Link Placement Policy

Escortpedia offers paid memberships that allow customers to propose a limited number of relevant external link placements. These are commercial opportunities and are separate from independent encyclopaedia coverage.

What a membership provides

Each annual plan provides an allowance of placement requests, subject to editorial acceptance and continued compliance with this policy. Package prices and allowances are shown on the purchase page. A paid account does not guarantee that every proposed link will be accepted.

Placement standards

A link should genuinely help a reader understand a topic, find a clearly identified service or explore relevant additional information. Proposals should identify the destination URL, relevant Escortpedia article and the reason the reference belongs there. Wording, placement and anchor text are determined by editorial suitability rather than by a request for specific search keywords.

We may reject links to misleading, unsafe, irrelevant, low-quality, unlawful or deceptive pages. We may also decline duplicate placements, repeated destination domains, overtly promotional phrasing or requests that would reduce an article's value to readers.

Limits and review

The intended standard is no more than one paid placement by the same customer within a single article and ordinarily no more than two sponsored external links in any article. Some entries may allow none. Proposals are reviewed individually; an unused allowance is not permission to add links automatically.

Pending and approved paid placements both use the membership allowance, regardless of whether they point to the same website or different websites. A one-link membership cannot submit a second placement until allowance is available. Buying additional allowance does not permit a second paid placement in the same article by the same customer.

Internal Escortpedia links do not count as paid placements. Every user-requested external hyperlink is restricted by default, including sources, citations, footnotes, agency websites and biographies. A source may be accepted as evidence without a clickable hyperlink. Contributors cannot obtain free links by labelling their own or another website as a credible source.

Free editorial exemptions

Any contributor may request a free editorial hyperlink review. Requests must explain the factual purpose, why a clickable reference is necessary, the source title and publisher, supporting evidence and any commercial relationship. No website qualifies automatically because of domain authority, age, traffic or reputation. Only an authorised independent editor can approve an exemption and must record a reason. The editor may instead accept the source without a hyperlink, request more information or reject the request. There is no automatic approval deadline.

Agency profiles and verification

Agency identity verification, profile publication, website-link approval and sponsored visibility are independent. A verified badge does not mean the agency paid, and payment does not verify identity. Website buttons and hyperlinks in agency descriptions require their own authorisation. One purchased placement does not permit additional hyperlinks in a biography or profile.

Destination checks and changes

Authorised destinations are checked for unsafe addresses, blocked domains and unexpected redirects. Material changes can suspend a placement for review. Changes to the URL, anchor text, placement or content revision require revalidation and, where material, reapproval. Membership expiry, refund or dispute can disable sponsored links without erasing payment or editorial history. Short-lived network failures are flagged for review rather than treated as proof that a source is unsafe.

Disclosure and search engines

Paid links should be identified as sponsored where appropriate and use rel="sponsored" or another suitable qualifying attribute. A paid account does not buy an unqualified followed backlink, ranking benefit, search indexing, referral traffic or editorial endorsement. We do not sell the removal of a sponsored qualification.

Editorial independence

Customers may not buy or control the conclusions of independent articles. Payment does not entitle a customer to an agency profile, favourable wording, a special credibility badge or the removal of critical but accurate information. Contributors must disclose relevant commercial relationships.

Membership term and expiry

Approved placements may remain live during the active paid membership, subject to ongoing relevance, editorial review and legal compliance. A lapse or cancellation can result in removal of paid placements when the paid term ends. Article restructuring or safety issues may require an earlier change; when a placement is rejected or removed, any credit or refund entitlement is handled under the applicable plan terms and our refund policy.

Requests and concerns

For a placement query, send the URL and relevant article reference to hi@escortpedia.org. For broader standards, read the editorial policy and terms.