Publisher & placement rules

01Purpose and scope

These rules cover publisher admission, editorial context, placement implementation and traffic quality. They complement the terms of service, which govern the commercial relationship, revenue, payments and termination. Advertising policy governs the advertiser’s message and destination.

An invitation, an account or a visible sample ad does not authorise live commercial delivery. Approval must cover the specific site and placement, and activation follows the agreed operational process.

02Publisher admission and editorial requirements

Participation starts with a personal invitation. CoreAds reviews the actual site and assigns its Developers, Creators or Tech Professionals circle according to the editorial audience. An invitation, registration or circle assignment does not by itself approve a site or activate inventory.

Provide the domain, the identity of its owner or authorised operator, a working contact and a description of the content and traffic sources. An operator acting for another owner must have authority to install advertising and enter the proposed agreement. CoreAds may request proportionate evidence of that authority.

• Publish original content or content you have permission to distribute, with a clear editorial purpose relevant to the proposed circle. A site made only to generate advertising events does not satisfy this requirement.
• Keep navigation usable and the site reachable, and identify the operator through appropriate legal and contact information. Do not distribute malicious code or conceal the actual page behind a misleading preview.
• Explain material paid or incentivised traffic sources. Do not represent bought, automated or redirected visits as an established editorial readership.
• Admission is specific to the reviewed site and proposed integration. No minimum readership, guaranteed revenue or acceptance based only on traffic volume is established by this policy.

03Site ownership and placement approval

The publisher must control the site and be authorised to place advertising there. Submit the actual domain, page context and proposed placement. A material domain, ownership, audience or page-layout change can require a new review.

Approval for one placement does not automatically extend to other domains, applications, embedded third-party pages or additional units. Use the placement assigned to that site rather than copying another publisher’s identifier.

04Suitable editorial contexts

A placement should sit alongside useful, original content relevant to the agreed audience. The surrounding page should make it clear what is editorial, what is navigation and what is advertising.

• Within an article: place the unit at a natural break without cutting off a sentence or obscuring the text.
• Beside an article: use a genuine sidebar with sufficient width and separation from navigation or other controls.
• After an article: keep the ad separate from comments, download buttons and editorial recommendations.
• Other positions, sticky behaviour or multiple simultaneous units require explicit review for that configuration.

05Advertising identification

The supplied advertising disclosure, including the CoreAds attribution, must remain visible, legible and associated with the ad. Do not crop it, cover it, reduce its contrast or move it outside the unit.

Do not describe an ad as independent editorial advice, a system warning, a private message or a required action. A theme may fit the publisher’s visual identity while the advertising nature remains clear.

06Dimensions and responsive behaviour

The unit must render at its actual size within the available container. Use the supported publisher controls for width, spacing, type and colours. Responsive means adapting the presentation to the space available, while keeping the image proportions and text readable.

Horizontal and vertical arrangements are presentation choices. A preview’s measured width and height describe that example, not a universal mandatory banner size. Test the installed unit with the actual page styles and device widths.

• No CSS zoom, transforms or forced stretching to exaggerate the unit or shrink its disclosure.
• Preserve the image proportions and the approved renderer’s handling of the full creative. Do not add an external crop or overlay.
• Do not force a fixed iframe height that clips copy, the call to action or attribution. Allow the supplied integration to manage its height.
• Avoid horizontal page overflow and layout shifts that move a clickable ad under a reader’s pointer or finger.

07Creative integrity and publisher themes

The publisher controls the approved presentation, not the advertiser’s message or destination. Do not replace the image, rewrite claims, change a link, insert an extra button or impersonate the advertiser. Any approved interaction, such as revealing copy, must remain operable.

Colour and type choices must preserve readability and the distinction between the ad and surrounding content. Check the actual result on mobile as well as desktop, including focus indicators and touch controls.

08Reader control and accidental clicks

Advertising must not block essential page functions or require a click to continue reading. Keep appropriate separation from menus, close buttons, media controls and other high-interaction areas.

• No invisible click layers, deceptive close buttons, forced redirects or automatic opening of advertiser destinations.
• No payment, reward, access condition or instruction that encourages a person to click merely to support the publisher.
• No unapproved pop-ups, interstitials or overlays covering content. Do not disguise the unit as a download, a consent choice or an operating-system control.

09Traffic quality and measurement integrity

Traffic and interactions must come from genuine readership. Do not generate impressions or clicks through bots, automated browsing, click exchanges, repeated self-clicking or incentives. Do not test a live campaign by repeatedly clicking its ads.

Do not hide units, stack ads behind one another, render offscreen solely to generate events, manipulate viewability signals or forge measurement requests. Refresh and rotation must follow the approved integration; a custom timer must not create extra billable activity.

Report unusual traffic or a suspected measurement issue promptly. Technical requests, rendered impressions, viewability and clicks are distinct signals; their treatment follows the approved measurement rules and commercial agreement.

10Installing and maintaining the integration

Use the tag generated for the correct publisher site and placement. Keep its placement identifier and delivery destination intact. Do not proxy, rewrite or wrap the integration in a way that changes origin checks, event handling, links or disclosure.

A normal empty placement is not permission to insert an unreviewed alternative. Any fallback, refresh mechanism or third-party tag must be authorised for the configuration. Changes to a site template, consent system or content security policy should be checked against the integration before release.

11Privacy and data handling on publisher sites

The publisher is responsible for the privacy information and consent controls applicable to its own site. Explain the advertising integration accurately and obtain consent where required before enabling optional storage or tracking. A CoreAds approval is not a substitute for that assessment.

Do not place names, email addresses, account credentials or other unnecessary personal information in placement URLs, identifiers or page parameters passed to the ad service. Additional audience data, pixels or external measurement require a separate review of purpose, authority and applicable safeguards.

12Checks before and after publication

Use the Media Kit to explore presentation and the publisher test page to understand an actual integration. The test page shows sample creatives; it is not a forecast of campaign performance or a substitute for checking your own installed placement.

• Check narrow mobile, tablet and desktop widths, including orientation changes and long text.
• Confirm that the whole ad fits, the disclosure can be read and approved controls work with touch and keyboard.
• Confirm separation from editorial controls and correct behaviour when an ad is absent or a network request fails.
• Repeat the relevant checks after changing the page template, placement styles or integration code.

13Review, correction and suspension

A placement may need correction, a new review or temporary suspension if it obscures content, causes accidental clicks, violates the approved configuration or presents a security, privacy or traffic-quality concern. Urgent protective action may be necessary while facts are checked.

To request a review, provide the page URL, placement reference, affected device and a description or screenshot that avoids unnecessary personal data. Re-enablement follows confirmation that the issue has been resolved. Treatment of payments or adjustments follows the separate commercial agreement, not an automatic penalty created by this policy.

14Questions and policy changes

Contact CoreAds before using a placement in a way that is not covered by its approval. Keep a record of the approved configuration and relevant written instructions. A material policy update should identify what an existing publisher needs to change and how it will be reviewed.

For remuneration, exclusivity, reconciliation and termination, consult the terms of service and your accepted agreement. Consult the privacy policy for CoreAds processing and the advertising policy for creative content. The version date identifies these site and placement requirements.