Sponsored Post Disclosure Rules for FTC and Google Compliance

On September 10, 2019, Google added a new link attribute, rel="sponsored", for links created as part of ads, sponsorships or other compensation agreements¹. Its spam policy now says paid links are fine only when they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow"². That's one rulebook. The FTC runs a second one, for what readers must be told.

If your brand sponsors a blog post, a review or a newsletter, both apply. This page explains each rule in plain words. What counts as a material connection, which labels work, where the label goes, how to mark links, what the 2024 fake reviews rule bans, and the clauses to put in every writer's brief.

Facts and prices checked November 11, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.

Key takeaways

• Sponsored content has two rulebooks, the FTC's for what readers are told and Google's for how paid links are marked.
• Google introduced rel="sponsored" on September 10, 2019 and says paid links must carry it or rel="nofollow" to avoid a link scheme action¹.
• FTC staff say a single disclosure on a home page isn't enough, and the label belongs near the endorsement³.
• The FTC's native advertising guide says to put the label in front of or above the headline and calls "Promoted" at best ambiguous⁴.
• The FTC rule on reviews took effect October 21, 2024 and bans paying for reviews conditioned on a positive or negative sentiment⁵⁶.

Two sets of rules for sponsored posts

Brands often treat disclosure as one thing. It's two, set by two different bodies for two different reasons.

• The FTC protects readers. If there's a material connection between a brand and a writer, readers must be told clearly, near the content. The brand shares the duty³.
• Google protects its rankings. Links that were paid for, in money, goods or services, must be marked so they don't pass ranking credit. Unmarked paid links are link spam².

A post can pass one test and fail the other. A clear "Sponsored" label with a followed paid link breaks Google's rule. A tagged link with no reader label breaks the FTC's. You need both.

This page covers US rules. Other countries have their own ad codes, so check them if you sponsor writers abroad.

FTC disclosure basics for blogs and newsletters

The FTC's Endorsement Guides apply to bloggers and newsletter writers the same way they apply to influencers. The Guides were revised in 2023³.

What counts as a material connection

A material connection is any tie that could change how readers weigh a post. The FTC lists personal, family or employment relationships, and financial ones, including payments and free or discounted products⁸.

Free products count

If a writer gets free products or perks with the expectation that they'll promote or discuss them, the FTC Act applies³. Free travel counts too. A blogger flown to a launch event should say so³.

Opinions must be honest

An endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser³. A writer can't talk about experience with a product they haven't tried, and can't call a product terrific if they think it's terrible⁸.

The platform tool isn't enough

Don't assume a platform's built-in disclosure tool is good enough. Use it alongside a clear disclosure of your own⁸. The duty to disclose rests with the writer and the brand, not the platform³.

Where the disclosure label goes

Placement is where most sponsored posts fail. A label can be correct and still not count because readers never see it.

• Near the endorsement. A single disclosure on a home page won't be sufficient³.
• Not at the end. Disclosures in the middle or at the end of a post are easier to miss³. An About page is likely to be missed too⁸.
• Not behind a click. A hyperlinked "DISCLOSURE" button is easily avoided and generally not enough³.
• Not in the comments. A disclosure in the comment section is easily avoidable³.
• Above the headline for advertorials. The native advertising guide says to place disclosures in front of or above the headline of a native ad⁴.
• Easy to read. Labels should stand out, with readable text that contrasts strongly with the background⁴.

A simple placement rule

Put a one-line label at the top of the post, before the first claim about the product. If the post is long, repeat a short note next to the first product link. For a newsletter, put the label on the sponsored block itself, not in the footer.

Labels that work and labels that don't

Plain words win. The FTC's guidance gives clear examples on both sides.

A note on "Sponsored by." In an endorsement, such as a blogger's own review, it tells readers a brand paid. In an advertorial the brand wrote or shaped, the native advertising guide says "Sponsored by" may suggest the sponsor funded the piece without creating it⁴. For brand-written pieces, use "Ad" or "Paid Advertisement."

Free products, paid posts and affiliate links

Every form of payment needs a label. The wording changes a little by type.

Free products

Say the product was free and who sent it. "I was given a free [product] to review" should probably work³. A plain "thank you" to a company doesn't clearly disclose anything³.

Paid posts

Say it's paid or an ad, at the top. "#ad" at the beginning of a post works for paid posts and free products³. For a full advertorial, use "Ad" or "Paid Advertisement" above the headline⁴.

Affiliate links

Disclose the commission close to the link. FTC staff give "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post" as an example³. "Paid link" next to the link is adequate, but "affiliate link" alone may not be understood³. Google's spam policy expects affiliate links to be treated appropriately², and its link guidance marks paid placements with rel="sponsored"⁹. Tag them.

