Affiliate links and referral relationships disclosed before click

The FTC Endorsement Guides require affiliate disclosures to be 'clear and conspicuous' and placed where consumers see them before they click — a footer link to a 'Disclosure Policy' page does not meet this standard. A resource page or blog post with undisclosed affiliate links deceives consumers into thinking the recommendations are independent when they generate commissions. This is a direct Endorsement Guides violation that the FTC has actively enforced against publishers, bloggers, and software companies recommending partner tools.

Add a disclosure banner at the top of every page containing affiliate links, and optionally label individual links inline.

// Page-level disclosure — place at the TOP of affiliate pages
function AffiliateDisclosureBanner() {
  return (
    <div className="bg-blue-50 border border-blue-200 rounded p-3 mb-6">
      <p className="text-sm">
        <strong>Disclosure:</strong> Some links on this page are affiliate
        links. We may earn a commission if you purchase through them,
        at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our recommendations.
      </p>
    </div>
  )
}

// Individual link with inline label
function AffiliateLink({
  href, children
}: { href: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <a href={href} rel="nofollow sponsored">
      {children}
      <span className="text-xs text-gray-500 ml-1">(affiliate)</span>
    </a>
  )
}

Also add rel="nofollow sponsored" to affiliate links for SEO correctness. A link to a disclosure page in the footer is explicitly insufficient under the FTC Endorsement Guides — the disclosure must appear where the consumer will see it before clicking.