One thing on this site could ever be paid for: a clearly labelled advertisement in a fixed slot. Everything else (whether a business has a listing, what that listing says, whether it is marked as claimed, and what order anything appears in) is decided by the rules on the methodology page and cannot be bought. If advertising is opened later, it will be labelled on the page where it appears, and the pages that carry it will be the same pages whether or not anyone advertises on them.
Can I buy a better position on this site?
No. Listing status cannot be bought. Paid placement exists at all only as a clearly labelled advertisement in a fixed slot, and it never changes what a listing says, whether it is claimed, or where it appears in a table. Those are three separate systems and we keep them separate on purpose.
Will advertising ever influence what a page says?
No, and the structure is meant to make that checkable rather than promised. Advertisements are labelled on the page where they appear, in the same box style, with no wording that reads as our judgement: no "best", no "recommended", no "trusted". Anything with our editorial voice is written by us and carries a source list.
Is advertising on this site open now?
No. Advertising is not open and no advertising is sold or accepted while the site is in its first phase. The rules below are published in advance so that nobody has to guess later what we would or would not do.
Does advertising pay for a listing to exist?
No. Listings exist because something about a business is publicly documented, not because anyone paid. A business that buys advertising gets an advertisement, nothing else, and a business that never pays still appears on the same terms as everyone else.
What would actually be for sale, if anything?
| Item | For sale? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A labelled advertisement in a fixed slot | Possibly, in a later phase | The only thing that can be sold without changing what a page says |
| A listing | Never | Listings follow from documentation, not payment |
| Claimed / verified status | Never | Verifying a domain is a technical step anyone can take for free |
| Position in a table or a list | Never | Tables reproduce third-party data with the order that data arrived in |
| Wording, a favourable sentence, or removal of an unflattering one | Never | Corrections require evidence, not payment |
| A "recommendation" of any kind | Never | This site does not make recommendations at all |
Why publish rules for something that does not exist yet?
Because the failure mode in this trade is visible everywhere: a directory that starts as a reference site, takes money from the businesses it lists, and slowly becomes a shop window, with the wording bending first and the order bending later. Publishing the boundary before there is money on the table makes it possible to hold us to it, and makes it obvious if we ever cross it.
Reviewed 2026-10-01. See also methodology (source rules and the no-score policy), submissions (what we accept from businesses) and complaints (how to challenge anything published here).