Last Updated: Fri Apr 25 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0100 (British Summer Time)
Hobo Web, operated by Shaun Anderson, is committed to publishing high-quality, trustworthy content.
This Editorial Policy outlines the standards we follow to ensure all content on Hobo Web serves a beneficial purpose for our users and upholds the highest standards of accuracy and integrity. We follow guidelines, including Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines and comply with applicable laws like the U.S. FTC’s advertising disclosure requirements and other globally accepted laws and recommendations..
All contributors to Hobo Web must strictly adhere to this policy. These standards are enforced through editorial oversight by Shaun Anderson, fact-checking, and regular content audits.
1. Reference Content
Hobo Web maintains rigorous accuracy, sourcing, and editorial standards:
Editorial Oversight & Fact-Checking
Hobo Web ensures all reference content is reviewed by our editorial team or experts in SEO. We never publish anonymous or unverified user-generated content. All content on the Hobo Site is the responsibility of Hobo Web. All content is created by Shaun Anderson, Hobo Web founder, unless specifically designated to another author on the page. All content is fact-checked by Shaun Anderson.
Accuracy, Sources & Citations
Hobo Web ensures reference articles require citations from reputable sources, particularly recognised institutions in marketing, SEO and AI. Articles lacking appropriate citations are not published.
Compliance with Google guidelines
Hobo Web does not purchase backlinks, a Google Webmaster Guidelines violation. Hobo Web does not sell backlinks from this site, either, or via any other site we have access to. We do not purchase guest posts, nor involve ourselves in any link schemes. Do not contact us about buying links, on social or by email. See the Hobo link-building guide and our post on Manual Actions for Unnatural Links.
2. News Content & Journalism Standards
Hobo Web maintains professional journalistic standards for news articles:
Original Reporting & Depth
Hobo Web ensures news articles include original insights and accurate reporting. Sources, including industry authorities and are clearly cited.
Transparency & Reputation
Hobo Web ensures authors and sources are explicitly identified, supporting our site’s integrity within Marketing. Errors discovered post-publication are transparently corrected.
3. Product Reviews & Recommendations
When reviewing SEO Services, Hobo Web ensures authenticity and usefulness:
Honest, User-Focused Reviews
Hobo Web ensures reviews prioritise genuine user experience with SEO services or similar products, avoiding generic descriptions.
Reviewer Expertise & Experience
Hobo Web ensures our reviewers have firsthand experience or expertise within SEO.
Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
Hobo Web and Hobo Web ensures that financial or personal ties to reviewed products or services are clearly disclosed. Manufacturer-created or paid influencer reviews are prohibited.
4. YMYL Topics (Finance, Health, Legal, Safety)
As a commercial website, Hobo Web approaches topics impacting personal well-being (YMYL – Your Money Or Your Life) of our users very, very carefully and requires maximum accuracy and reliability:
Heightened Accuracy & Trust
Hobo Web ensures articles undergo stringent fact-checking against authoritative sources.
Expert Contributors & Sources
Hobo Web ensures content is authored or reviewed by credentialed experts in SEO. High-quality references from peer-reviewed sources are cited. Our primary editor has about 25 years of experience in SEO.
Additional Scrutiny & Updates
Hobo Web ensures YMYL pages are regularly reviewed. Misleading or outdated content is corrected or removed as soon as it is identified. All content on Hobo is periodically reviewed and updated.
5. General Informational Content
General informational content published on Hobo Web is clear, comprehensive, and accurate:
Clarity, Comprehensiveness & Accuracy
Hobo Web ensures articles clearly present accurate information from credible industry sources and standards.
Use of Expert Consensus
Hobo Web ensures articles reflect established consensus among Marketing experts, avoiding unsupported claims.
Readability & User Experience
Hobo Web and Hobo Web ensures content is structured for clarity and ease of understanding, tailored specifically for our Businesses.
6. Affiliate Links, Sponsorships & Advertising
Transparency in monetisation practices is essential at Hobo Web and for Hobo Web. Hobo Web upholds rigorous standards on Hobo Web to maintain reader trust while clearly distinguishing editorial content from advertising and affiliate relationships.
Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure
All content on Hobo Web is managed by Hobo Web and any content that contains affiliate links or sponsored materials explicitly discloses these relationships at the top of articles and prominently alongside relevant links, clearly indicating any financial or commercial interests. This ensures compliance with both the U.S. FTC guidelines and the Digital Services Act (or ‘DSA’).
For example, if an article or page on Hobo Web references products or services through affiliate links, readers will always be informed about the relationship transparently and upfront.
We never include affiliate links in social media posts.
