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An affiliate is a person or publisher that promotes another party’s product or service and may earn a commission when someone buys through a referral. The arrangement can help a seller reach potential customers and give publishers a way to earn income, but commissions are not guaranteed. For readers, the key is understanding how referrals work and recognizing when a recommendation is financially connected to a sale.
What does “affiliate” mean?
In affiliate marketing, an affiliate promotes a merchant’s product or service and may receive a commission for a qualifying referral or purchase. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describes a marketer earning a commission from a retailer after readers click and buy. The term affiliate refers to the participant’s role in that commercial relationship; an affiliate link is a link used to refer a potential buyer.
Not every arrangement uses the same tracking method, payment event, or contract terms. Those details depend on the parties’ agreement, so the word “affiliate” alone does not tell you when a commission is earned or how a referral is attributed. The FTC’s overview of the relationship is in FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking.
How does affiliate marketing work?
A basic affiliate-marketing arrangement can involve three roles:
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- Merchant: The business that owns or sells the product or service.
- Affiliate network: A service that can connect merchants with marketers and help facilitate their participation.
- Affiliate marketer: The person or publisher who promotes the offering to an audience.
A reader may click a tracked referral link and make a purchase. The parties behind an online advertisement may be paid, and clicking can involve tracking, but the exact route from click to payment varies by arrangement. The FTC illustrates the basic roles in its How Affiliate Marketing Works infographic.
What are the benefits and trade-offs?
For merchants
Affiliates can offer merchants another route to promote a product or service to an audience. That is a possible promotional benefit, not a promise of sales or a particular return.
For publishers
A qualifying referral can generate commission income, making affiliate marketing one possible way for a publisher to monetize recommendations. Income is not assured: the FTC materials cited here do not establish typical earnings, conversion rates, or comparative performance.
For readers
A recommendation may help readers assess a product, but a publisher’s financial connection to a retailer is relevant context. Disclosure lets readers take that connection into account; it does not prove that the recommendation or the product claims are accurate.
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How should affiliates disclose a relationship in the United States?
The following is a summary of US FTC guidance, not a statement of the rules in every country or of every platform’s interface requirements. The FTC says publishers should disclose their relationship to a retailer clearly and conspicuously. Its example is: “I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.” Put the disclosure close to the recommendation so readers can associate it with the link. The FTC’s guidance states, “The closer the disclosure is to your recommendation, the better.”
The phrase “affiliate link” by itself may not tell consumers that the publisher gets paid, and a “buy now” button is not an adequate disclosure. If a review and its link appear separately, readers may not connect a disclosure in one place with the link in another. See the FTC’s affiliate-marketing disclosure Q&A for its examples and explanation.
Social-media endorsements
FTC guidance for social media says to disclose financial, employment, personal, or family relationships with a brand. A financial relationship can include receiving something of value—such as a free or discounted product or a perk—when mentioning the product. The FTC’s Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers explains this guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does disclosure make an affiliate recommendation trustworthy?
No. Disclosure communicates a relationship; it does not validate a product claim or make misleading advertising acceptable. The FTC says advertising claims must be truthful, not deceptive or unfair, and supported by evidence. Its Advertising and Marketing overview covers those standards, including the 2023 revision of the Endorsement Guides.
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