Hi Wendy,
The Amazon Disclosure does not have to be on every post.
Because my post caused some disagreement, I will include here exactly what I received from Amazon. However, there is dispute from some members. So, I will also include a link from Marion.

This is what I received from Amazon:
"We do require Associates to identify themselves as members of the Associates Program.

You need to clearly state the following on your sites: "We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites."

This statement should be placed on a main page that includes links that refer your visitors to Amazon.com. Where you place the disclosure on the main page is entirely up to you, though! So you can place it at the bottom, top, side, etc. You only need to post this information once within the same website. So you wouldn't have to post the above disclosure on every page.

You can read our full Operating Agreement here:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement "

This is a link from Marion:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking

Thanks for the clarity Valerie. Then the Affiliate Disclosure in SiteContent should do the trick if it's tweaked to include Amazon links and info. So I will just make sure to dedicate a page on every website I create with an Amazon/affiliate disclosure page.

So do you mean it only needs to be on 1 of my 40 posts even if they all have links to Amazon?

Jessica, Wherever your Disclosure is it needs to link to every page on your site that has affiliate links. Personally, I find that impossible so in the case of my Christmas site which has Amazon links on all posts, I have the disclaimer in a footer widget. I don't have a sidebar on that website, otherwise it would appear there.

I recommend you read point No. 5 in the Amazon Operating Agreement - link below:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement

The Affiliate Disclosure will need to link to all pages that include Amazon links.

It says "on your site" but does not say on every post or page. I am still confused. It seems there are many ways of doing the disclosure. I guess if I continue to put it on every post I will be safe! I have an affliliate disclosure page that has a longer disclosure but I have a short one I put on each post that has Amazon links. It just goes at the very end of the post.

We can only follow what Amazon says and I believe it's not all that clear.
It sounds to me that you are well covered with the way you display the disclosure.

You're welcome John. Thank you :)

I have it in the footer of one of my websites. But I can't say whether it is right or wrong. However it is the only place I have it because the website doesn't have a sidebar.

Thanks Valerie!

Thank you very much Trevor. I appreciate your comment.

It sounds good Ade. Thank you.

Thanks Trevor.

Thank you Tanya.

Hi Marion,

Here's a quote from your ftc.gov link:

"As for where to place a disclosure, the guiding principle is that it has to be clear and conspicuous. The closer it is to your recommendation, the better. Putting disclosures in obscure places – for example, buried on an ABOUT US or GENERAL INFO page, behind a poorly labeled hyperlink or in a “terms of service” agreement – isn’t good enough.

Neither is placing it below your review or below the link to the online retailer so readers would have to keep scrolling after they finish reading. Consumers should be able to notice the disclosure easily. They shouldn’t have to hunt for it."

Amazon will probably accept their disclosure in either the footer or the sidebar.

But, I interpret this last 3 sentence section of the FTC paragraph to mean that, the FTC does not want to see the affiliate disclosure in the footer...and, that they expect it to be in the sidebar.

What say you?

Jim

As I said we need to comply with both the FTC guidelines AND Amazon if we are promoting Amazon products. Which means we should have a general affiliate disclosure where the FTC says and the Amazon disclosure where Amazon says.

In mobile devices the sidebar appears below the general text so it comes after the in-text adverts. So having the affiliate disclosure in the sidebar is contrary to FTC guidelines. But Amazon doesn't seem to care.

I use an image within the text with an appropriate alt tag "This page may contain ads and affiliate links" https://marionblackonline.com/affiliate-disclosures/

I read your article on affiliate links. Quite interesting!

You know, it just looks to me like the FTC is not very friendly to affiliate advertisers.

But, I do like your idea to use an image within the text with an alt tag. Maybe that is the best way to address the FTC issue.

Jim

Marion, I am pasting a copy of the email I received from an Amazon representative in response to my email to Amazon Support.

So, are you Marion, and other members disputing the information sent to me by Amazon? It appears so. And if so, what is the purpose Amazon Support!

"We do require Associates to identify themselves as members of the Associates Program.

You need to clearly state the following on your sites: "We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites."

