You must truly be an intrepid explorer, because you’ve ventured onto our disclosures and editorial policies page! (Sit, sit, pull up a chair.)
Here we’ll explain:
- How the content on Indie Traveller is created
- How the site makes money (and how it affects you)
Our content creation philosophy
Our mission is to share no-nonsense travel guides to help you plan your next adventure.
We adhere to these principles:
Honest, tell-it-like-it-is travel guides. Simply put, we’re not here to hype places up or to do the travel industry’s work for them. Not every place needs to be the best thing since sliced noodles. Some places or experiences are just okay or might be fun to check out if you have a specific interest. At Indie Traveller we will tell you what to expect, good or bad, while trying to be as helpful as we can.
No SEO. You may have heard that many websites follow Search Engine Optimization practices. This usually means trying to guess popular search queries on Google and then exactly matching pages against them. This is how you get blogs with such riveting topics as “Best mosquito spray for Thailand” or “is Austria in Australia” (yes, this is real!). While we do try to write catchy titles and descriptions so people can find our content, we don’t use keyword research methods and don’t play to the algorithms.
Expert writers. Everyone who writes for Indie Traveller has been selected for their personal knowledge and experience — yes, we actually visit the places we write about! While we also regularly add updated information through research (such as alternative travel options or additional background facts), the core of each post is always the writer’s experience of doing the thing.
Strictly no AI. Artificial intelligence can do many wondrous things. Alas, an AI can not itself travel, have opinions about travel or, well, be human. Since AI answers are merely a machine’s interpolation of the most commonly written words on a subject, the advice is often highly generic anyway (and sometimes incorrect). We do not use AI to write articles, only writing in our own words and based on our own experiences. And if you see some em-dashes… well, those are entirely ours — because we refuse to give up our precious em-dashes!
We believe these principles let us create travel guides that are more useful to you. In the end we’re not exactly investigative journalists (just a bunch of people writing about their trips) but we do try to be as accurate and helpful as we can.
It is sometimes difficult to keep up with all the developments in tourism, so if you spot an error or a destination has changed, please let us know.
Why not write for us?
Our commercial policies
How does the site make money?
While all content on Indie Traveller is free, the site makes money in a couple of ways. The main sources are:
- banner advertising
- book sales
- affiliate commissions
As a general rule we don’t do paid content, sponsorships, or paid trips of any kind. When we travel we pay for our own accommodation and travel activities just like any traveller would.
A key income stream are the banner ads you see placed within or next to the content. We know they can be annoying or distracting sometimes, but they are a necessary part of the revenue mix and they help us fund the content we produce. The ads are inserted programmatically (i.e. automatically) by our ad provider Mediavine.
What are affiliate links?
Affiliate links are another commercial element that let us earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase at a 3rd party website.
For example, when we link to the Hostelworld booking site, this is usually an affiliate link. If you follow such a link and then make a booking, Hostelworld gives Indie Traveller a kick-back (usually a small percentage of the booking fee). This comes at no extra cost to you.
We love affiliate links as a way to monetize a site as it’s relevant, can help you out directly, and we’re totally in control of these links. No one is telling us what to write or what to link to and, in most cases, we don’t even have any direct contact with these partners (as these links typically use automated systems). We can recommend or un-recommend any product or service at any time and only link to products or services we believe in.
Affiliate links are a win-win for you and us, which is why they’re the main way we monetize the site.
You can view our privacy policy here.
P.S. Amazon legally requires us to put a particular disclosure phrase on the site, so here goes: “I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” Just so you know.
