How this site is funded

Affiliate Disclosure

Heel Guide earns commission on some of the products it links to. That never decides what goes on the page, and here is exactly how it works.

The short version

Heel Guide participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programmes. When you click a product link on this site and buy something, we may earn a commission. The price you pay is identical either way — the commission comes out of the retailer’s margin, not your pocket.

What a commission does not buy: a recommendation, a ranking position, a favourable review, or silence about a product’s weaknesses. No brand pays to appear here, and no brand sees a page before it publishes.

How a product earns a recommendation

Every product recommendation has to clear the same bar, set out in full in the editorial policy:

  1. There has to be a clinical reason the product suits the problem the page is about — a feature that addresses the mechanism, not just a category match. “Good for heel pain” is not a reason. “A firm heel counter and a rocker sole reduce the load the fascia takes at push-off” is.
  2. The page has to say who the product is wrong for. A recommendation with no exclusions is marketing.
  3. Where a product has been physically assessed, the page says so. Where the recommendation is reasoned from specifications and published evidence rather than hands-on testing, the page says that too.

Where a page has not yet met that bar, it carries no named picks at all. We would rather publish a page with no product list than a list assembled to fill an affiliate slot.

Which programmes

As an Amazon Associate, Heel Guide earns from qualifying purchases. We also participate in other retailer and manufacturer affiliate programmes from time to time. Individual product links carry tracking parameters, and some are routed through link-localisation services so that international readers reach their own regional store.

What we do not do

  • We do not accept payment for a review, a placement, or a link.
  • We do not publish sponsored posts written by a brand.
  • We do not use fabricated testimonials, invented tester panels, or made-up review scores.
  • We do not let a commission rate reorder a list.

Medical products carry real risk

Some of the products discussed here — inserts, night splints, walking boots, braces, compression garments — are not right for every foot. Poor circulation, diabetes, neuropathy, active wounds and recent surgery all change what is safe to put on a foot. Nothing on this site substitutes for an examination. If any of those apply to you, ask the clinician who knows your feet before you buy.

Questions about anything on this page can go to Dr. Tom Biernacki through Balance Foot & Ankle. This disclosure follows the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on endorsements and testimonials.