What proof of earning looks like on a promoter's page
Proof of earning is something on a page that shows its owner can earn money from links. There are five kinds: a disclosure, a network link, a tracked link, a redirect link and a promo code. In our scan of 30 Shopify brands on 22 October 2026, 654 of 2,459 websites shown (26.6%) had one. We read a page on each.
This post says what each kind looks like, so you can spot it yourself. It also gives the counts. Proof of earning shows that a site earns from links somewhere. It does not show that the site promotes your brand. An Amazon link tells you the owner earns from links in general, nothing more.
What is proof of earning?
A promoter is a person or site that tells an audience about products. An affiliate link pays its owner a commission, a cut of each sale, when someone buys. Proof of earning is any sign on a page that such links exist.
Our scanner reads a page and records which of the five signs it finds. A site can show several. The count is a count of what a search finds, not a ranking of who is good. For the manual version of this, see how to check a creator is a real promoter.
How many sites showed each kind of proof?
These are the counts among the 654 with proof. A site can sit in more than one row, so shares add up to over 100%.
| Kind of proof | Sites | Share of the 654 |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | 444 | 67.9% |
| Network link | 378 | 57.8% |
| Tracked link | 282 | 43.1% |
| Own redirect link | 64 | 9.8% |
| Promo code | 20 | 3.1% |
| No disclosure found on the page we read | 210 | 32.1% |
The last row is not a verdict on anyone. We found no disclosure on the page we read. One may sit on another page or in a footer we missed.
These are counts from one scan of 30 Shopify brands, 15 UK and 15 US. They are not an industry average. The method is in the next section.
How did we count?
The scan showed 2,924 people across 30 Shopify brands. Of those, 2,459 were websites shown to the founder. The search found 5,037 website candidates in all. Podcasts, TikTok and Instagram are not in these counts.
For each website shown, our scanner read one page and recorded any of the five signs. 654 of the 2,459 (26.6%) had at least one.
Some pages would not open. Of the 5,037 candidates, 732 pages (14.5%) could not be read. A floor is a number where the true rate is at least this high. Every rate here is a floor, because proof on those 732 pages went uncounted.
We also read 30 pages by hand. The section on hand reading below says how.
What does each kind look like on a page?
A disclosure
A disclosure is a plain line that says the owner may earn from links. Look near the top of a post or beside a link. Typical lines are "I earn a commission from links in this post" or "This post contains affiliate links."
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says to disclose affiliate links "clearly and conspicuously" on your site. Its sample wording is "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post." It adds that the closer the disclosure is to the recommendation, the better. It warns that "affiliate link" alone may not be enough. Consumers might not understand it (FTC, The Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, read on 29 October 2026). That is US guidance.
A disclosure hidden in a footer is weak. One beside the link is strong. Our affiliate disclosure examples show wording you can ask for.
A network link
An affiliate network is a service that connects sellers with sites that promote them, and tracks the sales between them. A network link is a link that goes through one. Hover over a link and read the address at the bottom of your browser. A network link often passes through the network's own domain first.
Platforms behind the proof links across those 654 are below. A site can use several platforms, so the rows add up to 722 although only 378 had a network link. Not every row is a classic network. LTK is a creator shopping app, and Refersion is software that brands use to run their own programs. Skimlinks turns ordinary links into paid ones.
| Platform | Sites | Share of the 654 |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Associates | 280 | 42.8% |
| Skimlinks | 112 | 17.1% |
| Awin | 86 | 13.1% |
| Impact | 77 | 11.8% |
| LTK | 41 | 6.3% |
| Rakuten | 32 | 4.9% |
| CJ | 29 | 4.4% |
| ShareASale | 25 | 3.8% |
| Refersion | 21 | 3.2% |
| Partnerize | 19 | 2.9% |
Amazon's own rules show how it works. Associates must "clearly and prominently state" a set sentence on their site: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." The source is the Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement, read on 29 October 2026. So that sentence is itself a disclosure to look for.
The table shows which networks appear most. We did not check how any of them pay.
Amazon is the largest row. So an Amazon link says little about your niche. It does not show the site would promote you.
A tracked link
A tracked link carries a code that records who sent the visitor. You can often see it in the address, after a question mark. It might read ?ref=name or ?aff=123. When a sale lands, the seller can credit the person who sent it.
Look for it in the address after you click. On a post about a product like yours, it is the sign closest to what you would offer. It still does not prove the site would join your program.
