Affiliate publishing checklist · U.S.
Comparison-page refresh checklist
Use this short, print-friendly review before republishing a comparison or review page. Check the evidence, the offer, the disclosure, and every tracked link—then leave a decision for the next editor.
The working sheet
Mark each check before you publish.
Leave the source, review date, and final decision with the page record.
Recommended editorial control
- For every material claim, record the source and the date checked: price, feature, performance, limitation, or “best for” wording.
- Confirm the current evidence still supports the exact wording, including its scope, exceptions, and limitations.
- Check for product, version, service, policy, methodology, or source changes since the evidence was gathered.
- Record a next review date or a decision: keep, revise, qualify, or remove.
Research scope: The Spruce [8–11], RTINGS [12–15], and CNET [5–7] support fact-checking, testing, transparent methods, and update practices. These are editorial controls, not universal legal requirements.
Program-specific rule + editorial control
- Confirm the described product, variant, service, and destination are current and usable.
- Verify the relevant price, availability, date, region, and other context a reader needs to interpret the offer.
- Open each destination and confirm it is for the related product or service the page describes.
- Flag content for correction, qualification, or removal when the product, destination, evidence, or offer is no longer available or supported.
Research scope: Amazon Associates findings [3–4] describe program-specific related-destination and removal requirements. Apply those findings to that program; the broader availability checks are recommended editorial controls.
FTC requirement when applicable
- Identify every material connection to an advertiser or product, including compensation or other value provided for an endorsement.
- Place a clear disclosure before or alongside the relevant recommendation or affiliate link.
- Use wording an ordinary reader can understand in the page’s format; adapt it when the recommendation also appears in video, social, or email.
- Keep paid-content and affiliate labels distinct from editorial judgment where the format needs that context.
Research scope: The FTC findings [1–2] describe clear, conspicuous disclosure when a material connection exists. CNET findings [5–7] also describe labeling affiliate and paid content; that is an editorial practice, not a replacement for the applicable legal standard.
Recommended operational control
- Verify each affiliate link resolves to the intended related destination, product, variant, or service.
- Follow the expected tracking path and confirm the link remains attributable in the way your program requires.
- Flag links that are broken, redirected incorrectly, stripped of required tracking information, or pointed at an unrelated destination.
- Record the link check date and the correction owner when a link needs repair or removal.
Research scope: The related-destination finding is specific to Amazon Associates [3–4]. Checking link resolution and attribution is a recommended control for any affiliate program; confirm each program’s current terms separately.
Recommended editorial control
- If a recommendation depends on testing, record the method, comparison basis, and any limitation a reader should know.
- Confirm the method is still appropriate and comparable; retest or re-check when a product change, firmware update, test-bench change, or methodology change could affect the result.
- Leave the final outcome for the next editor: keep, revise, qualify, or remove, with the reason and review date.
Research scope: CNET [5–7], The Spruce [8–11], and RTINGS [12–15] are cited in the supplied snapshot for research, testing, fact-checking, standardized methods, and retesting practices. The snapshot does not establish a universal cadence.
Page or URL:
Reviewed:
Next review:
Decision and owner:
Sources and scope
This checklist uses the supplied research snapshot and its numbered findings. The snapshot was truncated and did not include raw URLs for Amazon Associates, CNET, The Spruce, or RTINGS, so this page names those sources without inventing or implying a verified link. The FTC URL and fuller source notes remain on the comparison-page freshness guide.
[1–2]Federal Trade Commission
Legal disclosure guidance on material connections and clear, conspicuous endorsements. The supplied research includes a current FTC URL on the linked freshness guide.
[3–4]Amazon Associates
Program-specific findings about linking Program Content to related destinations and removing content no longer available for use. The dispatch snapshot did not include the raw policy URL.
[5–7]CNET
Editorial findings about research, testing, affiliate and paid-content labeling, and editorial independence. The dispatch snapshot did not include the raw page URL.
[8–11]The Spruce
Editorial findings about fact-checking, availability checks, retesting, dated updates, and review processes. The dispatch snapshot did not include the raw page URL.
[12–15]RTINGS
Editorial findings about standardized, repeatable testing, public methodology, and retesting after relevant changes. The snapshot does not state a specific update cadence or formal criteria.