Trips, events and perks

Free travel and event invites are material connections. A blog could accurately be described as "sponsored by XYZ Resort" for a hosted trip³.

What the FTC fake reviews rule bans

The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials is 16 CFR Part 465. It was published August 22, 2024 and took effect October 21, 2024⁵. The Commission approved it 5 to 0⁶. It bans six practices⁶.

1. Fake reviews and testimonials. Creating, selling or buying reviews that misrepresent who wrote them or their experience.
2. Buying positive or negative reviews. Compensation or other incentives conditioned on writing a review with a particular sentiment.
3. Undisclosed insider reviews. Reviews by officers, managers or staff that don't clearly disclose the connection.
4. Company-controlled review sites. Claiming a site you control offers independent reviews of your own products.
5. Review suppression. Threats or intimidation to get negative reviews removed.
6. Fake social media indicators. Buying or selling fake followers or views to misrepresent influence.

The rule lets the FTC seek civil penalties against knowing violators⁶. A December 2025 law firm note reported the FTC had sent warning letters to ten companies under the rule, and put the maximum penalty at up to $53,088 per violation¹⁰.

What this means for a sponsored review

You can pay a blogger for a post, or send a product for review. You can't make any of it depend on the verdict being positive. Put that in writing. "Your opinion is your own" belongs in every brief.

The brand's job is to train and monitor

Many brands assume disclosure is the writer's problem. The FTC disagrees. Its staff say advertisers need reasonable programs to train and monitor the people promoting them³. Delegating part of a program to an outside company doesn't relieve the brand of responsibility³. A brand could be liable if it plays a role in creating or spreading deceptive endorsements³.

A reasonable program, in practice

• Tell every writer the rules in the first email. One sentence on the label and one on links.
• Repeat them in the brief. With paste-ready wording.
• Check before it goes live. FTC staff recommend pre-approving paid posts³. Check the facts, the label and the link tags, not the opinion.
• Check after it goes live. Open each post, confirm the label is near the top and inspect the link tags.
• Fix or stop. Ask for a correction. If a writer won't disclose, stop working with them.
• Keep records. Save the brief, the email thread and a screenshot of each live post.

The hard part isn't the rules. It's doing this for every writer on a 30 or 40 name list, by email, without losing track of who got the brief.

rel="sponsored" and rel="nofollow" explained

The rel attribute sits inside a link's HTML. It tells Google what kind of link it is.

• rel="sponsored" marks links that are ads or paid placements⁹.
• rel="ugc" marks links in user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts⁹.
• rel="nofollow" is for links where the other values don't apply and you don't want to vouch for the page⁹.

A sponsored link, in code

<a href="https://brand.example.com/product" rel="sponsored">Try the product</a>

You can combine values, separated by a space or comma, for example rel="sponsored nofollow"⁹. Google says either sponsored or nofollow is fine for flagging paid links, and the two are treated the same for this purpose, but it prefers sponsored¹.

Hints, not commands

Since 2019, Google treats sponsored, ugc and nofollow as hints about which links to count, not strict rules¹. That doesn't change what you should do. Google still says to use sponsored or nofollow on paid links if you want to avoid a link scheme action¹.

What counts as a paid link

Google's spam policy lists exchanging money for links or posts that contain links, exchanging goods or services for links, and sending someone a product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link². It also lists advertorials where payment is received for articles with links that pass ranking credit². So gifted reviews need the tag too.

Never require a followed link. Google lists requiring a link in a contract without letting the site owner qualify it as link spam².

Site reputation abuse and advertorial risks

Google's spam policies also cover site reputation abuse. That's third-party content published on a host site mainly because of the host's ranking signals². Google's own example is an educational site hosting sponsored reviews of payday loans written by a third party that sends the same page to other sites².

Google is clear that not all third-party content is a problem. Its list of things that are not site reputation abuse includes advertorial or native advertising pages whose purpose is to share content directly with readers, rather than to manipulate search rankings².

How to keep a sponsored post on the right side

• Sponsor writers on topics their readers already come for.
• Let the writer write it, in their voice, for their readers.
• Don't send the same article to many sites.
• Label it for readers and tag the links for Google.
• Don't pick a site because of its authority score when its readers aren't your buyers.

The FTC adds a reader-side test for advertorials. In its native advertising guide, a kitchen cabinet company pays a lifestyle site for an article laid out like the site's own stories. The guide says the format is likely to mislead readers into thinking it's an ordinary article, so a clear and prominent disclosure is needed⁴.

