You have great affiliate products to recommend — but dropping a plain link into your content is not enough. Readers scroll past it. Clicks stay low. Commissions stay low.
What actually works: a clean, structured product box that shows the product image, a short description, the price, and a clear call-to-action button. Exactly the kind of box you see on professional review sites and authority blogs.
The good news? You can add these to your WordPress site for free — without a page builder, without a premium plugin, and without touching any code.
Why Plain Affiliate Links Underperform 📉
Most WordPress users promote affiliate products the same way: a hyperlinked product name, maybe a banner image, and a hope that readers click through. The problem is that plain links blend into your content. They give the reader no visual cue that something worth clicking is here. There is no price anchor, no image, no clear next step. Product boxes solve this by making your recommendation impossible to miss.
What a Good Product Box Should Include ✅
- Product image — visual recognition matters, especially for well-known products
- Title — clear product name, optionally linked
- Short description — one or two sentences on why you recommend it
- Price — a price anchor reduces hesitation
- CTA button — a single, clear action (“View Pricing”, “Get It Now”, “Try for Free”)
- Disclosure text — legally required in most countries for affiliate content
Introducing Smart Displays by ClickWhale 🎁
Smart Displays is a feature built into ClickWhale — the free WordPress link manager plugin. It lets you create fully customizable product boxes and embed them anywhere on your site via Shortcode or Gutenberg Block.
Here is what a finished Smart Display looks like in practice:
The #1 Link Shortener & Click Tracker for WordPress
With ClickWhale, the best WordPress link manager, you can easily manage, shorten, & analyze links on your WordPress website, all while using your own domain!
And here is how easy it is to set one up in the backend:
How to Create a Smart Display — Step by Step 🛠️
First, get ClickWhale if you have not already. Once activated:
- Go to ClickWhale → Smart Displays in your WordPress admin
- Click Add new
- Add a title (the product name)
- Upload a product image (1:1 ratio recommended)
- Write a short description — highlight the key benefit
- Set the price (optional but recommended)
- Choose a ClickWhale link for the CTA button — your cloaked, tracked affiliate URL
- Set your button text (e.g. “View Pricing” or “Get It Now”)
- Save — and copy the Shortcode from the overview
Paste the shortcode into any post or page, or use the ClickWhale Gutenberg Block to insert it visually. Done.
Where to Use Product Boxes on Your Site 📍
- Product reviews — place a Smart Display near the top and at the end of a review post
- Best-of roundups — one box per product keeps the layout consistent and scannable
- Comparison posts — “Tool A vs Tool B” articles convert well with a box for each option
- Resource pages — a curated list of your recommended tools, each as a Smart Display
- Tutorial posts — when you mention a paid tool mid-article, a box makes the recommendation tangible
Built-In Affiliate Link Tracking 📊
Because Smart Displays connect directly to your ClickWhale links, every click on your product box is automatically tracked. You can see exactly how many people clicked, on which pages, and when — all inside your WordPress dashboard. Find out which product boxes convert best and double down on what works.
Global Styling — Set It Once 🎨
Under ClickWhale → Settings → Smart Displays you can define global defaults: button text, colors, border, border radius, and a global disclosure text that appears on every Smart Display automatically — keeping you legally covered without extra effort. Set your style once. Every new Smart Display follows it.
Free to Use For Everyone ✨
Smart Displays are included in the free version of ClickWhale. No upgrade needed. Install the plugin, create your first product box, and start embedding it today. If you want advanced features like detailed click statistics, keyword auto-linking, or e-commerce conversion tracking, those are available in ClickWhale PRO.
Start Displaying Affiliate Products the Right Way 🐳
Stop burying affiliate links in plain text. Give your recommendations the presentation they deserve — and give your readers a clear reason to click.
Get ClickWhale for free and set up your first Smart Display in minutes.
