Advertising Policy
This policy describes how advertising is handled on Pulse Of Your City: what kinds of ads can appear, what labels they carry, what limits I place on ad placement and behaviour, and how advertising is kept separate from editorial content.
Editorial independence
No advertiser, sponsor or affiliate partner has editorial control over the site. The lists of restaurants, attractions, sports leagues, news sources, schools, deals and gas stations are chosen on usefulness — not on whether the venue or retailer pays. There is no "buy your way onto a list" option and no paid placements in the editorial cards. If that ever changes for a specific page, that page will carry a "Sponsored" label and the change will be noted here.
Display advertising
The site is approved for display advertising through Google AdSense (publisher ID ca-pub-4954126923275910). When ads are running, they appear in a small number of clearly demarcated slots and are required to follow Google's advertising program policies, which prohibit (among other things) sexually explicit content, weapons, adult dating, deceptive ads, and ads that imitate site UI.
Ad placements on the site comply with the following constraints:
- Ads do not cover or obscure navigation, headings or article content.
- Ads are visually distinct from editorial content.
- Ads do not imitate site UI elements or trick visitors into clicking by looking like buttons or menus.
- No pop-ups, pop-unders or interstitials are used. Sticky or "anchor" ads are used sparingly, only where the AdSense program permits, and never on policy or trust pages.
- Ads load asynchronously and do not block initial page rendering.
Affiliate links
The Buy Local page contains Amazon Associates affiliate links. These are disclosed on the page itself ("As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases") and described in more detail on the editorial policy. The affiliate relationship does not change which products are surfaced — picks are chosen for local fit, not commission rate — and there is no other affiliate program operating across the site.
Sponsored content
To date, the site has not published sponsored editorial content. If that ever changes, sponsored articles or cards will be labelled "Sponsored" or "Paid partnership" at the start of the page, in a font size at least as large as the surrounding body copy, and the relationship will be disclosed in plain language. Sponsored content will never be presented as if it were independent editorial.
Categories the site won't accept
Even where Google AdSense would technically permit an ad to appear, I reserve the right to block category-level advertising on the site for any reason. Categories already on my block list include: predatory lending, "get rich quick" investment pitches, MLM recruitment, and political-campaign advertising of any party. I do not pre-screen every individual ad served by AdSense — that's the nature of programmatic advertising — but I act on reader reports of inappropriate ads within 48 hours.
Reporting an inappropriate ad
If you see an ad on the site that violates Google's advertising policies or seems out of step with the policy above, please email feedback@exploreallplaces.com (see the contact page for context) with a screenshot if possible, the URL of the page where you saw it, and a short description. I follow up with Google AdSense's reporting tool and, where appropriate, add the advertiser to the site-level block list so the ad doesn't reappear.
Privacy and tracking
Ad-related cookies, similar technologies and the tracking implications of displaying ads are covered in the privacy policy and the cookie policy.
Policy last reviewed: May 21, 2026.