Advertising Policy
Buildermuse takes money from advertisers. This page states exactly what that money buys, and — more importantly — what it does not.
Advertisers can buy visibility. They cannot buy Buildermuse’s conclusions.
If we ever fail this standard, the directory stops being worth reading — and then it stops being worth advertising on. The policy protects the advertiser’s investment as much as the reader’s trust.
What payment buys
Visibility
A clearly labelled Featured placement above the organic listings on pages you select.
Presentation
Your logo, tagline, phone number, website link, and service areas on that placement.
Association
A "Presented by" credit on a project feature or intelligence report.
Reporting
A monthly report of clicks your placement received.
What payment never buys
Ranking position
Organic contractor listings are ordered by Google rating and review volume. Supplier and cost data are ordered by our published methodology. Advertising does not affect either, and there is no price at which it would.
The Verified badge
Verification means someone proved they control the business. It is free, earned by claiming a profile, and is not purchasable. A badge you can buy tells a reader nothing, which would make it worthless to the businesses that earned it.
"Best", "Top", or "Recommended"
We do not describe an advertiser as best, top, recommended, or endorsed. Paid placements are labelled "Featured" or "Sponsored" and nothing else.
Data changes
Cost benchmarks, wage figures, material prices and federal bid data come from published sources. An advertiser cannot alter, soften, or suppress a number.
Editorial conclusions
Sponsors do not choose what we cover, do not review copy before publication, and do not see results before they are published.
Competitor suppression
We will not remove, demote, or hide another business because an advertiser asked. This includes the advertiser’s direct competitors on the same page.
Follow links
Every paid outbound link carries rel="sponsored". We do not sell links that pass search ranking signals, and we will decline the request.
How placements are labelled
Every paid placement carries a visible label — “Featured” on directory placements, “Sponsored” on content sponsorships — placed on the unit itself, not in a footnote. Sponsored reports and features additionally carry the line:
Sponsorship does not influence Buildermuse methodology or results.
Paid placements never replace organic results. They are added above them, capped at two per page, and the organic listing for that same business remains in its earned position.
Advertising we decline
- Anything requiring a follow link, guest post, or link insertion for SEO purposes.
- Advertising presented so it could be mistaken for editorial content or for a data figure.
- Businesses we have reason to believe are unlicensed where a licence is legally required.
- Any request to alter, remove, or reorder an organic listing, including a competitor’s.
Corrections
If you find a paid placement that is not labelled, or believe advertising has influenced something it should not have, email advertising@buildermuse.com. We will correct it and say publicly that we did.