New Laws Website Owners Need To Know

By now every website owner should have a disclaimer statement and a disclosure statement featured on their website. I don’t mean a disclaimer and disclosure statement that is in such microscopic type size and convoluted directions you need a treasure map and magnifying glass to find it. Neither do I mean to imply it has to be a bright neon billboard that is the first thing that hits your visitor in the face. It has to be an accessible and readable part of your web site.

I simply have a disclaimer page and a disclosure page with links to those pages on the bottom of my home page.

I know many affiliates who tell me they don’t have a disclaimer or disclosure statement and they haven’t had any problems. It is true that enforcement is spotty and many website owners are able to skate by until the day that the law comes knocking.

Let me tell you the cautionary tale of one of my early affiliate marketing mentors. He was an affiliate earning his affiliate commission by promoting products.The tale that he told had chills running up my spine and I wasn’t even there!

He and his wife and family were c were warm and cozy sound asleep in their beds. When all of a sudden they were startled awake with a scene out of a TV crime show. Loud voices were banging on the door,  Loud voices were demanding that he come out with his hands up and surrender to law enforcement. Powerful lights were sweeping back and forth over the front of the house.

His defense to law enforcement was he was just an affiliate marketer promoting a product, He wasn’t supplying the products and he didn’t know some of them were illegal. That excuse held no weight with the law. When it comes to violations of the law ignorance is no excuse.

The message of this story for affiliate marketers is make sure that you are following all of the legal requirements to protect your business. Your affiliate marketing business can continue to PAY YOU FAR INTO the Future. You don’t want to do anything to jeopardize your income streams.

The disclosure statement is of particular importance to affiliate marketers because it is where you inform your visitors that you may earn an affiliate commission if they make a purchase on your site. It doesn’t make a difference that the price is the same whether your visitors purchase it directly from the supplier or through your affiliate link – you must inform your visitors!

There are some new laws and dangers the affiliate marketer should be aware of. All of the possible legal ramifications are not yet clear but basically, it holds the website owner or product supplier responsible for any fake reviews posted on their site. There are some experts that claim up to 80 percent of the 5-star reviews on Amazon are fake.

I don’t know if that is true or not but I know it is a huge problem for many internet marketers who might entertain the idea of using fake reviews to boost their rank. There are even companies and individual contractors promising to sell you large amount of 5-star reviews for $5, $10, $25 or more. Of course their claim is all of the reviews are written by human beings who have all reviewed the product you are offering. You know what they say about an offer that seems too good to be true? It probably is not and you should avoid them like the plague. So the best strategy for the  long term heath of your affiliate marketing business it to be aware of the legal regulations governing your business and stay current with those regulations.