SEO Chatter Editorial Policy and Guidelines

Last Updated on 3/3/2023

Ethics Policy

SEO Chatter maintains a high ethical standard for content. If you see anything on the website that you think is incorrect or wrong, we encourage you to let us know so we can investigate it further and remove anything which is factually inaccurate, offensive, or unethical. However, independent journalism is essential to our mission. Therefore, we do not alter opinions, star ratings, or product or service recommendations on request.

Editorial Mission

SEO Chatter’s mission is to organize the fundamental information about search engine optimization so it’s freely accessible and easy to understand for beginner marketers. We publish how-to guides, reviews, and news related to the field of SEO and digital marketing. Content published on the website is created by professional journalists and industry experts that is based on first-hand experience and knowledge. The goal is to produce content that is helpful, positive, actionable, honest, and fair.

Reviews

Products and services that are recommended, reviewed, and receive a star rating on the SEO Chatter website have been independently reviewed by a professional SEO Chatter journalist who has had hands-on experience with the product or service and/or conducted in-depth research to provide honest and authentic information for readers. SEO Chatter journalists are prohibited from accepting bribes to influence recommendations, reviews, and star ratings for products and services featured on the website.

Transparency and Integrity

SEO Chatter primarily creates independent editorial content. We are always transparent if any part of our content is anything other than our own expert opinions. (See Paid Content below).

Opposition to Editorial Corruption

SEO Chatter does not accept payment or receive gifts in exchange for its editorial content. Our journalists may receive access to attend press events and occasionally receive complimentary tickets, products, and services from companies that operate in the digital marketing industry. However, SEO Chatter always ensures its coverage of these experiences, products, and services is independent and never influences reviews or editorial content so that no conflict of interest occurs. If you think a conflict of interest has occurred, please contact SEO Chatter and we will investigate the issue.

Attribution and Sources

The content on the SEO Chatter website comes from journalists, writers, and industry experts, and is attributed as such in the bylines and author boxes. If there is content on the website that comes from another outside source, we will attribute that information to the publisher or source it comes from.

Commercial Content

SEO Chatter’s editorial recommendations are independent and journalism is never influenced by advertisers and commercial content is clearly labeled for readers. Commercial content is funded by advertisers and is compliant with local and platform-specific regulations and with our own ethical policy.

Commercial-funded content falls into three categories:

Sponsored Content

This is independent editorial content that a sponsor has paid to be associated with, often via a published lesson related to the fields of SEO and digital marketing or directly promoting the sponsor’s brand, event, product, tool, or service. Sponsored content is controlled editorially so it meets SEO Chatter’s ethical policy.

Branded/Advertorial Content

This is content that SEO Chatter’s editorial team makes, acting as a creative studio for a commercial partner. It is controlled by the commercial editorial team which ensures it upholds our values, editorial standards, and ethical policy. Both SEO Chatter and the client have sign-off on the content.

Affiliate Content

SEO Chatter adds hyperlinks in editorial content that enable users to explore, try, and purchase products and services that are independently recommended. Some of these hyperlinks direct users to a third-party site via an affiliate link that contains a unique tracking ID in the URL that tells the third-party site that the user has come from SEO Chatter. Editorial content that includes affiliate links is labeled with a Disclosure informing users that SEO Chatter may earn a commission if the user makes a purchase of the product or service after clicking on the affiliate link.

Advertising Content

This is space on our website that is sold to a client. The client uses this space to advertise their own message. Advertising is controlled by the SEO Chatter sales team and we have no input on the messaging unless it is inappropriate for our readers. In that case, we will intervene and not accept the message for advertising on the website. Ads are not labeled but they are easy to recognize because they are branded with the advertiser’s logo.

Plagiarism

SEO Chatter defines plagiarism as any content not created originally by our journalists, writers, or editors for SEO Chatter’s use. We have a no-tolerance policy for plagiarised content and always attribute it as necessary (see Attribution and Sources above).

Syndication and Licensing

If you wish to syndicate or reproduce SEO Chatter’s content (including text, photos, or videos), you can do so freely as long as the SEO Chatter brand name and a hyperlink to the originating web page are credited as the source. Otherwise, you must contact SEO Chatter for permission to use the content.

Factual Accuracy

SEO Chatter editorial content is fact-checked to make sure that all the information is accurate at the time of publishing. However, facts, statistics, prices, availability, features, methods, and other variables can change over time without notice given to the editorial team. If you notice a factual inaccuracy, please contact SEO Chatter and we will investigate the issue.

How to Make a Complaint About Editorial Content

If you’d like to make a complaint about something SEO Chatter has published, please let us know by contacting the editorial team through the LinkedIn Company PageFacebook PageTwitter Account, or Reddit Profile. Make sure to include a description of the issue, the date and time you saw it, and the URL that contains the content.

SEO Chatter aims to respond to all complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible. The editorial team may also need to contact you after filing the complaint if further information is required about the issue. Should a breach of our editorial policy and guidelines be identified as a result of your complaint, we will amend or rectify the content in question in a timely manner.