An own redirect link
An own redirect link is a link on the promoter's own domain that forwards to the seller. It looks like theirsite.com/go/brand or theirsite.com/recommends/brand. Click it and watch the address bar change.
Sites use them to keep links tidy and to change the target later. Only 64 of the 654 (9.8%) showed one. It is a small group.
A promo code
A promo code is a discount code shown on the page, such as "SAVE10 for 10% off." It can mean the site earns a cut. Not always. A seller may give a code to a fan with no payment.
Only 20 of the 654 (3.1%) showed one. Alone, a code is the weakest sign. It counts for more beside a tracked link. Our guide on stopping coupon sites joining your program covers sites that list codes for many shops.
Does proof vary by category?
A little. With six shops in each category, treat these as rough. Fitness and sports led at 33.5%. Health and supplements was lowest at 22.7% but had the fewest sites with no disclosure found (24.8%). Fashion and apparel had the most (36.8%). The gaps are small, so we would not build a plan on them.
| Category (six shops each) | Share of shown sites with proof | Proof sites per shop | No disclosure found, among proof sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness and sports | 33.5% | 24.0 | 29.9% |
| Beauty and skincare | 26.8% | 24.3 | 34.9% |
| Fashion and apparel | 26.6% | 17.7 | 36.8% |
| Home and garden | 24.9% | 21.5 | 34.9% |
| Health and supplements | 22.7% | 21.5 | 24.8% |
UK and US shops looked alike: 26.7% against 26.5%.
Per shop, the median was about 21 websites with proof, from 6 to 42. Across shops, the median share of shown websites with proof was 23.9%, from about 15% to about 49%. In the first search for each brand the median was 92 people shown.
Did anyone read the pages by hand?
Yes, a small sample. We took 30 of the sites with proof from the scan and opened each page ourselves. 27 were read. Three would not load for us, so we could not tell.
By "held up" we mean the page showed the disclosure or links the scanner had recorded. Of the 27 we could read, all held up and none was contradicted.
One of the 27 was a weak case: a network link that sat only in a sidebar ad. So treat the machine counts as an estimate that held up on a small sample. They are not an audit. Thirty is a small sample. We did not record how the 30 were chosen, so treat it as a rough check.
What are the limits?
- Every rate is a floor. That means the true rate is at least this high. Of 5,037 website candidates, 732 pages (14.5%) could not be read. Of the 2,459 shown, 497 (20.2%) could not be read. Proof on those pages is not counted.
- Proof is about earning, not about you. It shows a page earns from links somewhere. It does not show the owner promotes your brand.
- Six shops a category. The category cuts are small bases.
- One scan on one day. It ran on 22 October 2026 on 30 Shopify brands. Counts move.
- A disclosure may sit elsewhere. "No disclosure found" covers only the page we read.
How do you use this on your own list?
Open the page before you write. Scan for the five signs in under a minute. A disclosure and a tracked link together show a site that earns from links and says so. Use that to start a message. Then check fit with the five checks in our creator check guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is proof of earning on a website?
It is a sign on a page that its owner can earn from links. We look for five: a disclosure, a network link, a tracked link, an own redirect link and a promo code. It does not show the owner would promote your brand.
How common is proof of earning?
In our scan of 30 Shopify brands, 654 of the 2,459 websites shown (26.6%) had proof on a page we read. It is a floor, because 14.5% of pages could not be read. It is not an industry average.
What does "no disclosure found" mean?
It means we found no disclosure on the page we read. In our scan, that was 210 of the 654 with proof (32.1%). The disclosure may be on another page, so it is not a finding about anyone.
Does an Amazon link mean a site would promote my brand?
No. It shows the owner earns from links in general. Amazon Associates links were on 42.8% of the sites with proof, so they say little about your niche.
Do I need to ask a promoter to disclose?
In the US, the FTC says to disclose a connection clearly and close to the recommendation. Ask for a plain line near the link. This is US guidance, not legal advice.
How much did you check by hand?
We took 30 websites with proof from the scan. 27 were read and held up, and 3 would not load. It is a small sample.
Sources
- Our scan of 30 Shopify brands, 22 October 2026. The method is in the "How did we count?" section above. The scan page covers the wider scan.
- FTC, The Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, read on 29 October 2026. The page says to disclose "clearly and conspicuously on your site". Its sample wording is "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post."
- Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement, read on 29 October 2026. Associates must state "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."