All Names Guide is a free resource for parents, cultural researchers, and anyone curious about names. To keep it free, we participate in a small number of affiliate programs and display advertising networks. This page explains exactly how those work, in plain language, and confirms that editorial content is never influenced by commercial relationships.
The short version
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and buy something, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely believe are useful — usually books about naming, cultural references, or family keepsakes. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs. Editorial content on this site is never paid for or influenced by any brand or advertiser.
What an affiliate link is
An affiliate link is a special web link that credits us if you buy something after clicking it. The price you pay is the same as it would be if you went directly to the retailer's website. If you make a purchase within the retailer's tracking window (usually 24 hours to 30 days depending on the retailer), the retailer pays us a small percentage of the sale.
Affiliate income is a small but useful part of how we fund the free content on this site. It is not the primary revenue source — display advertising is — but it helps us keep publishing new name pages, curated collections, and cultural articles without putting anything behind a paywall.
Which programs we participate in
As of publication, All Names Guide participates in the following affiliate programs:
- Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. All Names Guide is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated Amazon sites. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
- ShareASale and other niche networks. For specific baby-book publishers, cultural reference publishers, and nursery-product brands whose products we recommend.
- Direct publisher partnerships. A small number of cultural-reference book publishers work with us directly. These are always disclosed in the same way as any other affiliate link.
We do not participate in any affiliate program that we consider inconsistent with the site's mission — no predatory lending, no products marketed to children, no clickbait or dark-pattern retailers.
Where affiliate links appear on the site
Affiliate links are most likely to appear in these places:
- Learn articles. When a cultural article naturally references a well-regarded book — say, a scholarly reference on Muslim naming, or a Sanskrit dictionary — we may link to it using an affiliate link.
- Curated collection pages. Our themed collections (e.g., "50 Beautiful Arabic Girl Names") may include an affiliate link at the bottom to a related printable, book, or nursery product.
- Product recommendation posts. On the small number of pages where we actively recommend a specific book or product, those links are typically affiliate links, and the page is clearly marked.
Affiliate links do not appear on individual name pages. Those pages exist to inform, not to sell.
Display advertising
Alongside affiliate links, All Names Guide displays ads served by third-party ad networks (currently Ezoic, with a planned upgrade to Mediavine once the site meets their traffic thresholds). Ad revenue is the site's primary income source. Ads are automatically served by the ad network and are not selected or endorsed by our editorial team.
Third-party ad networks may use cookies and similar technologies to serve relevant ads. Full details on this are in our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
The editorial firewall
We keep editorial and commercial decisions strictly separate. What that means in practice:
- No brand or advertiser has any influence over which names we cover, how we present them, or what we say about them.
- No affiliate commission structure has ever caused us to include or exclude a specific product recommendation.
- Editorial content is written and reviewed independently of the site's ad and affiliate strategy.
- Cultural experts who review our content are compensated for editorial review only, never for endorsing products.
- If we are ever offered payment for editorial coverage of a product, service, or brand, we decline. Our reputation is worth far more than any single sponsorship.
FTC compliance
This disclosure is provided in compliance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." We also aim to meet the equivalent disclosure standards in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the European Union.
In practice, our disclosure standards are:
- This disclosure page is linked from the footer of every page on the site.
- Pages containing affiliate links carry a clear affiliate disclosure near the top of the content.
- When we recommend a specific product, we disclose the affiliate relationship at the point of recommendation, not buried elsewhere.
- We do not use disguised URLs, hidden affiliate parameters, or other techniques that would obscure the commercial nature of a link.
Questions
If you have questions about our commercial relationships, affiliate programs, or advertising practices — or if you spot an affiliate link that isn't properly disclosed — please contact us. We take disclosure seriously and will fix any oversight quickly.
For related site policies, see our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Disclaimer.