# Affiliate Disclosure - LLM Relevance Directory

Transparency about affiliate relationships and how we make money.

Last updated: 2026-02-09

## Our Business Model

LLM Relevance Directory earns revenue through:
1. **Affiliate Commissions** (Primary) - We earn commissions when users sign up for tools through our referral links
2. **Featured Listings** (Secondary) - Tool vendors can pay for featured placement in the directory
3. **Sponsored Content** (Future) - Sponsored playbook inclusions and articles

## Affiliate Transparency

### How It Works
- We test tools with real small businesses
- We only recommend tools we've actually used and found valuable
- When you click a tool link and sign up, we may earn a commission
- This does NOT affect the price you pay - you pay the same whether you use our link or go directly to the tool

### Our Promise
- **Honest Reviews**: We include limitations, cons, and when tools are NOT ideal for certain users
- **No Pay-to-Play**: We don't guarantee positive reviews in exchange for affiliate partnerships
- **Testing First**: We only recommend tools we've tested with real small businesses
- **Transparency**: We're open about affiliate relationships (this file exists for that reason)

## Affiliate Programs

### High Commission Programs (30%+ Lifetime)
- **RankPrompt**: 30% lifetime recurring commission
- **Brand24**: Varies by plan
- **InLinks**: Varies by plan

### Standard Commission Programs (10-30%)
- Most SEO suites (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz): 20-30% recurring
- Content optimization tools: 20-30% recurring
- Social scheduling tools: 15-25% recurring
- Automation tools: 10-20% recurring

### One-Time Commission Programs
- Some tools offer one-time commissions (typically $50-200 per signup)
- These are noted in tool descriptions when applicable

## Featured Listings

### Pricing Tiers
- **Sponsored Ads**: $49/month - Prominent placement in directory
- **Featured Listing**: $89/month - Enhanced listing with badge
- **Premium Listing**: $149/month - Top placement + featured badge + priority support

### What Featured Listings Include
- Prominent placement in category pages
- Featured badge on tool page
- Inclusion in relevant problem playbooks
- Priority support for updates and changes

### Featured vs. Affiliate
- Featured listings are separate from affiliate relationships
- A tool can be featured AND have an affiliate relationship
- Featured status does NOT guarantee positive reviews
- We maintain editorial independence regardless of payment

## How We Choose Tools

### Selection Criteria
1. **Relevance**: Tool must help small businesses with SEO or AI visibility
2. **Quality**: Tool must be well-built and actually work
3. **Value**: Tool must provide value relative to its price
4. **Small Business Fit**: Tool must be suitable for small businesses (not enterprise-only)
5. **Testing**: We test tools before recommending them

### What We Don't Do
- ❌ Accept payment for guaranteed positive reviews
- ❌ Hide limitations or cons of tools
- ❌ Recommend tools we haven't tested
- ❌ Prioritize affiliate commissions over user value
- ❌ Accept tools that don't fit our directory focus

## User Impact

### Does This Affect You?
- **Price**: No - you pay the same price whether you use our link or not
- **Recommendations**: No - we only recommend tools we've tested and found valuable
- **Reviews**: No - we maintain editorial independence and include honest pros/cons
- **Tool Selection**: No - we test tools before accepting affiliate relationships

### Why This Model Works
- **Aligned Incentives**: We only make money when you find value in tools
- **Quality Focus**: Bad recommendations = no commissions = bad business
- **Sustainability**: Affiliate commissions allow us to keep the directory free for users
- **Trust**: Transparency builds trust, which leads to more referrals

## Disclosure Requirements

### Where We Disclose
- This file: /txt/affiliates.txt
- About page: Mentions affiliate model
- Tool pages: Affiliate links are clearly marked
- Legal page: Full disclosure in terms

### What We Disclose
- That we earn commissions from tool referrals
- That we may have affiliate relationships with tools we recommend
- That this does not affect the price you pay
- That we maintain editorial independence

## Questions?

If you have questions about our affiliate relationships or business model:
- Contact: https://www.llmrelevance.com/contact
- Legal: https://www.llmrelevance.com/legal

## For Tool Vendors

Interested in affiliate partnership or featured listing?
- Submit Tool: https://www.llmrelevance.com/submit
- Featured Listings: https://www.llmrelevance.com/pricing
- Contact: https://www.llmrelevance.com/contact-featured

## Our Commitment

We commit to:
- Testing tools before recommending them
- Providing honest reviews including limitations
- Maintaining editorial independence
- Being transparent about affiliate relationships
- Prioritizing user value over commissions
- Only recommending tools that genuinely help small businesses

This business model allows us to keep the directory free for users while earning sustainable revenue from tool referrals. We believe transparency builds trust, and trust leads to better recommendations for everyone.