9 Rules for a "Top 10 on Amazon" Roundup (and What to Do Instead)

It's Monday. You've got ten products, ten links and a headline that says "Top 10 on Amazon this week".

You paste in the prices. You grab the star ratings. You hit publish and go make coffee.

Here's the awkward part: two of those moves break Amazon's rules. And I'd bet most people doing weekly roundups have no idea.

I went through Amazon's policy pages, the FTC's FAQ and Google's advice on reviews so you don't have to. The good news? The safe version of your roundup is also the BETTER one.

The short version. Show your own picks, your own photos and your own opinions. Link plainly to Amazon. Never type a price, a star rating or a customer review by hand. And tell readers you get paid, right above the list.

The one-minute cheat sheet

Short on time? Here's the whole article in a table.

Now let's go through them one by one.

9 rules for your Amazon roundup

1. Don't type the price

This is the one that catches almost everyone.

Amazon's policy says your site can show prices only two ways: Amazon serves the link that displays them, or you pull them through its API. A number you copied on Monday morning is neither.

It makes sense when you picture your reader. You publish Monday. The price moves Wednesday. Someone clicks Friday, sees a different number and feels tricked. By YOU.

The catch: even API prices come with homework. Refresh them less than once an hour and you need a date and time stamp beside them, plus Amazon's disclaimer.

Do this instead

1. Delete every typed price from your post.
2. Make the link text "Check the current price on Amazon".
3. Enjoy the fact that it's still true on Friday.

2. Don't say "in stock" or "only 3 left"

Same rule, different outfit. Availability is covered by exactly the same sentence as price.

And honestly, "only 3 left!" in a post that stays up for months was never going to age well.

Do this instead

1. Cut stock claims completely.
2. If urgency matters, say "check availability on Amazon" and let Amazon do the countdown.

3. Leave the stars alone

Amazon's wording here is blunt. You can't display its customer reviews or star ratings "in part or in whole" unless you got them through the API.

"In part or in whole" covers a lot:

• A screenshot of the stars
• "4.7 out of 5" typed from memory
• Any number of little star emoji you counted out yourself

The catch: there isn't a clever workaround. If it came from Amazon's rating, it goes through the API or it stays off your page.

Do this instead

1. Remove star ratings from your roundup.
2. Give your own verdict in one line: "Best for small desks."
3. If you must score things, use your own scale and say what it measures.

4. Don't quote customer reviews

"Buyers rave about the battery life" sounds harmless. If you lifted it from an Amazon review, it isn't.

Here's the thing, though. Your reader didn't come for Amazon's reviews. They can read those on Amazon. They came to find out what you think.

Google backs this up. Its guidance asks for benefits and drawbacks "based on your own original research".

Do this instead

1. Replace borrowed quotes with one sentence from your own use.
2. Haven't used it? Say so. "I haven't tested this one, but here's why it made the list."

5. Take your own photos

You can't store or cache an image you got through Amazon's API. You can keep a link to one for 24 hours. That's a problem for a post that lives for months.

Your own photo has no clock on it. It also does something no stock shot can: it proves you held the thing.

One slightly crooked picture of the product on your desk beats a perfect white-background render. Every time.

Do this instead

1. Photograph each product where you actually use it.
2. No product in hand? Use a simple illustration, or no image at all.

6. Make your links look like links

Two rules, both simple:

• No disguises. Don't use a shortener or a button that hides the fact you're sending people to Amazon.
• No cloaking. Don't mask the address of the page your links live on.

If your link says "See it on Amazon", you've passed.

Bonus idea, straight from Google: link to more than one seller. A list that only points to one store reads like an ad. Add the brand's own shop and it reads like advice.

Do this instead

1. Rename every "Click here" to "See it on Amazon".
2. Drop third-party link shorteners.
3. Add a second seller where one exists.

7. Say you get paid, where people will see it

Amazon requires one sentence on your site:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

That keeps Amazon happy. The FTC wants a bit more, and it's fair. Its FAQ points out that readers might not know what "affiliate link" even means. It suggests plain words, like "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post."

Placement matters too. In the FTC's words, "the closer the disclosure is to your recommendation, the better."

The catch: a line in your footer doesn't do the job. Neither does an "About" page nobody opens.

Do this instead

1. Put one plain sentence ABOVE the list.
2. Keep Amazon's sentence as well. They do different jobs.

8. Kill expired deals fast

Mentioned "15% off this week"? Amazon's policy says you must remove it as soon as the promotion ends.

A dead deal is worse than no deal. It makes the whole page look abandoned.

Do this instead

1. Put the end date in your calendar the day you publish.
2. Or skip deal claims and let the link speak for itself.

9. Call it YOUR top 10

Can you still use "top 10" in the headline? Yes, as long as it's obviously your list.

"Amazon's top 10" sounds like Amazon made it, and your agreement says you won't imply Amazon sponsors or endorses you. "My top 10 from Amazon this week" is fine.

Google sets the bar for the word "best": say why, and back it with first-hand evidence. Ten names and ten links is a link farm. Ten short, honest verdicts is a roundup people come back to.

Do this instead

1. Add "my" or "our" to the headline.
2. Open with one line on how you picked.
3. Give every item a reason, not just a rank.

Steal this template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, publish.

10 things I tested this week, ranked by [your rule]

I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How I picked: [what you tested, for how long, what you skipped]

1. [Product name]
   Best for: [who]
   What I found: [two sentences from your own use]
   One drawback: [be specific]
   [Your own photo]
   See it on Amazon: [plain link]
   Also sold at: [second seller, if any]

Last checked: [date]

Notice what's missing: prices, stars, stock counts. Everything left on the page is yours. That's the whole trick.

2 quick tips before you publish

Send it by email, but not as a PDF

Amazon's policy allows its links in email when the reader opted in. It does NOT allow them in an ebook, a PDF or anything printed. So the newsletter version is fine. The downloadable "gift guide" isn't.

Fix your old roundups first

New posts are easy. The risk is sitting in your archive. Spend one afternoon removing typed prices and star ratings from old posts. It's dull, and it's the highest-value hour you'll spend this month.

Amazon roundups: FAQs

Can I write the price if I add "at time of writing"?

The policy doesn't offer that option. Prices go through Amazon's links or its API, or they don't go in.

Is Amazon's sentence enough for the FTC?

Don't count on it. Add a plain "I get paid if you buy through these links" above your list and you've covered both.

Do I have to test all ten products?

No rule I read says so. But say which ones you used and which you only researched. Readers can tell anyway.

Final thoughts

Every rule on this list points the same way: stop borrowing Amazon's page and write your own.

Their prices, their stars, their reviews and their photos are all one click away. What your reader can't get there is your opinion. That's the only part of the roundup that's really worth anything, and it's the part nobody can take down.

So strip out the borrowed bits, move the disclosure up, and tell people what you actually think.

About this article

I read Amazon's Associates Program Policies and Operating Agreement, the FTC's FAQ on endorsements and Google's reviews guidance on October 3, 2026. This is general information about US rules, not legal advice. Terms change, so check the sources before you rely on them.

Nativness publishes this blog. It's a devnet prototype with simulated escrow and no live offers, it has no relationship with Amazon, and it earns nothing from the links here.

Sources

• Amazon: Associates Program Policies
• Amazon: Associates Program Operating Agreement
• FTC: Endorsement Guides, What People Are Asking
• Google Search Central: Write high quality reviews