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Article · Finding clients
A referral program for your SEO clients: terms, tracking and disclosure
A written referral offer for clients who already know your work: what counts, what you pay and when, how the people you reward tell others about it, and how to keep a record. Then the same program on systeme.io's free plan.
The short answer: put the offer in writing. A referral is a new client who names the referrer, or uses their link, before signing. The reward is a fixed amount, percentage or credit stated in advance, paid after the new client's first payment clears your refund window, and it never pays for reviews. Anyone you reward has a material connection to you under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, so ask them to say so in plain words each time they recommend you, check that they do, and log every referral.
Design the offer: six decisions
Decide these before you mention a program to anyone; the whole thing fits on one page. The rest of the system is in the other half of the job.
| Decision | A simple choice |
|---|---|
| Who can refer | Current and past clients, by invitation, so you can explain disclosure to each one |
| What counts | A business that names the referrer, or uses their link, before it signs, and is not already a client or an open lead |
| The reward | One fixed amount, a percentage of a named payment, or a credit on the referrer's own invoice |
| When it is paid | After the new client's first payment, once your refund window has passed |
| Exclusions | Self-referrals and businesses the referrer owns; anyone in touch with you in the [90] days before; subcontractors and others you already pay; any review, rating or testimonial; bulk email, ads or links posted in other people's comments |
| Changes and ending | Written notice; referrals already made keep the old terms |
A credit on the referrer's own fees is still a reward, and the disclosure rules below apply to it as they do to cash. How to report referral payments for tax is a question for your accountant.
A copyable terms template
Send it to each client you invite and keep a dated copy.
[Business name] client referral terms (version [1], [date])
Who can take part: current and past clients of [business name] whom I have invited. Taking part is optional and does not change your own service.
What counts: a business that (1) tells me you referred them, or uses your referral link, before it signs or pays; (2) is not already a client and has not contacted me in the [90] days before; and (3) buys [a retainer of at least [three] months / any paid service, including a fixed-price audit].
The reward: [US$ amount / [percentage]% of the referred client's first payment, before tax / a credit of [US$ amount] on your next invoice], once per referred business.
When it is paid: [30] days after the referred client's first payment clears, if it has not been refunded, by [method] on the [10th] of the following month. Amounts under [US$ amount] carry over.
Not included: your own business or one you own or run; businesses already in touch with me; people I already pay. I never reward reviews, ratings or testimonials.
How you mention it: recommend me only if you mean it, about work you have seen. Each time, say in plain words that you get [a referral fee / a credit] if they hire me, before or with the recommendation. Do not promise rankings, traffic or results. Send personal messages, not bulk email, and do not post your link in comments, forums or review sites.
Links on your website: add rel="sponsored" to any link to me that uses your referral link.
Your data: I record your name, the business you referred, dates and payments, to pay you and keep records. [If the program runs in systeme.io: depending on my settings, your affiliate dashboard can show the email addresses of the contacts you refer and details of their purchases.]
Changes and ending: I can change or end the program with [30] days' written notice; referrals made before a change keep the terms that applied then. If these terms were not followed, I may withhold a reward and will tell you why.
Questions: [email address].
What the FTC expects when you reward referrers
The FTC's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) define an endorsement as an advertising, marketing or promotional message that people are likely to believe reflects someone else's opinions or experience. A client recommending you while you reward them can be that kind of message. Under the Guides, a connection between endorser and seller must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when it might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement and the audience does not reasonably expect it. The Guides' list of material connections includes payment, free or discounted products, and "the possibility of being paid" (16 CFR 255.5), which fits a fee paid only if the friend signs.
| The Guides and the FTC FAQ, paraphrased | In your program |
|---|---|
| Disclose when a "significant minority" of the audience would not understand or expect the connection. | Assume the people a client talks to do not know about the reward. |
| Clear and conspicuous means "difficult to miss" and "easily understandable by ordinary consumers"; online, "unavoidable". | One plain sentence next to the recommendation, not behind a link. |
| No special wording; the disclosure must convey the nature of the connection, not every detail, "in words that are easy to understand." | "I get a referral fee if you hire them" names the connection. The FAQ says the amount does not have to be disclosed. |
| One disclosure on a home page is not enough, the FAQ says; visitors may read a single review without seeing it. | A disclosure in every post, page or email that recommends you. |
| Advertisers should guide endorsers, monitor compliance and fix problems (16 CFR 255.1(d)); the FAQ calls for "reasonable programs" to train and monitor. | Send the note below, check public posts, and pause rewards for anyone who will not disclose. |
The Guides make advertisers liable for failing to disclose unexpected material connections with their endorsers, so this is your job too. The FAQ adds that the Guides themselves "don't have the force of law," but practices that conflict with them can lead to FTC action under Section 5 of the FTC Act. It also says an incentive cannot be conditioned on a review being positive.
