Advertising and sponsored placements

Our principles

• The site works without anyone clicking an ad. Every tool, guide and comparison is free and complete. Nothing is hidden behind an ad or a signup.
• Ads look like ads. They’re labelled “Advertisement” and framed so they can’t be mistaken for our content, buttons or results.
• Money never changes what we say. Advertisers, sponsors and affiliate partners can’t buy, edit or preview our profiles, rankings, comparisons, “best suited for” statements, ratings or reviews.

Display advertising

When display ads are switched on, they can appear only in these places, with at most 3 on any page:

• Between article sections: After a section heading’s content in long guides and comparisons (at least five sections).
• End of article: After the article body, before related content.
• Desktop sidebar: Below the page’s own sidebar content on wide screens. Hidden on phones.
• Between content blocks: Between listings on category and section pages.
• Below tool results: On free tool pages, after the tool and its explanation, never inside them.
• Related-content area: Next to related tools and guides near the end of a page.

Ads never appear inside a free tool’s inputs, results or controls, inside forms, in navigation, or above a page’s main heading. Each ad space reserves its height in advance, so content doesn’t jump while you read or type.

We don’t accept ads that are deceptive or harmful. That includes fake download buttons, ads that imitate our interface or system warnings, auto-playing audio, pop-ups and pop-unders, and ads for gambling, predatory lending, get-rich-quick schemes, unlicensed financial products or adult content. If we use an ad network, we’ll name it in our privacy policy, and we’ll ask for consent where the law requires it before any advertising cookies are set.

Sponsored placements (“Featured tool”)

A company can pay to have a tool featured in a clearly marked slot on the home page, at the top of the tool database, or at the top of a category page. Sponsored placements:

• are labelled “Sponsored · Featured tool”, name who paid, and link to this page;
• show the sponsor’s own short message in quotes, attributed to them, next to our unchanged profile description;
• are limited to one sponsored tool per placement, for a fixed period;
• never change the tool’s profile, its position in search results or listings, our comparisons or anything else editorial. Sponsored tools don’t get better positions or coverage elsewhere on the site.

Sponsor messages can’t claim rankings, ratings or our endorsement (for example “best”, “#1” or “recommended by ToolTarvern”). We review every placement before it goes live, and we can decline any sponsorship.

The home page also has an Editor’s pick. That is chosen by us, is never paid for, and is always labelled “not sponsored”.

Tool of the Day is normally an editor’s pick, labelled “Editor’s pick · not sponsored”. A day can be sold as a sponsored pick, which is labelled “Sponsored · Paid placement by …” on the home page and in the archive. The tool must still have passed our editorial review, and the “why it’s useful” text is written by us, not the sponsor. Unsponsored days are never filled at random, and a sponsor can’t buy a day that is already scheduled.

Affiliate links

Some links earn us a commission when you sign up or buy. They’re always labelled, and work the same way whether or not we earn anything. See our affiliate disclosure.

Enquiries

To ask about advertising or a sponsored placement, email support@digitaltarvern.co.za with your company, the tool and the dates you have in mind. We’ll reply with what’s available. We don’t publish rates because they depend on placement and timing.