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Affiliate Disclosure
TL;DR: Link Manager Pro detects posts containing affiliate or sponsored links and automatically inserts a disclosure notice. You write the disclosure text, choose before-content or after-content positioning, pick a style, and select which post types to target.
Automatically inject an affiliate disclosure notice into posts that contain sponsored or affiliate links.
What Is Affiliate Disclosure?
The FTC requires content creators to disclose affiliate relationships when they link to products or services for compensation. An affiliate disclosure is a short notice that tells readers your content contains affiliate links and you may earn a commission from purchases.
Link Manager Pro injects a disclosure notice into your post content automatically. The notice only appears on single posts and pages that contain links managed by the plugin or links with nofollow or sponsored rel attributes.
Why Disclosure Matters
The FTC requires you to place a clear disclosure near affiliate links so readers notice it before clicking. Burying it in a footer or on a separate page does not meet this standard.
Other jurisdictions have similar requirements:
- United Kingdom — the CAP Code requires you to identify paid or affiliate content clearly.
- European Union — consumer protection directives require transparency about commercial intent in content.
- Canada — the Competition Bureau expects honest representation of affiliate relationships under the Competition Act.
This section provides general information about disclosure requirements. It is not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
Enabling Disclosure
- Go to Link Manager Pro → Settings → Disclosure.
- Toggle Enable Affiliate Disclosure to on.
- Click Save Changes.
Configuring the Message
Write your own disclosure text in the Disclosure Text field. This field supports basic HTML formatting.
- Go to Link Manager Pro → Settings → Disclosure.
- Find the Disclosure Text textarea.
- Write your message. Keep it clear and direct.
- Click Save Changes.
Example message:
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.Use plain language your readers understand. Avoid legal jargon and keep the notice concise.
Position and Style
Position
The Position dropdown controls where the notice appears relative to your post content:
| Position | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Before Content | The notice appears above the post content |
| After Content | The notice appears below the post content |
Style
The Style dropdown controls the visual presentation:
| Style | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Boxed | Bordered card with accent — visually distinct from surrounding content |
| Minimal | Italic text with subtle divider |
| Custom | Uses your own CSS class for full control over styling |
Post Type Targeting
Control which post types display the disclosure notice:
- Go to Link Manager Pro → Settings → Disclosure.
- Find the Post Types multi-select.
- Select the post types that should show the disclosure (e.g., Post, Page).
- Click Save Changes.
The disclosure only appears on the selected post types. If a post type is not selected, the plugin skips it — even if the page contains affiliate links.
When the Disclosure Appears
The disclosure notice requires all four conditions to be true:
- Disclosure is enabled — you turned on the toggle in Settings → Disclosure.
- Single content view — the visitor is viewing a single post or page, not an archive or listing.
- Post type matches — the current content type is in your selected post types.
- Page has qualifying links — the content contains managed links (redirects created through Link Manager Pro) or links with nofollow or sponsored rel attributes.
If any condition is false, no disclosure appears on that page.
This means:
- A blog post with no managed or affiliate links shows no disclosure.
- A content type not included in your selected post types shows no disclosure, even if it has affiliate links.
- A post with managed or affiliate links on a selected post type shows the disclosure.
- Archive, category, and tag pages never show the disclosure.
Custom Styling
When you set Style to Custom, Link Manager Pro applies the CSS class you enter in the Custom CSS Class field to the disclosure container.
Setup
- Set Style to Custom.
- Enter your CSS class name in Custom CSS Class (e.g.,
my-disclosure-notice). - Click Save Changes.
- Add your CSS rules to your theme's stylesheet or customizer:
css
.my-disclosure-notice {
background-color: #fef3c7;
border-left: 4px solid #f59e0b;
padding: 12px 16px;
margin: 16px 0;
font-size: 14px;
line-height: 1.5;
}Settings Reference
| Setting | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Affiliate Disclosure | Toggle | Master switch for disclosure injection |
| Disclosure Text | Textarea | The disclosure message shown to visitors (supports basic HTML) |
| Position | Dropdown | Before Content or After Content |
| Style | Dropdown | Boxed, Minimal, or Custom |
| Custom CSS Class | Text | CSS class applied when Style is set to Custom |
| Post Types | Multi-select | Which content types show the disclosure notice |
Best Practices
- Use clear language. Write the disclosure so any reader understands you have affiliate links. Avoid vague or overly technical wording.
- Place it before content. The Before Content position ensures readers see the disclosure before clicking any links. The FTC recommends placing disclosures where they are hard to miss.
- Keep it short. One to two sentences is enough. Longer disclosures get ignored.
- Test after setup. Visit a published post that contains affiliate links and verify the disclosure appears. Check a post without affiliate links and confirm it does not appear.
- Match your site design. Use the Boxed style for visual emphasis or the Custom style to integrate with your theme's design system.
- Cover all relevant post types. If you publish affiliate content in custom post types, add them to your Post Types selection.
Troubleshooting
Disclosure Not Appearing
- Confirm Enable Affiliate Disclosure is toggled on in Settings → Disclosure.
- Check that the current post type is selected in the Post Types multi-select.
- Verify the post contains qualifying links — masked URLs (using your link or internal prefix) or links with
nofolloworsponsoredrel attributes. - Clear any caching plugin or server-side cache. The disclosure injects at render time and cached pages may serve stale output.
- Confirm the Disclosure Text field is not empty. The plugin skips injection when no message is set.
Styling Issues
- Inspect the disclosure element for CSS conflicts with your theme using browser developer tools.
- Switch to a different Style option (Boxed, Minimal, or Custom) to isolate whether the conflict is style-specific.
- Use the Custom CSS Class field with the Custom style to apply your own rules and override conflicting theme styles.
Step-by-step guide: How to Add FTC Affiliate Disclosure in WordPress