Newsletters, contracts and the brief

The FTC rules apply to newsletter sponsorships the same way. Label the sponsored block where readers see it. Many newsletters also publish each issue as a web page, and links on those pages follow Google's rules. If you sponsor writers on Substack, our guide to Substack sponsorships for brands covers its formats.

Clauses to put in every agreement

• Disclosure. The writer will label the content clearly near the top, using agreed wording.
• Links. All links to the brand will carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
• Honest opinion. Payment doesn't depend on a positive verdict.
• Facts. The brand supplies claims it can support. The writer won't describe experience they don't have.
• Review step. The brand can check facts and the label before publishing.
• Fixes. The writer will correct a missing label or tag within a set number of days.
• Usage. Any reuse of the writer's content in the brand's ads is agreed and priced.

A full agreement template is in our newsletter sponsorship agreement guide. For the wider buying process, see our sponsored blog posts guide and how to get bloggers to review your product. Sponsoring video too? Read the YouTube sponsorship disclosure rules.

Send a compliant brief to every writer on your list

Compliance starts with the first email. Every writer you sponsor should get the label wording and link rule before they write a word. Media List helps you find those writers and send the brief to all of them.

• Find the writers. Search 28,000+ blogs and 28,000+ newsletters you can email by category, country and language.
• See who to email. Emails unlock from your plan's allowance, no bot checks.
• Save the list. Keep each program's writers in one saved list, so you know who got the brief.
• Send on Professional. Put the disclosure and rel="sponsored" lines in a built-in campaign and send it to the whole list, with follow-ups from the same place.

Media List doesn't list rates or traffic. Writers reply with their own terms.

Basic at $99 a month covers search, saved lists and exports. Built-in email campaigns come with Professional at $399 a month. Start a 3-day trial, $0 today, and cancel anytime. Compare plans on the pricing page.

Questions, answered

Do sponsored blog posts need a disclosure?

Yes. If a brand paid the writer or gave free products or perks with an expectation of promotion, the FTC says readers must be told clearly, near the content. A home page notice isn't enough.

Where should a sponsored post disclosure go?

Near the endorsement, ideally at the top before the first product claim. For advertorials, the FTC's native advertising guide says in front of or above the headline. Not at the end, in comments or behind a link.

What is rel="sponsored"?

It's a link attribute Google introduced on September 10, 2019 to mark links created as part of ads, sponsorships or other paid deals. Google prefers it for paid links, though rel="nofollow" also works.

Do gifted product reviews need rel="sponsored" links?

Yes. Google's spam policy lists sending someone a product in exchange for writing about it and including a link as link spam unless the link is qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".

Is "#sponsored" enough as a disclosure?

Clear plain words work best. FTC guidance says "#ad" at the start of a post works, and terms like "ad" and "sponsored" are understood, while vague tags like "sp" or "collab" and "#ambassador" alone are not.

What does the FTC fake reviews rule ban?

In force since October 21, 2024, it bans fake reviews, paying for reviews with a set sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, company-controlled review sites posing as independent, review suppression and fake social media indicators.

Is the brand responsible if a blogger doesn't disclose?

It can be. FTC staff say advertisers need reasonable programs to train and monitor endorsers, and using an agency doesn't remove that duty. Give clear rules, check posts, and stop working with writers who won't disclose.

How should affiliate links be disclosed?

Close to the link, in plain words such as "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post." FTC staff say "affiliate link" alone may not be understood.

Related guides

• Sponsored Blog Posts for Brands and How to Buy Them Right
• Sponsored Blog Post Rates and What Bloggers Charge in 2026
• How to Get Bloggers to Review Your Product the Right Way
• How to Find Bloggers in Your Niche and Their Contact Emails
• Blogger Outreach Email Templates for Reviews and Sponsored Posts

Sources

1. Google Search Central Blog, Evolving nofollow, new ways to identify the nature of links (Sep 10, 2019), checked 2026-11-11
2. Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search, checked 2026-11-11
3. FTC, FTC's Endorsement Guides, what people are asking, checked 2026-11-11
4. FTC, Native advertising, a guide for businesses (Dec 2015), checked 2026-11-11
5. Federal Register document 2024-18519, Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (Aug 22, 2024), checked 2026-11-11
6. FTC, Federal Trade Commission announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (Aug 14, 2024), checked 2026-11-11
7. FTC, CAN-SPAM Act, a compliance guide for business, checked 2026-11-11
8. FTC, Disclosures 101 for social media influencers (Nov 2019), checked 2026-11-11
9. Google Search Central, Qualify your outbound links to Google, checked 2026-11-11
10. Venable LLP, FTC signals heightened enforcement of new consumer review rule (Dec 29, 2025), checked 2026-11-11