How we make money

Who pays for what?

• Consumers pay nothing to read or write reviews.
• Businesses can choose an annual plan: Basic, Growth, Pro or Premium. These include review invitations, review widgets for their own website, AI review analysis and more business profiles per account. What each plan includes and costs is set out on the plans page.
• Payments are made through Paddle as Merchant of Record or through a direct invoice from Linktool B.V.
• Pro and Premium include a discount on marketing services from Ranktool.nl. Ranktool is a trading name of Linktool B.V., the organisation behind trustmark.site.
• Through the affiliate programme, partners can earn commission when they refer paying businesses.
• The price of certification is still being set.

What a plan does not buy

• No higher score. The calculation rules for the profile average, response activity and rankings use no data about plans or payments.
• No better position. A website, paid plan or trustmark status gives no priority in the Top 100 by industry.
• No trustmark. A trustmark status only follows from a separate assessment of four areas. Payment never means approval or a favourable assessment.
• No removal of criticism. Payment never guarantees the removal of a review. A negative rating alone is not a reason to reject a review.
• No reviews. We do not sell reviews and do not write reviews on behalf of businesses.

Where management and payment meet

The verified manager of a business profile can approve reviews about their own business. Rejecting a review or withdrawing its publication is only possible for a fixed reason, with an explanation and at most three times in 30 days; we check every hide. This right follows from the profile claim, not from the plan.

If someone with an active paid plan submits a manual profile claim, profile management can be provisionally active until the separate ownership check is complete. If the claim is rejected or changes are required, that provisional management ends. Every decision about a review is recorded in a non-public log.

A plan may list extra options, such as requesting a reassessment of a review. The same review guidelines still apply. The outcome cannot be bought.

Why we tell you this

You should be able to judge whether a score, a position or a trustmark could have been influenced by money. That is why the calculation rules and the trustmark requirements are public. If you see anything that seems to contradict this, please let us know.