This statement should be placed on a main page that includes links that refer your visitors to Amazon.com. Where you place the disclosure on the main page is entirely up to you, though! So you can place it at the bottom, top, side, etc. You only need to post this information once within the same website. So you wouldn't have to post the above disclosure on every page.

You can read our full Operating Agreement here:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement "

I'm not disputing anything that Amazon says Val. My understanding is that we need BOTH the generic FTC disclosure as well as the Amazon disclosure. And they both need to be put wherever the ruling bodies consider appropriate. The FTC says close to or before the ads and Amazon doesn't care where as long as it meets their guidelines.

Well Marion, I was given incorrect information from an Amazon representative about a year ago when I needed to change my email address with Amazon. It caused me absolute agony for days. Eventually I went on their Live Chat and received the correct information.

So what does one do when they are given incorrect information from an Amazon representative. It makes Amazon very questionable!

It's a bit like asking for advice at WA. It really depends on who is giving the advice and if they actually know what they're talking about.

I am already used to this behavior from Amazon representatives.

When I jump into chat with them on 2 different days asking the same thing, chances are very high that I get 2 different answers.

That's why it is best to follow their written terms and conditions.

And I hope you did not feel "attacked" by my writing and disagreement earlier today. That was not my intention.

Amazon representatives are humans, too, and can make mistakes.
And I absolutely believe that the information given was not 100% correct.

True Marion. I am tempted to delete this post, which means I will be deleting the comments. So what to do, to be right or wrong, I don't know.

I couldn't respond quicker to your last message as I was offline getting a new modem installed.

Well Moritz, I should not have published the post as I did. What happened was that I wrote the post by pasting all the email, minus greetings, received from the Amazon representative. When I clicked on Publish I received a message from WA advising that the content was already on the web. In other words, duplicate content. So I deleted much of what was in that email from Amazon, and that was where I made the error you pointed out to me.

To be truthful, my first reaction when I received the email from Amazon, was one of surprise. It didn't fit well with how I insert the Disclosure and I was trying to fathom how it would work.

What I should have done was to Ask for Opinions on the Disclaimer. Or, otherwise left it alone.

However, we should be able to trust information received from Amazon. This is the second time I have been taken down by them. But you say, they are humans too.

I would like to move on and forget this incident.

In fact, I would like to delete the entire post, but if I do that I am deleting comments of yours, Marion, and others who left comments, and that is not polite.

Anyway, thank you for your posts Moritz. No harm done.

Interesting with the duplicate content.
So it's one of their standard copy/paste answers.

You absolutely can delete the post if you want.
It is yours, so you can do with it as you wish.

Or edit a bit, so people know that the answer from Amazon might not be 100% correct.

Have a great day.

The contents of the email you've pasted here in the comments appears to be correct according to Amazon's terms and conditions.

All Amazon associates have to use the exact wording as prescribed by Amazon and it should be placed where they have indicated. "This statement should be placed on a main page that includes links that refer your visitors to Amazon.com. Where you place the disclosure on the main page is entirely up to you, though! So you can place it at the bottom, top, side, etc. You only need to post this information once within the same website. So you wouldn't have to post the above disclosure on every page."

The Amazon associates disclaimer does not meet with the FTC guidelines so I believe that a more generic disclosure should be used in addition to the Amazon disclosure.

It's called covering your arse.

Moritz - There has not been a misunderstanding.

My post doesn't talk about 'hiding the disclosure on a random page'. What it says is 'placed on a MAIN PAGE'.

It would still be invisible to most visitors.

A reader of a review will not click on the disclosure tab in the menu.
He is not interested in the disclosure.
But when the disclosure is right next to the link, he will see it.

And what the support writes contradicts itself.
First, he says that the disclosure has to be on the page that refers visitors to Amazon.
(By the way, what you said is different to that information. You said that we would have to link to the reviews from that disclosure page.)
But then he says that the disclosure only has to be posted once on the entire website.

That doesn't make sense.
We all have more than one page/post that redirects visitors to Amazon.

The support agent either worded it a bit confusing or made a mistake.
I will investigate more.

In the meantime, I still think that putting it only on one main page puts you at risk of losing your affiliate account.