How We Handle Sponsored and Paid Commercial Relationships
Services.Contractors may work with advertisers, sponsors, service providers, manufacturers, and other commercial partners. We believe those relationships should be clear to readers and should not be confused with independent editorial judgment.
A paid relationship should not look like an independent recommendation.
When compensation, sponsorship, paid placement, or another material commercial relationship affects how content or an offer appears on Services.Contractors, we aim to make that relationship understandable to the reader.
We do not want homeowners to mistake advertising, sponsored content, or paid promotion for independent editorial judgment.
Compensation can arise in several ways.
The exact relationship may vary depending on the service, advertiser, campaign, or homeowner experience.
A business may pay for clearly identified advertising space or promotional placement.
A company may support a resource, section, tool, educational series, or other appropriate feature.
Services.Contractors may receive compensation related to referrals, introductions, matching, or other business relationships.
In some cases, compensation may result from a reader action, purchase, inquiry, or other qualifying interaction.
The disclosure should be where the reader can notice it.
When disclosure is needed, we aim to place it close enough to the sponsored or paid material that readers can understand the relationship before relying on the content.
We prefer plain-language labels that communicate the commercial nature of the material directly.
Commercial relationships can affect placement without controlling independent conclusions.
Commercial presentation
Independent editorial conclusions
Sponsored material should be recognizable as sponsored material.
Sponsored content may be created with or supported by a commercial partner. When it is sponsored, the commercial relationship should be disclosed clearly rather than presented as if the material were entirely independent editorial coverage.
Sponsored content should still be useful, understandable, and appropriate for the homeowner audience. Sponsorship does not excuse misleading claims, unsupported statements, or unclear disclosures.
Commercial claims should be supportable and understandable.
Advertisers and sponsors remain responsible for the claims they make about their products, services, qualifications, pricing, savings, warranties, availability, or performance.
Services.Contractors may request clarification, substantiation, revisions, or removal of claims that appear unclear, unsupported, or potentially misleading.
Paying Services.Contractors does not turn a contractor into an independent editorial recommendation.
A contractor may participate in a commercial, referral, matching, advertising, or partnership relationship. That relationship should not be interpreted as proof that Services.Contractors has independently verified every aspect of the contractor’s business or work.
A contractor may pay or otherwise participate in a business arrangement with Services.Contractors.
Information supplied by a contractor may remain self-reported unless a specific item has actually been reviewed or verified.
Homeowners should still review licensing, insurance, scope, pricing, contracts, warranties, permits, and project suitability before hiring.
A company can provide useful expertise without purchasing the conclusion.
Contractors, manufacturers, specialists, and industry organizations may provide technical information or professional context. A separate commercial relationship does not automatically determine how that information is used or what conclusion is reached.
Relevant commercial relationships should not be hidden.
When a relationship could reasonably affect how a reader understands a recommendation, placement, review, or piece of content, disclosure may be appropriate.
The goal is not to overwhelm readers with legal language. The goal is to give them enough information to understand the commercial context of what they are seeing.
Paid relationships can begin, change, or end.
Sponsorship or advertising arrangements may be modified or discontinued. Existing content may also be updated when the commercial relationship or disclosure needs to change.
A paid placement or sponsorship may end when the agreed campaign period concludes.
Labels or disclosures may be updated if the nature of a relationship changes or needs additional clarity.
Sponsored or commercial material may be edited, corrected, restricted, or removed when appropriate.
Contact Services.Contractors.
For questions about sponsorships, advertising, commercial disclosures, or partnership opportunities, use our contact page.