Affiliate SEO is search engine optimization for websites that earn commissions through affiliate links, meaning payment for referred purchases or leads. Typical pages are reviews, comparisons, and top lists that aim to rank for product searches (assessment).
What does Google expect?
Affiliate links are not prohibited. Google asks site owners to mark advertisements and paid placements with rel="sponsored". Treating affiliate links this way is a common reading, because Google’s page does not name them. Google’s review guidance does mention affiliate links as common in reviews and refers to the rules of the affiliate programs.
Pages that copy product descriptions and reviews directly from the merchant fall under the spam policy on thin affiliation. For reviews, Google advises focusing on quality and originality, not length, and recommends evidence of your own experience, such as visuals or measurements, and the benefits and drawbacks of a product.
Example
A running shoe comparison with your own cushioning measurements and a marked partner link:
<a href="https://partner.example/shoe-x?ref=123" rel="sponsored">See offer</a>
The same page with the manufacturer’s copied text and the same link would be a case of thin affiliate pages.
Sources
- Spam policies: thin affiliation – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Qualify your outbound links to Google – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Write high quality reviews – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
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