We Checked 13 Affiliate Review Sites for Disclosure. Here’s What We Found
Quick answer
We looked at 13 affiliate review sites in the make-money-online space. In the 12 that had a review we could read, none told the reader, before the first affiliate link, that the site earns a commission if you buy. Only 2 of the 13 link a dedicated affiliate disclosure page from their menu or footer. And when we ran the same test on our own site, 29 of our 54 reviews failed it too. We fixed all of them on 4 November 2026.
Why this matters
A review is only useful if you know who pays for the recommendation. Affiliate sites earn a commission when you buy through their links. That is a normal way to run a review site, and it is how we run ours. The commission is not the problem. Finding out late, or never, is. The US FTC’s guidance on endorsements says a disclosure should catch the reader’s attention and be hard to miss. Putting it where a reader is unlikely to look does not meet that.
What we checked, and how
- 13 review sites from our own list of competitors, one newest review each. One of the 13 is a storefront that sells directly, so 12 reviews.
- Pages were saved on 26 October 2026 and re-checked by eye on 4 November 2026, with dated screenshots of the top of each review. One site was unreachable on 4 November, so its row uses the 26 October copy.
- A disclosure only counted if the visible text said the site earns a commission or uses affiliate links, read in context. Sales copy from the vendor about its own affiliate program did not count.
- For legal pages we read each site’s own menu and footer links instead of guessing web addresses.
The results
| Site | Commission stated in the review, above the first affiliate link | Dedicated affiliate disclosure page linked from menu or footer | Privacy page linked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No | No | No |
| 2 | No | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | No | No | No |
| 4 | No (one late mention) | No | Yes |
| 5 | n/a (storefront) | No | Yes |
| 6 | No | No | Yes |
| 7 | No | No | No |
| 8 | No (footer link only) | Yes | Yes |
| 9 | No | No | Yes |
| 10 | No | No | No |
| 11 | No (26 Oct copy) | No | Yes |
| 12 | No | No | Pages exist, none linked |
| 13 | No | No | Yes |
Totals: 0 of 12 reviews state it up front. 2 of 13 link a disclosure page. 8 of 13 link a privacy page. 5 of 13 show no legal links at all. Site numbers are random and carry no meaning.
What stood out
- Nobody said it up front. 0 of 12. The nearest cases: one review mentions an affiliate link about 93% of the way down, while explaining how to claim a bonus; one has a disclosure link only in the footer; one has a menu link to a disclaimer page.
- Two sites got the basics right. Sites 2 and 8 link a real affiliate disclosure page (roughly 700 and 500 words) from their menu or footer. Credit where it is due.
- Five sites show no legal links at all on the home page or the review. One of them has policy pages at the standard addresses but links none of them. Eight of the 13 do link a privacy page.
- Three reviews open with the same bonus sentence. Buy through the referral link and you get a reward. That tells you there is a referral link. It does not tell you the site is paid when you use it.
- Big numbers, no caveats. A few reviews repeat daily-income figures with no caveat, and one title lists a bonus total in the millions. We are not judging products here. The point is that a reader meets a very large number before meeting any statement about money.
What we found on our own site
We ran the same test on all 54 of our live reviews. 20 stated the commission near the top of the page, 5 stated it late in the page, and 29 did not state it in the body at all. Our footer has a full disclosure page, but a page you have to go and find is not the same as saying it where you read. That is on us, and we found it while preparing this study. Publishing it while our own pages failed would have been wrong.
On 4 November 2026 we added one line at the top of all 34 pages that needed it: MMO Maker earns a commission if you buy [product] through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It links to our affiliate disclosure. We re-ran the check afterwards: 54 of 54 reviews now state it near the top.
What a good disclosure looks like
- One plain sentence, above the first affiliate link or button.
- Say who earns what: we earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page.
- Link to a full disclosure page from your menu or footer, as well as saying it on the page.
- Do not rely on a footer or a policy page alone.
- Keep earnings claims honest. No unqualified income figures.
What this study does not tell you
- It is one review per site on one day. It is a snapshot, not a trend.
- We read the page text and checked screenshots. A disclosure that exists only as an image, or only for some visitors, could be missed.
- We do not know anyone’s intent, and we say nothing about product quality or income claims being true.
- We are a competitor of every site in this study, so read it with that in mind. The data and method are above so you can repeat it.
- We left the sites unnamed on purpose. The point is the practice, not the people.
Think we got something wrong?
If you run one of these sites and we got something wrong, email info@mmomakerr.com with the page link and we will check it and correct this article if we are wrong.
Want honest takes on new AI launches?
We send a weekly Launch Radar email: new AI launches, worth a look or skip. Join the Launch Radar list. MMO Maker earns commissions on some of the products we review. This article links to no products. Our full policy is on the affiliate disclosure page.