Forwarded email. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says a seller that pays or gives a benefit to someone "for any form of referral" is likely to have compliance obligations under the Act, and that who counts as the sender depends on the facts. If you give referrers an email to forward, build it to the rules in what US law expects in each email.
A plain-language summary of FTC guidance, not legal advice. It covers US federal rules only; state law and the rules where your clients' contacts live may add more. For a specific question, read the official pages under Sources or ask a lawyer.
How referrers can disclose, in plain words
Send this note when someone joins and again when the terms change. 16 CFR 255.1(d) says advertisers should guide endorsers on disclosing material connections and on not making misleading statements; the note covers both.
Subject: How to mention my referral program
Hi [first name],
Thanks for agreeing to recommend me. One rule matters most: each time you recommend me, say that you get [a referral fee / a credit on your bill] if they hire me. Say it before or with the recommendation, in plain words, whether you are talking, emailing or posting.
Please talk only about work you have seen, and do not promise rankings, traffic or results; I do not promise them either. The full terms: [link].
[Your name]
| Where | Example wording | Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation or call | "Full disclosure: [name] pays me a referral fee if you hire them." | Before or with the recommendation |
| Introduction email | "Meet [name], who has handled our SEO since [year]. [Name] gives me a credit on my bill if you sign up." | In the introduction paragraph, not the signature |
| Social post | "I get a referral fee if you hire [name]. What they did for us: [what you saw]." | At the start, in the post text |
| Website or blog | "I get a referral fee if you hire [name] through this link." | Next to the link, plus rel="sponsored" |
Two Google rules: links and reviews
Links. Google's spam policies list "Exchanging goods or services for links" and exchanging money for links as link spam, and say paid advertising links are not a violation when qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Its page on outbound links says to mark paid placements as sponsored:
<a href="[your referral link]" rel="sponsored">[Your name], SEO for [type of business]</a>
The policy also lists requiring a link through a contract or similar arrangement without letting the site owner qualify it. Never make a link a condition of the program or of a client contract.
Reviews. Google's prohibited content policy for Maps says merchants and users may not offer incentives such as payment, discounts, or free goods or services for reviews, and that merchants may not selectively solicit positive reviews. If you ask for reviews, ask every client, separately from the referral program, with no reward. For quoting a client on your own site, see the rule on reviews and testimonials.
Track every referral, from first contact to payout
- Ask every new lead: "How did you hear about me? If someone referred you, who?" Put it on your intake form; on a booking page it fits as a custom question (see a booking page for discovery calls).
- Confirm with the referrer: "[Business] says you referred them. Thank you; I will let you know if they sign." Share nothing about the new client's project unless that client agrees.
- Log it the same day, even if the lead never signs.
Referral log columns: Referral ID · Date received · Referrer (and terms version, date the disclosure note was sent) · Referred business · How it came in (link, introduction, form, in person) · Eligible? (and which term decided it) · Signed (date, service) · First payment cleared · Reward due (date, amount) · Paid (date, amount, method, reference)
A quarterly check
- Look up referrers' public posts and pages that mention you. Each needs the disclosure, and none should promise results. If one does not, ask for an edit and note it in the log; if it happens again, pause that person's rewards.
- Check that every reward was paid after its refund window and every exclusion applied the same way.
- Keep checking a referrer for a while after they stop. The FAQ says no set period fits every case; for endorsers under contract it suggests monitoring during the contract and for a reasonable time after, "such as a few months."
