use referral links in paid search ads, direct messages, downloadable PDFs or video descriptions. Before trying a new distribution method, find the relevant clause or get written confirmation from the program. Keep the answer in the same file as the approved link.

For example, if a program prohibits using its trademark in a domain, an independently branded publication avoids one obvious conflict; it does not give you permission to impersonate the merchant's support team in a headline or navigation label. A factual independent explanation should make the relationship clear.

If an agreement is missing or conflicts with a program manager's informal message, seek clarification and do not build a campaign on the uncertain interpretation. The cost of rewriting a landing page is smaller than the cost of depending on disallowed traffic for a commission you may never receive.

Review the final page as a stranger would. Is the publisher clearly independent? Does its button match the merchant destination? Does it disclose possible compensation? Can a reader verify the actual product facts without trusting an anonymous claim? Passing a network's technical link check is not the same as meeting these basic editorial obligations.