Like most websites, Pickr has previously relied on advertising to keep the site running, covering web and maintenance costs, and the occasional coffee for its founder and editor, Leigh Stark.
We tried to keep advertising on the website low, simply because we believe the research matters, and wasting your time with an ad block every couple of paragraphs isn’t just frustrating to deal with, but impacts the research experience. In short, we believe you’re less likely to trust us if we shove ads in your face every chance we get.
As such, advertising on Pickr aims to be minimal where needed. It’s true that you’ll find at least one ad on each article on the site, though we try to deliver a configuration that isn’t in your, avoiding ads like interstitials (the annoying ones that stop you from reading the site while you see an ad) and anchor ads (the also-annoying ads that sit at the very top and bottom of the site while you read).
In short, we’ve tried to keep our ads the least annoying kind as possible. We need ads to keep the site going, but we don’t want to bug you too much with them.
Ads on Pickr
As of August 2024, there are no ads on Pickr. As part of a shift and test to make the site easier to read for audiences, we have removed ads entirely.
Previously, the ad spots you could find on Pickr were supplied by Google AdSense, connected with both your browsing history and your viewing on the site, which is how AdSense works. With a move by Google to calculate publisher ad costs by how many impressions they receive (CPI), you may see as many as 4 or 5 ads per page on Pickr, though this will be based on how many words and paragraphs are found in the text. Smaller articles would see a smaller number of ads, in line with the aim to keep Pickr’s ad impact minimal.
Affiliate links
One method review websites are known to use to help recoup costs is with affiliate links. Simply put, it’s a link that when you purchase something through it, the website makes a portion of the sale through it.
As of 2024, none of the thousands of news, reviews, and buyers guides use affiliate links on Pickr. We’ve previously experimented with the idea and found it wasn’t for this site.
As such, not a single story, article, news, review, or buyers guide has been paid for. Pickr is fiercely independent, and is very much about being as honest and direct with readers as possible.
Sponsorship & advertising opportunities
While advertising on Pickr aims to be minimal, we have previously offered to work with brands to build out sponsored articles and content aimed at being impactful beyond the basic ad block.
When advertised content was used on Pickr, it will be noted with a “Sponsored” tag on the page to let you know that the content you’re looking at has been paid for.
However, as part of our push to remove ads from the website, sponsored content is currently not available.
Company & reader support
While trying to keep our website free of advertising is vital to remaining independent, so too is support from companies and readers. As such, Pickr offers a company and reader support program which helps keep the site afloat.
No one is required to support Pickr, but if you choose to, we’ll say something nice, and if you’re a company, you can support the website to gain access to anonymised insights and data that can help with your marketing.