Website Affiliate Agreements For US Businesses

Maya runs an online skincare brand and invites a few beauty creators to share her products with their audiences. The first month goes well, until one affiliate starts bidding on her brand name in search ads, another makes health claims she never approved, and a third disputes why a sale wasn't tracked.

Affiliate marketing can be a great growth channel for your business. You get more people talking about your products, and you usually only pay when there's a result.

But once other people are promoting your brand, you need clear rules. A well-drafted website affiliate agreement helps businesses set expectations on commissions, disclosures, tracking, brand use and what happens if the relationship needs to end.

What Is A Website Affiliate Agreement?

A website affiliate agreement is a contract between your business and the person or company promoting your products or services for a commission.

You might call it an affiliate agreement, affiliate program terms, publisher agreement or partner terms. The label matters less than what the document actually says.

In a typical arrangement:

• You are the merchant, advertiser or brand offering the affiliate program.
• The affiliate promotes your products through their website, blog, email list, social media, videos, podcast or other online channels.
• The customer clicks a link, uses a code or otherwise gets attributed to the affiliate.
• You pay the affiliate a commission if the sale or lead qualifies under your rules.

Your agreement should do more than say how much the affiliate gets paid. It should also protect your brand, set marketing boundaries, require legal disclosures and give you a practical process for tracking and disputes.

This is especially useful if your program is open to many affiliates online. You may not negotiate every term one-on-one, but you still need a clear contract that affiliates accept when they join.

Do You Need A Written Affiliate Agreement?

Yes, you should have a written affiliate agreement if other people are earning commissions by promoting your business.

Without written terms, you may end up arguing about basic questions like:

• Which sales qualify for commission?
• How long a tracking cookie lasts
• Whether coupon, review or cashback sites are allowed
• What happens if a customer cancels, refunds or charges back a purchase
• Whether affiliates can use your trademark in ads, domains or social handles
• Who is responsible if an affiliate makes a misleading claim
• How quickly you can remove an affiliate from the program

For an online program, you can often use affiliate program terms that affiliates agree to when they apply or click to join. If you do this, keep records showing which version of the terms applied and when the affiliate accepted them.

If you're working with a high-value affiliate, agency, media partner, brand ambassador or influencer, you may want a signed agreement instead of simple online terms. The more money, brand exposure or regulatory risk involved, the more tailored the contract should be.

What Should Website Affiliate Terms Cover?

Your affiliate terms should cover the commercial deal, the marketing rules, the compliance obligations and your exit rights.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but affiliate programs vary a lot. A software subscription business, a supplement brand and an online course provider won't have the same risks.

Commission Rules

Your agreement should say exactly how commissions are calculated. For example, you may need to specify:

• The commission rate, flat fee or tiered structure
• Whether commission is based on gross revenue, net revenue or another amount
• Whether shipping, taxes, discounts, refunds, credits or chargebacks are excluded
• Whether subscription renewals earn ongoing commission or only the first payment does
• When commission becomes earned, approved and payable
• Any minimum payout threshold
• How and when payments are made

For example, if you pay 15% on the first subscription payment only, say that clearly. If you pay recurring commission for 12 months, say that too. Vague commission terms are one of the fastest ways to create a dispute.

Program Rules And Prohibited Tactics

Your terms should tell affiliates what they can and can't do when promoting your business.

Common prohibited tactics include:

• Making false, misleading or unapproved claims about your products
• Using paid search ads on your brand name or confusing misspellings
• Creating websites, domains or social media handles that look like they're operated by your business
• Posting fake reviews or testimonials
• Using spam, deceptive email practices or misleading subject lines
• Promoting expired coupons or unauthorized discounts
• Using malware, cookie stuffing or other artificial tracking methods
• Targeting audiences or territories you haven't approved

You can also require affiliates to follow your brand guidelines, use approved images and remove content when you ask them to.

Termination Rights

Your agreement should let you end an affiliate relationship if the program no longer works for your business or the affiliate breaks the rules.

Many programs allow termination:

• For convenience, such as with written notice through your program dashboard or email
• Immediately, if the affiliate breaches key rules
• Automatically, if the affiliate's account is inactive or fraudulent

Your terms should also explain what happens after termination. For example, the affiliate should stop using your links, remove your trademarks and marketing assets, and stop describing themselves as part of your program.

State law and your contract can affect when earned commissions must be paid after termination. If you're ending a major affiliate relationship or withholding commission because of a breach, it's worth getting advice from a licensed attorney before you act.

What FTC Disclosure Rules Apply To Affiliates?

The FTC requires affiliates to clearly disclose when they have a material connection to your business, such as receiving commission, free products or other benefits.

The federal baseline comes from Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The FTC's Endorsement Guides also explain how endorsements, reviews and influencer-style promotions should be handled.

For your business, the practical point is simple: if someone is promoting you because they may get paid, customers should be able to see that clearly.

Your affiliate agreement should require disclosures that are:

• Clear, using plain language like 'I earn commission from qualifying purchases'
• Conspicuous, so customers can easily notice the disclosure
• Close to the claim or link, not hidden on a separate page or buried in a footer
• Unavoidable, especially on social posts, short videos, podcasts or mobile content

You should also make affiliates promise that their reviews, testimonials and results claims are honest and not misleading. If an affiliate says your product produces a specific result, you may need evidence to support that claim.