Running the program in systeme.io
systeme.io's affiliate program feature lets other people promote your products for a commission. Commissions are set on your systeme.io order forms, so it fits an offer sold through one, such as a fixed-price audit. The help articles cited here do not describe commissions on sales made elsewhere or on referrals that arrive without the link; keep those, such as a retainer you invoice yourself, in your own log under the same terms.
| Free plan item | As listed | For this program |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate programs | 1 | One program, commissions per order form |
| Automation rules | 1 | Used by the welcome email in step 4 |
| Total sales processed | Up to $10,000, then 3 days to upgrade to keep accepting payments | Count your order form sales |
| Transaction fees | 0% on every plan | Check your payment processor's own fees |
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Check the program settings
Profile photo, Settings, Affiliate program. Help article 699 lists defaults that match systeme.io's own program: 40% Default commission, $30.00 Minimum payout amount (or the equivalent in your currency), 30-day Default payout delay, 0% Second-tier affiliate commissions. Set your own rate; leave second tier at 0% unless your terms pay referrers a share of sales by referrers they recruit, which is what it does. Make the payout delay at least your refund window; the article says to match it to your terms. The article puts commission payments and invoices on the 10th of each month, once the minimum is reached; step 6 covers paying. Allow your affiliates to view the email addresses of the leads they've referred is optional; if you tick it, say so in your terms.
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Set the commission on each order form
New order forms start at 0%. In the sales funnel, open the order form's configuration and change the commission and payout timeframe for that offer; changes save automatically. The article gives commissions as percentages; for a fixed reward, pick the percentage that gives it. Hypothetical: a $[600] audit at [10]% pays $[60]. Article 699 calls this a lifetime affiliation: referred contacts stay tied to the referrer's ID, so later purchases earn commission too. If your terms say "once per referred business," keep a commission only on your entry offer or change the terms to match.
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Give referrers their links
Article 212 says every contact on your list gets an affiliate ID automatically, and the {affiliate_id} variable inserts it in an email. Build the link from your offer page address plus the affiliate parameter set to that variable, in the format the article shows, so each recipient gets a unique link. Article 699 says to include "www" on your own domain and leave it out on systeme.io's. Send links only to clients who agreed to your terms.
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Optional: a sign-up page and welcome email
Article 212 recommends an opt-in page with an email field, so new affiliates are tagged "Affiliate", and an automation rule that emails each sign-up. In that email, {affiliate_id} shows their ID and {affiliate_dashboard} gives access to their dashboard. Add your terms link and the disclosure note.
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What referrers see
Article 212 says the affiliate dashboard is only for users registered as affiliates, not student (course) accounts. Article 162, written for systeme.io's own program, reaches it through Dashboard, Affiliate Dashboard, and lists the affiliate ID, links, referred contacts' email addresses and sale details. To be paid through systeme.io, article 2102 says a referrer needs an active systeme.io account and at least one affiliate sale; they then go to profile picture, Settings, Affiliate commissions payment settings, Choose payment method and pick an online payment account or a wire transfer. Tell referrers this before they join. The pages do not list every dashboard field, so view it from a referrer's side before you invite anyone.
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Pay and record each reward
Sales, Affiliate invoices. Article 701 says invoices are generated on the 10th when your conditions are met, each row showing the affiliate's email, amount, payment method, date and "Payment Sent" or "Unpaid". Click the payment method for the payout details, pay from your own account, then use the three dots to mark it as paid. Copy the date and amount into your log.
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Label systeme.io's own links
Free plan pages show an affiliate badge (Display an affiliate badge to earn lifetime commissions) and emails end with "Sent with systeme.io", which article 2008 calls "an affiliate link used to promote systeme.io". Free users cannot remove either. If they can earn you a commission, the rule you give referrers applies to you: label them, as in this footer template.
For the sending domain and email footer on the same account, see Part B of the walkthrough.
Sources
- Endorsement, clear and conspicuous, material connections, advertiser liability and duties: 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (eCFR)
- Wording, home-page disclosures, "Paid link", monitoring programs and duration, incentives and reviews, legal force: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (FTC)
- Rewards for referrals and forwarded email: CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (FTC)
- Link spam, required links, qualified paid links (last updated 28 August 2026): Spam policies for Google web search; sponsored links: Qualify your outbound links to Google
- Incentives for reviews, selective requests: Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Generated Content Policy Help)
- Free plan limits, transaction fees and Startup price, as listed on 30 October 2026: systeme.io/pricing
- Program settings, defaults, order form commissions, payment date, lifetime affiliation, "www" rule, lead emails: article 699
- Affiliate IDs, links, opt-in page, dashboard access: article 212; dashboard menu path and contents (systeme.io's own program): article 162
- Payout method prerequisites, menu path and options: article 2102; affiliate invoices, payout details, marking as paid: article 701
- Affiliate badge: article 286; "Sent with systeme.io": article 2008