My affiliate disclosure, in plain language
I write about the tools I actually use to move companies from traffic to revenue. Some of those tools pay me a commission when you sign up through my link. This affiliate disclosure exists so you know that upfront, before you click anything. No buried legalese, no fine print at the bottom of a 2,000-word post. If a link earns me money, I tell you on the page where you find it.
Here is how it works. When I link to a product like an SEO platform, a scraping API, or an analytics tool, that link sometimes carries a tracking code tied to my account. If you buy or subscribe, the company pays me a percentage of the sale. You pay the exact same price either way. The commission comes out of the vendor’s margin, not your pocket. That is the entire mechanism behind this affiliate disclosure, and it is the same model every honest publisher runs.
What I will not do is recommend a tool I have not used or do not believe in just because the payout is bigger. My credibility is the asset. As a Fractional Head of Growth, I have managed $100M+ in budgets across paid and organic channels, and I have watched what happens when teams chase commissions instead of outcomes. They lose trust, and trust is the one thing you cannot rebuild with a discount code. So the rule is simple: I only link to software I would deploy on a client account tomorrow.
This affiliate disclosure also covers the gray areas. Sometimes a tool I love has no affiliate program, so I link to it with zero commission. Sometimes a tool with a generous program is mediocre, so I never mention it. The presence or absence of an affiliate link tells you nothing about how much I rate a product. My recommendation comes first; the commission is a side effect, never the reason.
I take this seriously because the rules are real. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of any material connection between an endorser and a seller. You can read the official standard in the FTC’s Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, which spells out what honest disclosure looks like. This affiliate disclosure is my attempt to meet that bar and then go past it, because growth work taught me that the brands people trust are the ones that over-disclose, not the ones that hide.
For context on who is telling you this: I run growth for companies as a contractor, not a CMO-as-a-service vendor. I took Elementor to 100x ARR and drove Riverside +337% MRR, and in both cases the work depended on a stack of paid tools that paid for themselves many times over. When I point you at one of those tools, I am pointing at something that earned its place in a real revenue system, not a content farm. That is the standard behind every link governed by this affiliate disclosure.
If you ever spot a link on this site that earns me a commission and is not flagged, tell me and I will fix it the same day. Honest disclosure is not a one-time checkbox; it is an ongoing commitment. You came here for advice that turns traffic into revenue, and that advice is worthless if you cannot trust the motive behind it. This affiliate disclosure is my promise that the motive stays clean, link by link, page by page.
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Frequently asked questions
What exactly does this affiliate disclosure cover?
It covers every link on this site that pays me a commission when you sign up or buy through it. That includes SEO platforms, scraping APIs, analytics tools, and automation software I recommend. This affiliate disclosure does not change your price; the commission comes from the vendor’s margin. If a link earns me money, I flag it on the page where you find it, not in hidden fine print.
Do affiliate links cost me anything extra?
No. You pay the exact same price whether you use my link or go direct. The commission is paid by the vendor out of their own margin as a referral fee. In some cases an affiliate link actually taps a better deal or extended trial, but it never adds a markup. The price you see is the price you pay, full stop.
How do you decide which tools to recommend?
I only link to software I would deploy on a paid client account tomorrow. Having managed $100M+ in budgets, I have seen what happens when people chase commissions over outcomes: they lose trust and lose clients. So the recommendation comes first and the affiliate program is irrelevant to the decision. If a great tool has no program, I still link it with zero commission.
Are you required by law to publish an affiliate disclosure?
Yes. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of any material connection between an endorser and a seller, and similar rules apply in other markets. This affiliate disclosure meets that standard and goes past it. I disclose on the page, not buried at the bottom, because over-disclosing builds the trust that honest growth work actually runs on.
Does an affiliate link mean you rate that product higher?
No, and that is an important distinction. The presence or absence of an affiliate link tells you nothing about how much I rate a tool. Some products I love have no affiliate program, so I link them for free. Some products with generous payouts are mediocre, so I never mention them. My recommendation is the signal; the commission is a side effect that never drives the call.