PracticeVerdict
Disclosure

Affiliate Disclosure

Last updated: 2026-05-15

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires publishers who participate in affiliate programs to disclose those relationships clearly and conspicuously, so readers can make informed judgments about editorial content. PracticeVerdict takes this seriously. This page provides the full picture.

1. What is an affiliate relationship?

An affiliate relationship means that a merchant pays us a commission when a reader, after clicking one of our links, signs up for a service or makes a purchase on the merchant's site. The reader pays no more than they otherwise would; the commission comes out of the merchant's margin or marketing budget.

2. Where affiliate links appear on PracticeVerdict

Affiliate links appear in articles that review, recommend, or compare products. Every such article carries a visible affiliate disclosure box at the top of the article, before the body content, in plain language. The disclosure cannot be missed, hidden in fine print, or placed below where a reader might act on a recommendation. This placement meets the FTC's "clear and conspicuous" standard (16 CFR § 255.5).

Outbound links to non-affiliate sources (trade press, vendor documentation, state licensing boards, peer-reviewed research) are not affiliate links and do not generate commissions.

3. Which programs we participate in

The specific programs we participate in evolve over time. As of the "Last updated" date above, we participate in (or apply to participate in) programs run directly by the vendors we cover, plus the following affiliate networks where applicable:

  • Amazon Associates (US)
  • Impact
  • ShareASale
  • PartnerStack
  • CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction)
  • Various vendor-direct referral programs (SaaS vendors operating their own affiliate platforms)

Where a vendor is reviewed but no affiliate relationship exists, the review still proceeds. We note in the article when no affiliate relationship is in place for a recommended product.

4. Commission structures vary

Commission rates and durations differ by program. Typical patterns we encounter:

  • Recurring SaaS subscriptions — 20–30% of monthly subscription revenue for 12–36 months from the referred sign-up date
  • One-time bounty per signup — fixed dollar amount paid once after the referred user completes signup (or after a trial converts to paid)
  • Amazon Associates — typically 1–4% of product price, with a 24-hour cookie window
  • High-ticket vendor referrals — fixed bounty up to $500 for certain enterprise-tier vendor signups

Higher commission rates do not influence scoring or ranking. See Section 6 below.

5. What we never accept

  • Paid sponsorships, paid placements, or "sponsored content" — never.
  • Free product samples in exchange for guaranteed positive coverage — never. We may evaluate free trial accounts or vendor-provided demo accounts; receiving a demo account does not commit us to any conclusion.
  • Vendor review before publication — we do not show articles to vendors before publishing. Once published, vendors are welcome to point out factual errors, which we evaluate against our methodology and correct publicly if validated.
  • Link-exchange schemes — we do not link out in exchange for inbound links.
  • "Guest posts" from vendors — all content is produced internally.

6. How we keep commissions from influencing coverage

These are firm editorial policies, not aspirational guidelines:

  1. Scoring is criteria-driven. Each product is scored 0–10 against five weighted criteria. Affiliate-commission rate is not a criterion. The scoring methodology is public on our methodology page.
  2. Ranking ties break against the higher commission. Where two products would otherwise rank identically, the one with the lower commission rate wins the tiebreaker — explicitly, to bias against pay-to-play.
  3. Editorial calendar is reader-driven. We pick topics based on what readers search for, not on which programs pay best. Some of the highest-trafficked articles cover products with no affiliate program at all.
  4. Negative reviews are published. Some products we test fail our criteria, and we say so — even when those products are affiliate partners.

7. Your relationship with merchants

When you click an affiliate link and proceed to purchase or sign up with a merchant, your relationship is with the merchant, not with us. Pricing, billing, refunds, support, and product delivery are governed entirely by the merchant's terms. We have no access to your account, payment, or personal information at the merchant.

8. Tax and reporting

Commission income we receive is reported and taxed in accordance with the laws of our country of operation. Affiliate networks may issue tax forms (e.g., U.S. IRS Form 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC) to us as required by U.S. law.

9. Questions

Questions about specific affiliate relationships, our methodology, or how a product was evaluated: [email protected]. We answer substantive editorial questions; we do not answer requests to add or change products in articles based on commission tier.

10. Changes

This Affiliate Disclosure may be updated as our program participation evolves. The "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent change.