How to Add Affiliate Links to Your Blog the Right Way

Adding affiliate links to a blog is simple, but doing it properly means three things: putting links where they genuinely help, marking them correctly for search engines, and telling readers clearly that you may earn a commission. This guide covers all three, with the exact steps in WordPress.

Once you join an affiliate programme, you get a special link that tracks the people you send. When someone buys through it, you earn a commission.

The technical part takes a minute. The part that decides whether affiliate links earn money, and whether they keep you on the right side of Google and advertising rules, is how and where you use them.

Step 1: Get your affiliate link

After you are approved for a programme, log in to its dashboard and find your referral or affiliate link. Some programmes give one link for the home page. Others let you create links for specific products or pages.

Copy the link and keep it somewhere safe, such as a spreadsheet with the programme name, the link and the commission terms.

If you have not joined a programme yet, start with my guide to affiliate marketing for beginners.

Step 2: Make the link tidy with a link plugin

Raw affiliate links are long and full of tracking codes. A link management plugin turns them into short links on your own domain, such as yourdomain.com/go/product.

I use Pretty Links on this blog. The benefits:

• One place to update: if a programme changes your link, you change it once in the plugin, and every post that uses the short link is updated.
• Cleaner links: short links are easier to read and share.
• Click counts: you can see which links people actually click.

1. Install and activate a link management plugin such as Pretty Links.
2. Create a new link. Paste your affiliate URL as the target.
3. Choose a short slug, such as the product name.
4. Set the redirect type. A 301 or 307 redirect are the common choices.
5. Enable the sponsored option if the plugin offers it.
6. Save, then copy the new short link.

Step 3: Add the link to your post

In the WordPress block editor:

1. Select the text you want to link, such as the product name.
2. Click the link icon, or press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac).
3. Paste your short link and press Enter.
4. For a button, add a Buttons block, type the label and add the link the same way.

Use honest, descriptive link text, such as “See Hostinger’s current plans”, rather than vague text like “click here”.

Step 4: Mark the link as sponsored

Google asks site owners to mark links that are advertisements or paid placements with rel=”sponsored”. It prefers this to nofollow for such links. Affiliate links fit naturally into this group, because you are paid when people buy.

There are a few ways to add it:

Method	How
Link plugin	Many link management plugins have a sponsored or nofollow option for each link
SEO plugin	Some SEO plugins add sponsored or nofollow options to the link box in the editor
Code editor	Edit the block as HTML and add rel=”sponsored” to the link

Whichever method you use, check one post by viewing the page source or inspecting the link to make sure the attribute is there.

Step 5: Add a clear disclosure

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says disclosures must be clear and conspicuous, and close to the recommendation. Other countries have similar rules. Even where rules are looser, readers trust you more when you are upfront.

What the FTC guidance suggests:

• Use plain words. The FTC gives example wording such as “I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.”
• Put it near the links. A disclosure only on a separate page, or only behind a link, is not enough.
• Do not rely on jargon. The FTC notes that “affiliate link” alone may not be understood by all readers.

Place a short disclosure at the top of any post that contains affiliate links, before the first link. I am not a lawyer, so check the rules that apply where you and your readers are.

Where to place affiliate links

Links work best where readers are making a decision.

• Reviews: a link near the verdict, and one in a clear button at the end.
• Comparisons: a link for each option in the comparison table.
• Tutorials: a link at the step where the reader needs the product, such as “Sign up for hosting”.
• Resource pages: a page listing the tools you actually use.

Avoid scattering links into every paragraph. Too many links look pushy and make readers trust you less.

Keep your links working

Affiliate programmes change. Products are renamed, landing pages move and offers end.

• Check your most-clicked links every month or two.
• Update prices and offers in your posts, and add the date you checked them.
• Replace links to programmes that have closed.

A link plugin makes this much easier, because you update the target once.

Common mistakes

• Linking to things you have not tried or researched. Readers notice, and one bad recommendation can cost you their trust.
• Hiding the disclosure. Put it where readers see it before they click.
• Using affiliate links in emails without checking the rules. Some programmes do not allow it.
• Forgetting the sponsored attribute. Google asks for paid links to be marked.

When you are ready to earn from a smaller audience, read my guide to monetising a blog with under 1,000 visitors.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to disclose affiliate links?

In many countries, yes. In the United States, the FTC says disclosures must be clear and close to the recommendation. It is also good practice everywhere, because readers value honesty.

Should affiliate links be nofollow or sponsored?

Google recommends rel=”sponsored” for advertising and paid links, and prefers it over nofollow for those links.

Is it okay to shorten affiliate links?

Usually, but check each programme’s terms first. Some have rules about link cloaking or redirects.

How many affiliate links should a post have?

There is no set number. Add links where a reader would naturally want to act, such as near a verdict or in a comparison table.

Can I put affiliate links on a new blog?

Yes, once you are approved by the programme. Some programmes review your site first, so having useful content and a contact page helps.