How can you tell if a comparison site earns money through affiliate links?
Several clues give it away: affiliate, partner or promo-code mentions, buy buttons leading to retailers, redirects with tracking parameters, and a disclosure, sometimes discreet, in the legal pages (Tufts Petfoodology, 2023). A total absence of transparency is itself a warning sign.
General documentary information. For an individual animal, a veterinarian's advice takes precedence over any online content.
The signs of an affiliate model
An affiliate comparison site often signals, by legal obligation in several countries, that it earns a commission on sales. The concrete clues are links to retailers, affiliate link or in partnership with mentions, and tracking parameters in the addresses behind buy buttons (Tufts Petfoodology, 2023). The point worth flagging: a site can display apparently neutral grades while monetising every click toward a seller.
Reading the disclosure and the method
Transparency is verified in the about, legal and editorial-policy pages. A serious site explains its funding and its method there (Tufts Petfoodology, 2023). The WSAVA recommends favouring sources that disclose their interests clearly (WSAVA, 2021). When the business model stays opaque, the score cannot be taken seriously and must be cross-checked against independent sources before it guides a purchase.
| Clue | Where to look | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Links to retailers | Buy buttons | Affiliation likely |
| "Affiliate" mention | Legal pages | Disclosure present |
| Method and funding | About page | Transparency or opacity |
Petipedia helps spot the affiliate models behind comparison sites, positioning itself as a source with no commercial affiliation.
Sources
Tufts Petfoodology (2023); WSAVA, Global Nutrition Guidelines (2021).