Influencer marketing is a paid collaboration between a brand and content creators with their own audience, who present its products. Spain, Germany and the US regulate how that commercial relationship must be made clear, and Google asks for paid links to be marked.
Influencer marketing means paying creators to talk about a brand: what the law requires in Spain, Germany and the US, and how to mark the links.
What influencer marketing means
The brand pays for a person's voice in front of their audience: a review on YouTube, a story on Instagram, a video on TikTok. Payment can be money, a free product, a trip or a commission per sale, and the rules of the three countries covered in this entry are not limited to money.
Social media marketing is the brand's work on its own profiles. Affiliate marketing pays per sale or click through tracked links, and many influencers are paid that way. Digital PR aims for mentions and links in the media. Viral marketing is the case where shares carry content far beyond the audience of whoever published it.
How it works
In a typical campaign the brand picks creators by topic and audience, agrees on format and payment, the creator publishes, and the brand measures reach, clicks and sales. The law mostly regulates the publishing step, and each country does it differently.
In Spain, Law 13/2022 of 7 July on audiovisual communication (Ley General de Comunicación Audiovisual) created, in Article 94, the "usuario de especial relevancia", a user of special relevance on video-sharing platforms. Such a user must meet several conditions at once, including significant income and audience, editorial responsibility and establishment in Spain. When they market commercial communications in their videos, the advertising rules of the same law apply to them. Article 121.3 requires commercial communications to be "clearly differentiated from editorial content", and Article 122.3 prohibits covert commercial communication.
Royal Decree 444/2024 of 30 April, in force since 2 May 2024, set the thresholds. They are gross income of at least €300,000 in the previous calendar year from activity on these platforms, at least 1,000,000 followers on a single platform or 2,000,000 in total, and at least 24 videos published in the previous year. Anyone who meets the conditions must register in the State Register. Falling below them only means Article 94 does not apply. This entry does not cover other advertising rules.
In Germany, under Section 5a(4) of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), it is unfair not to identify the commercial purpose of a commercial practice unless it is evident from the circumstances, where the omission is likely to cause the consumer or another market participant to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken. The same provision says there is no commercial purpose in favour of another business if the person acting receives or is promised no payment or similar consideration, and that consideration is presumed unless they show credibly that they received none. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided three influencer cases on 9 September 2021, still under the earlier wording, then Section 5a(6). It found unlawful a post paid for by the manufacturer and not labelled as advertising. For a post without consideration to count as a commercial practice in favour of another business, the court required it to be excessively promotional, and a link to the manufacturer's website was usually enough. The current rule on consideration came after those rulings.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published the revised version of its Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) on 26 July 2023. They require any material connection between the endorser and the advertiser that the audience would not expect to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, including free or discounted products. In social media, the disclosure should be unavoidable. An example in the Guides says a disclosure that only appears after clicking a "more" link is not enough.
Spain
RuleLaw 13/2022, Articles 94, 121.3 and 122.3. Royal Decree 444/2024 sets the thresholds.
When it appliesTo the user of special relevance on video-sharing platforms. Its conditions include at least €300,000 of gross income, 1,000,000 followers on a single platform or 2,000,000 in total, and 24 videos in the previous year. Falling below them only means Article 94 does not apply.
What it requiresCommercial communications clearly differentiated from editorial content. Covert commercial communication is prohibited.
Gifted productPayment in kind counts as income towards the threshold.
Germany
RuleSection 5a(4) UWG.
When it appliesWhen the commercial purpose is not evident from the circumstances and the omission is likely to affect the consumer's decision.
What it requiresIdentify the commercial purpose.
Gifted productConsideration is presumed unless the person acting shows credibly that they received none.
US
RuleFTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), revised version of 26 July 2023.
When it appliesWhen there is a material connection between the endorser and the advertiser that the audience would not expect.
What it requiresDisclose it clearly and conspicuously; in social media, the disclosure should be unavoidable. A disclosure that only appears after clicking a “more” link is not enough.
Gifted productFree or discounted products are a material connection.
Paid link from the creator's blog or website<a href="…" rel="sponsored">Google prefers sponsored and also accepts nofollow. With either one, the link does not violate Google's spam policies.
Only the rules covered in this entry. It does not cover other advertising rules in the three countries.
Three countries, three ways to make advertising recognisable.
Why it matters
Legal risk is shared. Under the FTC Guides, advertisers should give their endorsers guidance, monitor compliance and act on failures. In Germany, the cases the BGH decided were brought against the influencers themselves.
For SEO, the issue is links. When a creator links to the brand from their blog or website in exchange for payment, that is a paid link. Google asks for links that are advertisements or paid placements to carry the sponsored value in the rel attribute, and also accepts nofollow, though it prefers sponsored. Google's spam policies give sending someone a product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link as an example of buying links. With sponsored or nofollow, such links do not violate the policies.
According to what Google spokespeople have said, set out with dates in the social signals entry, a campaign's likes and followers do not improve rankings on their own. A campaign affects search in other ways: more searches for the brand, traffic, and mentions in media that link of their own accord.
Best practices
Put in writing, in every agreement, how and in which format the advertising will be labelled.
Ask for the advertising label to be visible without expanding the text or clicking "more".
Mark paid links on creators' blogs and websites with sponsored.
Check posts after they go live and keep a dated copy.
Measure the campaign with tagged links and sales data, not reach alone.
Common mistakes
Assuming a gifted product does not count as payment.
Relying only on the platform's automatic label without checking that it is easy to see.
Applying one country's rules to a campaign aimed at another.
Buying dofollow links on creators' blogs to improve rankings.
Judging a campaign by likes rather than traffic, sales and mentions.
Manuel Riveiro RodriguezCEO & Digital Strategist
A technical audit covers this and everything else in one pass.
It is the category in Article 94 of Spain's audiovisual communication law. Royal Decree 444/2024 sets the details: gross income of at least €300,000 a year from activity on video platforms, at least one million followers on one platform or two million in total, and at least 24 videos a year.
Does a gifted product have to be labelled as advertising?
In Germany, Section 5a UWG presumes consideration unless the person shows credibly that they received none. In the US, the FTC Guides count free or discounted products as material connections that must be disclosed. In Spain, Royal Decree 444/2024 counts payment in kind as income towards the threshold.
What did Germany's Federal Court of Justice decide in 2021?
On 9 September 2021 it decided three cases about influencers on Instagram. It found unlawful the post for which the manufacturer had provided consideration and which was not labelled as advertising. In the other two cases there was no consideration and no infringement. For unpaid posts, a link to the manufacturer's website was usually enough to make them excessively promotional.
Which attribute should links from a paid collaboration use?
Google asks for the sponsored value in the rel attribute on links that are advertisements or paid placements. Nofollow is still acceptable, but Google prefers sponsored. Google's spam policies list a product sent in exchange for an article with a link as an example of buying links. With sponsored or nofollow, such a link does not violate the policies.
Does influencer marketing improve Google rankings?
Not directly through likes or followers, according to what Google spokespeople have said. It can help in other ways: more searches for the brand, traffic to the website, and mentions in media that later link of their own accord. These effects can be measured in Search Console and in web analytics.
