Separation of function

Editorial decisions — what to cover, how to rank, what score to give, whether to publish at all — are made by editorial staff. Commercial staff sell advertising and manage partnerships. Commercial staff do not commission, review, approve or see editorial content before publication.

What an advertiser cannot buy

  • Inclusion in, or exclusion from, any review, ranking or buying guide.
  • A change to a score, verdict, ordering or headline.
  • Advance sight of coverage, or the right to approve, amend or delay it.
  • Removal of a critical article, or suppression of a correction.
  • An unlabelled placement of any kind.

Sponsored content

Where content is paid for, it is labelled 'Sponsored' or 'Paid partnership' at the top of the unit, is visually distinct from editorial, and is excluded from editorial rankings and recommendation modules. Sponsored content is never written in the voice of a THRYV desk byline.

Affiliate links

Affiliate links appear only after a recommendation has been decided on editorial grounds. Commission rates are not visible to the people who decide rankings, and no product is added, promoted or reordered because it pays more.

Conflicts of interest

Contributors disclose financial interests in companies they cover and are reassigned where a conflict exists. We do not accept gifts, paid travel, equity, or payment from a company we cover.