Advertising and Affiliates

Boston Discovery Guide's policies

Have you ever wondered how this website supports itself?

Boston-Discovery-Guide.com is my personal website, and I'm an actual person - not a corporation, or a staff of writers, or a tourist group. I'm not an employee of a tourism office, travel agency, cruise company, or anything else travel-related, and I'm not paid for anything that I write here. I'm happy to tell you that I have sole control over what gets included on the site, and what I write.

Boston Discovery Guide supports itself through advertising and affiliate relationships. Google provides ads - you've probably noticed them on many pages. Affiliate relationships recognize Boston Discovery Guide with a small commission if you purchase or sign up through links on the pages. This is how I'm able to provide all the free content on this website, and continue adding to it.

There are 3 important things to know:

These ads and relationships do not bias or influence what I write or publish
You do not pay any additional fees - you'll pay the same or even less than if you purchased or signed on through them directly
In some cases, Boston Discovery Guide is able to offer special discounts when you buy through our pages (Why? It's because the seller doesn't have to pay for advertising - so they pass part of their savings on to you.)

In the case of Google, they select the ads they show, so if they show an ad for something I've written about, it's a coincidence. They show different ads in different locations, and I only see the Boston ads - so what you see probably differs from what I see.

There are also a few other ads on the site. Several are for affiliates, such as TripAdvisor and Viator. I make sure that ads look like ads, and won't be mistaken for content. I turn down all paid endorsements, as well as ads from companies that don't meet my quality criteria.

Affiliates such as TripAdvisor, Goldstar Events, CruiseCompete, and Amazon represent my deliberate choices. I choose sources for products and services such as event tickets, hotel information, cruise reservations, and Boston-related items that I believe deliver the best value for the money - in fact, these are companies I use myself - usually after a lot of research to figure out which is the best.

And as you can see, I personally prefer companies that find the best prices from different sources, and then let you choose what's best for you. So I'm happy to provide you with links to them. If you use their services or purchase their products and Boston Discovery Guide makes a small commission, that's a win-win and it's what makes the continuation and growth of this site possible. But if you're not comfortable with this, you can always go directly to their site, which means that this site won't make a commission - and that's fine, too - the choice is up to you.

I list the companies with which Boston Discovery Guide has an affiliate relationship at the bottom of this page. I also include lots of links to groups such as Bostix (half-price tickets) where Boston Discovery Guide doesn't have an affiliate relationship - in fact, most of the links on the site are in this category.

One more thing - I pay for all my meals in restaurants, my tickets for attractions or events, entrance fees, etc. I don't do paid endorsements. If a restaurant offered me an "on the house" meal, I'd probably feel so pressured to write something nice that I'd choke on the food - so I don't go down that path, or any other that might be a conflict of interest. My goal is to bring you unbiased information that's accurate and trustworthy.

These are Boston-DIscovery-Guide.com's main affiliate partners:

AceTickets - Large Boston-based ticket reseller, offering tickets to all kinds of events and a 200% guarantee on every ticket they sell
Amazon - Competitive prices, excellent selection, and sometimes free shipping. Boston-Discovery-Guide.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
CityPass - Discount card for top Boston attractions
CruiseCompete - Find the best cruise price by getting free cruise quotes from multiple travel agents
GoBoston and GoSelect cards - Discount cards for Boston attractions, tours, cruises from Smart Destinations
Goldstar Events - Get a free "membership" to access half-price deals on entertainment, sports, local cruises
Groupon - Big discounts on daily deals
HotelsCombined - Enter a location and date, and they'll show you the best hotel prices from 30+ sources
On Location Tours - The best way for film buffs to tour Boston! Use Promo Code "BDG10" for a 10% discount
ScoreBig - Name your own price for tickets to sports events, concerts, and shows
TicketLiquidators - Another large ticket reseller with an excellent guarantee
TicketNetwork - Googd for concert tickets; excellent guarantee
TicketsNow - Owned by TicketMaster; resellers and buyers marketplace; excellent guarantee
TripAdvisor - Great source of hotel reviews by recent visitors
Viator - Tours to interesting places with top-notch guides and transportation

I occasionally add other affiliates for short periods of time, especially when they offer discounts of interest to site visitors, and I'm always on the lookout for other high-quality advertising and affiliates that will give you good discounts or convenience.

If you're a potential advertiser and would like to learn more about advertising on Boston-Discovery-Guide.com, please contact me to discuss your needs. Please note that advertising linking to your site will include the "nofollow" attribute in the html code, per Google policy, and must be readily identifiable by site visitors as an advertisement (as opposed to an ad disguised as content).

Thank you for visiting Boston Discovery Guide - and enjoy your trip to Boston!

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