The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, which took effect in 2024, also targets practices like fake reviews, buying positive or negative reviews, and misrepresenting testimonials. If your affiliates collect, display or create reviews, your terms should ban these practices.

Industry rules can add extra requirements. For example, if you sell health, financial, beauty, education or other regulated products, your claims may need tighter approval processes. Your state may also have consumer protection laws that sit alongside the federal rules.

Can You Stop Affiliates From Using Your Brand In Ads?

Yes, you can usually restrict how affiliates use your brand in ads, domains, social accounts and other marketing materials, but your agreement needs to be specific.

Under the Lanham Act, federal trademark law protects trademarks and can also apply to false advertising. If you have a registered trademark with the USPTO, you may have stronger tools to stop confusing or unauthorized brand use. Even without a federal registration, you may have some rights based on use, but registration often makes enforcement cleaner.

Your affiliate terms should give affiliates a limited license to use your approved trademarks, logos and content only for the purpose of promoting your program. It should also say that you own your brand assets and can withdraw permission.

You may want to ban affiliates from:

• Bidding on your brand name, product names or confusing variations in paid search
• Using your trademark in a domain name, subdomain, app name or social media handle
• Impersonating your business or suggesting they're your official website
• Editing your logo, product photos or approved copy without permission
• Using your brand alongside offensive, unlawful or inappropriate content
• Registering trademarks, business names or accounts that include your brand

Copyright can matter too. Under the Copyright Act, your product images, videos, website copy, graphics and other creative materials may be protected. If affiliates use your creative assets, your agreement should say what they can use, where they can use it, and when they must remove it.

If affiliates are creating their own content, decide whether you need rights to reuse that content. For example, if an affiliate creates a great product video, can you repost it in your ads? If you want that right, put it in writing.

What Happens If Tracking Breaks Or An Affiliate Disputes A Sale?

If tracking breaks or an affiliate disputes a sale, your agreement should give you a clear review process and say what records decide the outcome.

Affiliate disputes often come from:

• Broken tracking links or pixels
• Ad blockers, cookie restrictions or browser settings
• Customers clearing cookies or using multiple devices
• Multiple affiliates claiming the same customer
• Coupon codes being shared beyond the intended audience
• Manual orders, refunds, cancellations or chargebacks

Your terms should define how attribution works. For example, you might use last-click attribution, first-click attribution, unique coupon codes or manual approval. You should also define the cookie window, such as 7, 30 or 60 days, based on what makes sense for your sales cycle.

There's no federal law that says you must use a particular attribution model for affiliate commissions. This is mainly a contract issue, so clarity matters.

It can help to include a dispute process like this:

1. The affiliate must raise a commission dispute within a set period after the statement is issued, such as 30 days.
2. The affiliate must provide reasonable evidence, such as screenshots, link data or customer details.
3. You can review your own platform records, payment records and fraud checks.
4. Your decision is final unless there's clear error or another process is agreed.

You should also reserve the right to reverse or withhold commission for fraudulent, self-referred, duplicate, refunded, cancelled or chargeback transactions.

This doesn't mean you should treat affiliates unfairly. Strong affiliates are valuable business partners. The goal is to make the rules predictable so you don't have to negotiate from scratch every time something goes wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can An Affiliate Be Located Outside The United States?

Yes, but your agreement should still require them to follow your program rules and applicable US marketing laws when promoting to US customers. You may also need to think about payment, tax forms, data transfers and local laws in the affiliate's country.

Can You Change Your Affiliate Program Terms Later?

Yes, if your terms give you a valid process for changes. Make sure you explain how affiliates will be notified, when changes take effect, and whether changes apply to past or future commissions.

Who Owns Content Created By Affiliates?

Usually, the affiliate owns content they create unless your agreement says otherwise. If you want to repost, edit, advertise with or keep using affiliate content, get those rights clearly in writing.

Do You Need Separate Agreements For Influencers And Affiliates?

Sometimes. If someone is paid for sponsored content as well as commission, you may need a brand partnership agreement covering influencer deliverables and affiliate tracking. The FTC disclosure rules still matter either way.

Key Takeaways

• A website affiliate agreement sets the rules for commissions, tracking, brand use, disclosures, prohibited tactics and termination.
• FTC rules require affiliates to clearly disclose commission and other material connections to your business.
• Your terms should ban misleading claims, fake reviews, unauthorized coupon use, brand bidding and confusing trademark use.
• Commission disputes are much easier to manage when your agreement explains attribution, cookie windows, refunds and review deadlines.
• Brand and content rights should be handled carefully, especially if affiliates use your trademarks, product photos or create content you want to reuse.

If you'd like help with your affiliate program terms, commission rules, FTC disclosure wording and brand protection clauses, you can reach our team at (888) 449-8437 or team@sprintlaw.com. Where legal services are required, they're provided by licensed US lawyers at ElevateNext US, LLC, a trusted US law firm, through the Sprintlaw platform.