Software Advice Guidelines for Product Listings
Welcome to Software Advice! Please take time to read our product listing guidelines
These Guidelines for Product Listings (“Guidelines”), which are incorporated by this reference into the General Vendor Terms, govern the use of our Sites, Services and Content by Software Advice and our Affiliates (“Us”) and all Vendors, both Basic and Upgraded (“Vendors”).
Product Listings are high-level descriptions of Vendor’s products (including vendor name & logo, product name & description, screenshots) created by Us or Vendor and featured in Software Advice and our Affiliates (“Our”) online software categories (“categories”).
For a glossary of additional definitions used in these Guidelines, please click here.
The Basics
Product Listing Creation:
In order to be a comprehensive resource for software buyers, we include all software product listings that are currently marketed or sold and fit in a category. To provide the most helpful software-buyer experience, Our catalog team will determine whether a product is a logical fit for a category through research on the vendor’s website.
We will either create these listings from publicly available information or work with the software vendor to create and/or update a listing that is accurate and best reflects the product’s features.
Criteria for Posting Product Listings on our Sites:
Our aim is to list all B2B software solutions that fit within one or more of our categories. Among the criteria for inclusion are:
It is B2B or B2C software – we do not list marketplaces or database websites, personal productivity solutions, product clones and/or personal apps.
It is a packaged (pre-built / off-the-shelf) solution – we do not list custom-made/bespoke software/
It must fit, at Our sole discretion, within one of the existing categories.
It must be publicly available.with a call to action that highlights an offer on sale to the public including, but not limited to, a software trial, demo, or request for more information. We will not list products when, at Our sole discretion, the only call to action is to “join a waitlist”or something similar.
We will allow software products in beta to be listed on our site(s) when there is a working website promoting the product, highlights an offer on sale to the public, and at least one review collected within the first calendar year of being added to the site(s).
It must be listed under the product name on the vendor’s website or other location directly owned and controlled by the vendor - we do not list reseller names, integrators, consultants, or other third parties — unless the vendor expressly authorizes a reseller to list the product on their behalf.
Notwithstanding, we allow authorized resellers to participate in our lead generation programs. However, when the parent company requests lead generation for their product, the parent company will take precedence and the reseller will be disabled.
PLEASE NOTE: While our sites serve as a platform to host software product listings, we are not responsible for ensuring the legal and/or regulatory compliance of these software products. For information on a software product’s legal and/or regulatory standing, site users will be directed to the software vendor directly through their website.
Product Listing Removal:
At Vendor Request: In keeping with our goal to be a comprehensive resource for software buyers, we will not remove software product listings that are currently marketed or sold and fit in a category. We will work with the software vendor to update the listing to ensure it is accurate and best reflects the product’s features.
If a software vendor is no longer in business and/or the product listed is no longer being sold (clearly reflected on the company website), we will either (i) review and remove the product listing from the catalog; or (ii) keep the listing and indicate that the product is no longer sold or discontinued.
At Our Discretion: We reserve the right to modify or remove a Product Listing and/or Product Profile if, in our sole discretion, the listing or profile fails to comply with these Guidelines. As a rule, we do not remove Vendor Product Listings or Product Profiles unless: (i) the Product Listing or Profile does not fit within at least one of the existing software categories; or (ii) there is evidence to demonstrate that the Vendor’s product is no longer actively being marketed and/or sold to the public.
If through the course of ongoing maintenance and review of our catalog, we discover that an existing product listing no longer fits in a category and/or is not a legitimate, packaged B2B software product, it will be reviewed and removed.
Product Listing Guidelines:
Below are Our Guidelines for written content and image assets. For additional assistance on these Guidelines please contact gdm_catalog@gartner.com.
The Do’s
Do ensure the product description is unique (not copied from another site) and a true product overview
Do ensure product name matches product name on Vendor’s Site
Do ensure that destination URLs work and point to Vendor’s Site
Do use standard spelling and grammar
The Don’ts
Do not write in first person point of view (e.g. we, our, us), use the product or company name
Do not use overly comparative language and superlatives (e.g. best, most, fastest)
Do not use offensive, obscene or defamatory language
Do not include calls to action (e.g. Click here for a free trial) and personally identifiable information in the product description (e.g., phone, email, fax, URL)
Do not include suffixes in the company name (e.g., no Inc, Corporation, LLC, etc.)
Do not use repeated or unnecessary punctuation marks or excessive capitalization
Do not use line breaks, symbols, special characters, or HTML tags
Screenshot and Video Guidelines
At least one screenshot or video is strongly encouraged for your listing. If you submit a screenshot, you grant Us the right to use it in the ordinary course of our business to administer Your Product Listing; and you agree to follow these guidelines:
Do ensure screenshots display the software’s real user interface
Do ensure the video is recorded in English
Do ensure the video is about the product
Do ensure the video is either a YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia link
Do not use any stock images or marketing jargon in your screenshots
We reserve the right to make changes to these Guidelines at any time without penalty by posting notice of such change on our Sites. Your use of Our Sites and/or Services after such notice has posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Guidelines.
Last Updated: March 2019