Integrity with Monetisation
Hobo Web maintains strict editorial independence and content integrity in every monetised piece. Affiliate links to SEO Services are included only if they genuinely benefit our users by offering substantial value, useful insights, or informed recommendations. Under no circumstances will content be produced solely to generate affiliate revenue without genuine user benefit.
Hobo Web consistently avoids scenarios where affiliate marketing could compromise the quality or authenticity of the information provided.
Sponsored Content & Native Ads
Sponsored content, including advertorials and native advertising, is always explicitly labelled on Hobo Web using clear and straightforward terms such as “Sponsored,” “Advertisement,” or “Partner Content.” This transparent labelling ensures readers can distinguish independent editorial content from promotional material. Furthermore, any sponsored viewpoints expressed are clearly identified as belonging to the sponsor, explicitly separated from the editorial perspectives and recommendations of Hobo Web or Hobo.
Through these standards, Hobo Web ensures full transparency, honesty, and integrity in our monetisation practices, reinforcing reader trust and our commitment to responsible, reliable content delivery within Marketing.
7. User-Generated Content & Community Contributions
Hobo Web rigorously moderates community-generated content to maintain a trusted, safe, and valuable experience for our Businesses:
Moderation of Comments & Posts
Hobo Web actively manages and moderates user-generated comments, reviews, and contributions using both automated filters and human oversight led by our Shaun Anderson. Spam, off-topic posts, malicious content, or inappropriate contributions are promptly identified and removed to maintain quality. Compliance with UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 is strictly enforced, ensuring that users’ personal data is respected and protected throughout moderation processes.
In line with Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines:
A common problem on forum pages or in the comments sections of pages is ‘spammed’ comments: posts with unrelated comments that are not intended to help other people, but rather to advertise a product or create a link to a website.
If a specific page on a website has many unrelated ‘spammed’ comments, the page should be rated Lowest. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 7.6)
Thus, Hobo Web proactively prevents spam and irrelevant posts to preserve high-quality discussions.
Responsibility for User Content
Hobo Web maintains full responsibility for all user-generated content appearing on our platform. According to Google’s guidelines:
The page may have comments, reviews, or other content posted by users, but the page itself is the responsibility of the website… As long as the website creates and actively maintains the page, the website is considered to be the primary content creator. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 2.5.2)
Consequently, we actively curate, moderate, and maintain content quality, clearly taking ownership of every page hosted under www.hobo-web.co.uk.
User Content Policy & Safety
User-generated content violating our standards, as outlined clearly in ourhttps://www.hobo-web.co.uk/terms-of-use/, is strictly prohibited. Hobo Web enforces comprehensive content policies to eliminate defamatory, harmful, hateful, or illegal contributions. Regular security audits, conducted as recommended by Google’s guidelines, protect our users against malicious activities or security breaches:
Responsible website owners should regularly check their websites for suspicious behaviour and take steps to protect users. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 7.5)
This proactive approach safeguards the safety, privacy, and trust of all visitors and community participants, providing a secure, reliable environment aligned with Scotland in Greenock.
8. E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust
Content on Hobo Web consistently adheres to E-E-A-T principles:
Hobo Web and Hobo Web strictly adheres to the principles of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (E-E-A-T).
Each article, guide, or informational resource published on Hobo Web is rigorously evaluated by our Shaun Anderson and Hobo Web to meet these core standards:
Trustworthiness
Trust is the foundational element guiding our content strategy at Hobo Web. All content on Hobo Web undergoes thorough fact-checking against authoritative references from established organisations.
Accuracy, transparency, and honesty are non-negotiable standards at Hobo Web and Hobo Web, ensuring that our content consistently serves the best interests of our Businesses.
Hobo Web provide clear citations, accessible author details, and prompt corrections whenever inaccuracies are identified, supporting our readers’ trust at every interaction.
Experience
At Hobo Web, genuine, firsthand experience significantly enhances content credibility. We actively select content creators who have direct, personal experience with SEO Services, ensuring our audience receives authentic, insightful information.
For example, product reviews and experiential articles on Hobo Web are crafted by individuals who have personally utilised or tested the offerings described.
Our editors prioritise authors who can directly demonstrate relevant experiences, as personal insights provide deeper context and value to our Businesses.
Expertise
Expertise at Hobo Web is crucial to delivering trustworthy content.
Contributors on Hobo Web are vetted for qualifications and expertise in Marketing, ensuring their knowledge aligns precisely with the topics covered.
Credentials and professional backgrounds are transparently displayed, allowing readers to confidently evaluate the credibility of each author.
