In this post, we’ll dig into a recent email regarding Amazon’s affiliate program policy update and what it means for bloggers.
As with many of the policies in their affiliate program, this statement can be interpreted in different ways and, based on all the emails we’ve received has caused a lot of confusion.
Keep reading to get it all straightened out.
What Did Amazon Send?
Amazon sent out the following email to associates including the following:
To meet the Associate Program’s requirements, you must (1) include a legally compliant disclosure with your links and (2) identify yourself on your Site as an Amazon Associate with the language required by the Operating Agreement. To comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations, your link-level disclosure must be:1. Clear. A clear disclosure could be as simple as “(paid link)”, “#ad” or “#CommissionsEarned”.2. Conspicuous. It should be placed near any affiliate link or product review in a location that customers will notice easily. They shouldn’t have to hunt for it.
In the end the above requirements concerning the FTC, while not previously emphasized so directly by Amazon, are not actually new. They’ve been a requirement for years and something bloggers were required to have been compliant with all along.
