Advertising policy
How the site is funded, what an organization can and cannot buy, and the wall between commercial placements and the editorial record.
What can be bought
- Referral programmes. An organization may compensate the site for referrals, applications or successful new members. Links are labelled, carry
rel="sponsored", and the relationship is listed on the affiliate disclosure. - Lead-generation programmes. An organization may receive requests from readers who ask for membership information. A request is forwarded only with the reader's explicit consent to the exact fields shared; qualification-tool answers are never shared.
- Enhanced profiles. Expanded photography, video, event listings, an enhanced description clearly labelled as the organization's own, a verified badge, and an analytics dashboard. None of these change the independently researched record, the editorial context, or the organization's place in any list.
- Display advertising. Premium placements in clearly marked positions, kept sparse. The site will not become an ad-supported content farm; no interstitials, no pop-ups, no advertising inside comparison tables or qualification results.
- Research and data subscriptions. Advanced users may in future pay for market reports, historical pricing and trend data drawn from the database. Subscription content never alters what is published freely.
What cannot be bought
- A position in an editorial ranking, or the removal of a competitor from one.
- A comparison verdict, a place in "similar organizations" or "alternatives", or a qualification status.
- A change to independently researched criteria, fees, counts or history.
- The removal of accurate information.
- Coverage itself. Organizations are covered because they are real, relevant and researched.
Labelling
Sponsored organizations are labelled "Sponsored organization", referral relationships "Referral relationship", advertising relationships "Advertising partner", and sponsored placements in guides "Sponsored placement — outside the ranked order". Advertising units are labelled as advertising.
Google AdSense
The site may display advertising served by Google AdSense. Where it does, the cookie and personalisation implications are described in the privacy policy and cookie policy.