When content involves specialised subjects, particularly YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics like finance, health, legal, or safety advice, articles are either authored or reviewed by recognised professionals within SEO, adhering strictly to expert consensus.
Authoritativeness
Authoritativeness is achieved by consistently aligning content with authoritative, reputable sources within Marketing.
Hobo Web actively establishes its credibility by referencing and citing leading experts, reputable institutions, and recognised standards bodies such as the ICO – Information Commissioner’s Office.
The content on Hobo Web routinely incorporates authoritative references, bolstering our position as a trusted resource. Additionally, our authors’ credentials, industry recognition, and associations with authoritative entities reinforce the overall authority of the site.
Through continuous adherence to these standards, Hobo Web solidifies its reputation as a trusted, authoritative source for accurate, high-quality information in Marketing, providing our readers with content they can consistently rely on.
9. Use of Generative AI on the Site
Hobo Web transparently utilises generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support the creation of valuable, informative content (like text, images and video) tailored for Businesses.
Hobo Web uses of generative AI strictly following the principles outlined by Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, prioritising accuracy, trustworthiness, transparency, and human oversight.
Google’s aim is in “Rewarding high-quality content,
Google also explicitly states, “If you see AI as an essential way to help you produce content that is helpful and original, it might be useful to consider. If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then no.”
To avoid creating “search engine first content”, we only use AI to help complete our original thoughts, ideas, experiences or creations. We commit to never using AI to target search engine rankings or specific keyword phrases. All content generated by AI, as of April 2025, is used to add context to our own entity and our own essence online.
Transparency and Disclosure
When generative AI tools are utilised to create, enhance, or supplement content, Hobo Web clearly discloses this usage within each relevant article or page.
In alignment with Google’s guidelines, content on Hobo Web is clear about its origin to maintain trustworthiness:
AI-generated content is not inherently bad, and AI has the potential to create helpful content. As with any other form of content, the extent to which AI-generated content is helpful and beneficial depends on how it is created and used on a website. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 3.4.1)
AI-generated elements on Hobo Web will always be explicitly indicated to ensure readers fully understand the nature and origin of the information.
Editorial Oversight and Human Review
All AI-generated content published on Hobo Web is subject to rigorous human editorial oversight led by Shaun Anderson.
Hobo Web editors carefully review, fact-check, and ensure that AI-assisted content fully meets our accuracy and quality standards before publication, reflecting the guidelines’ recommendation for responsible and helpful use of AI content:
Using automation—including AI—to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies. Content created using automation, including AI, should be produced responsibly, ensuring it is genuinely helpful to users. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 3.4.1)
Hobo Web strictly avoid misuse or deceptive practices associated with automated content creation.
Accuracy, Trustworthiness, and Responsibility
Hobo Web ensures content related to SEO, particularly on Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics, undergoes heightened scrutiny.
We ensure AI-generated content aligns with Google’s emphasis on trustworthiness and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust):
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust (E-E-A-T) are all important considerations in PQ rating. The most important member at the centre of the E-E-A-T family is Trust. (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Section 3.4)
In practical terms, this means AI-generated content on Hobo Web about Marketing undergoes additional verification by human experts and subject-matter specialists to meet rigorous standards of accuracy, safety, and reliability.
Ethical Use and Compliance
Hobo Web uses generative AI strictly in compliance with all relevant regulations, including the Digital Services Act (or ‘DSA’), UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the broader principles outlined by the ICO – Information Commissioner’s Office.
Hobo Web actively avoids misleading, deceptive, or harmful uses of AI, ensuring compliance with both ethical and legal standards applicable in Greenock.
By openly communicating our approach to AI, upholding stringent human oversight, and adhering closely to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Hobo Web ensures that generative AI enhances, not detracts from, the trustworthiness, usefulness, and overall value of our content.
References & Footnotes
This Editorial Policy for Hobo Web ensures alignment with:
- Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines: Google Quality Guidelines PDF
- U.S. FTC Endorsement Guides (as a standard, regardless of region): FTC Endorsement Guides
These documents underpin content standards on Hobo Web, ensuring compliance with recognised industry guidelines, Google QRG, FTC and Scotland.
Editorial Contact Information
For editorial questions or feedback:
- Editorial inquiries: info@hobo-web.co.uk
- Accessibility requests: shaun.anderson@hobo-web.co.uk
- For general inquiries or business information, please visit our contact page at:https://www.hobo-web.co.uk/contact/
- Website: www.hobo-web.co.uk
This policy ensures content integrity and transparency on Hobo Web, safeguarding trust with Businesses and website users.