How TradeWise Reviews Software: Editorial Standards & Affiliate Disclosure
Updated: Aug 31
TradeWise exists to help UK trades and small businesses make better software decisions. That only works if the articles are useful before they are commercial. So this is the rulebook we use.
We start with the question a buyer is actually trying to answer
Google’s own guidance is blunt on this point: useful, reliable, people-first content should help a real audience achieve a goal, add value beyond simply rewriting other pages and make sourcing and authorship clear. That is a better target than producing articles because a keyword exists.
Provider claims are not treated as independent evidence
Pricing, features and product limitations are checked against current provider pages where possible. Regulatory points are checked against primary sources such as GOV.UK, HSE or ISO. We then make our own comparison or buying judgement. We do not pretend we personally tested a product when we did not.
Affiliate money does not get to rewrite the verdict
If TradeWise can earn commission from a link, that relationship should be clear. UK guidance from the CMA and CAP emphasises that commercial content and affiliate marketing should be recognisable as such. A commercial relationship is a fact to disclose, not a reason to move a product up the rankings.
Corrections beat pretending
Software changes quickly. If a price, feature or rule changes, the useful response is to correct the article and keep the source visible. Quietly changing the date while leaving the research untouched is not our idea of an update.
Bottom line
Short version: check the primary sources, say what is known, separate evidence from judgement, disclose commercial relationships and do not manufacture experience. It is less glamorous than “revolutionising software discovery”. It is also more useful.
Comments