Editorial Policy

What This Policy Covers

This policy applies to everything published on soundtester.net, whether written by our team or a guest contributor. Each content type has its own extra rules, explained further down.

How We Meet E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. It comes from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines, where trust is the most important part and the other three support it. Here is how each one shows up in our work.

People-First, Non-Commodity Content

Commodity content is the kind anyone could write in minutes by rewording the top search results. It adds nothing new. Google asks whether content provides original information, reporting, research or analysis and whether it adds substantial value beyond what is already out there. We hold every page to that test.

Before a page goes live, the editor asks: would someone who landed here feel they learned enough to solve their problem, and would they trust it enough to recommend it to a friend?

Google Search Guidance We Follow

We follow Google Search Central's published guidance on helpful content, product reviews and spam. We do not chase each update with quick changes. Pages that are useful to people are the ones that hold up, so our policy stays the same whichever update is rolling out.

Recent Google updates we track

1. March 24, 2026March 2026 spam updateA short global spam update. We checked that no page breaks the spam policies.
2. March 27 to April 8, 2026March 2026 core updateA broad ranking update. We reviewed pages against the helpful content questions, not against rank changes.
3. May 21 to June 2, 2026May 2026 core updateAnother broad core update. Same approach: improve usefulness, not chase signals.
4. June 24, 2026June 2026 spam updateA global spam update across all languages.
5. August 18, 2026August 2026 spam updateTargeted spam policy violations, with link spam and site reputation abuse handled by separate systems.

Spam policies we never break

• Scaled content abuse: we never publish many pages made mainly to manipulate rankings, whether made by people, automation or AI.
• Site reputation abuse: we never host third-party content that uses our site's standing to rank for topics we do not cover.
• Link spam: we never sell links that pass ranking credit. Paid or sponsored links use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
• Thin affiliate pages: we never publish pages that only copy product details with affiliate links and no added value.
• Hidden text, cloaking and doorway pages: what readers see is exactly what search engines see.

How New Tools Are Added

A tool is only added when it answers a real need that people have and that our existing tools do not already cover. Every new tool goes through these steps before it is published.

1. Need checkWe confirm people are looking for it through search demand, forum questions and visitor requests, and study what the best existing tools offer.
2. Method planWe write down how it measures or generates sound and which standard or source the method follows.
3. Build and privacy checkThe tool is built with the Web Audio API. Microphone audio must be processed on the device and never uploaded.
4. Device testingIt is tested on wired and Bluetooth headphones, laptop and desktop speakers, built-in and USB mics, and in all major browsers on mobile and desktop.
5. Accuracy checkReadings are compared against known reference signals. Results must be repeatable before launch.
6. Safety checkThe tool starts at a safe volume and warns before loud or high-frequency sounds.
7. Content reviewInstructions, result explanations and limits are written in plain words and checked by a second team member.

How We Review Audio Gear

Our reviews follow Google's guidance on high quality reviews. A review must help someone decide, not just describe the box.

• Hands-on only. We use the product for real listening, calls or recording before writing. If we have not used it, we do not review it.
• Show the evidence. Reviews include our own photos, measurements from our tools where they help, and how we tested.
• Compare fairly. We say how a product compares with others at a similar price and who should buy something else.
• Pros and cons. Every review lists real downsides, even for products we recommend.
• No paid verdicts. Brands cannot pay for a review, a score or a place in a list. Free review samples are disclosed and do not change the verdict.
• Re-checked. Recommendations are reviewed when new models launch or prices change a lot.

Guides And How-To Standards

A guide must get the reader from problem to fix with as little effort as possible.

• Answer first. The quick answer comes in the opening lines, with detail after.
• Steps we have done. Every step is followed on a real device, and menu names match the current version of Windows, macOS, iOS, Android or the app named.
• One task per guide. Each guide covers one job well instead of many jobs thinly.
• Linked to a tool. Where a tool can confirm the fix, the guide links to it so readers can test right away.
• Dated and versioned. Guides show when they were last checked, because settings menus change.

Hearing And Health Content

Hearing and noise topics affect people's health, which Google calls Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content. These pages get our strictest rules.

• Facts come only from health bodies and research, such as the WHO, NIOSH, the NIDCD and peer-reviewed studies.
• We never diagnose, and we never suggest an online test replaces a hearing test by an audiologist.
• Pages tell readers to see a doctor for sudden hearing loss, ringing that does not stop, ear pain or dizziness.
• Where a page has been checked by a qualified health professional, their name and role are shown on it.
• Health pages are reviewed at least every six months, or sooner when guidance changes.

Blog Ideas And Guest Contributions

We welcome ideas from readers and articles from people with real audio experience, such as sound engineers, podcasters, musicians, IT support staff and audiologists. Every submission is judged by the same rules as our own work.

How to send an idea or article

1. Send a short pitch firstUse the Contact page and choose Suggest a tool or Business. Include the working title, the problem it solves and why you are the right person to write it.
2. We reply with a yes or noIf the idea fits, we agree the outline, length and which of our tools it should link to.
3. You write the draftFollow the style rules in section 11 and add a source for every fact and number.
4. We edit and fact-checkOur editors check every claim, test any steps and may cut or change parts. You approve the final version.
5. Published with your nameThe article goes live with your byline and bio, and follows our corrections policy from then on.

Reader ideas for new blog posts or tools are welcome too, even without writing them. We cannot reply to every idea, but every one is read and the most requested are added to our plan.

Our Use Of AI

Google's guidance says what matters is the quality and usefulness of content, not how it was made, and that using automation mainly to manipulate rankings breaks its spam policies. Our rules go further.

• AI tools may help with spelling, grammar, checking code and suggesting outlines.
• AI is never the author. A named person writes, checks and is responsible for every page.
• No fact, number, quote or source is published from an AI tool without a person checking it against the original.
• Experience, test results and opinions in our content come from people, never from AI.
• We never use AI to publish pages in bulk.

Writing Style And Grammar

Clear writing is part of accuracy. Every page is checked for grammar, spelling and punctuation before it goes live.

Language and tone

• US English spelling and grammar, with correct punctuation, tenses and articles.
• Plain words a beginner understands. Technical terms are explained the first time they appear.
• Active voice and short paragraphs, with the main point first.
• A friendly, helpful tone with no hype, clickbait or scare tactics.
• Inclusive language that does not assume age, gender or ability.

Formatting

• Headings use Title Case and say what the section answers.
• Lists are used for steps and real lists, not to break up every paragraph.
• Bold is kept for the key line a reader must not miss.
• Plain hyphens are used for dashes.

Audio terms and units

• Frequencies are written like 20Hz and 20kHz. Levels are written with a space, like 85 dBA or -12 dBFS.
• We say which weighting a decibel figure uses (dBA, dBC or dBZ) and whether it is sound pressure or digital level.
• Product and brand names follow the maker's own spelling, such as AirPods, JBL and Audio-Technica.

Sources And Citations

We use the best source available and link to it where the fact is used, so readers can check it themselves.

1. Standards and official bodiesIEC, ISO, ANSI, W3C, WHO, NIOSH, NIDCD and government health sites.
2. Peer-reviewed researchStudies in recognized journals, with the year and authors named.
3. Maker documentationOfficial specs and support pages for product facts and settings.
4. Our own testingOur measurements, labeled as ours, with the method explained.

We do not use anonymous blogs, AI chat answers or social media posts as the source of a fact.

Images, Audio And Media

• Product and testing photos are our own wherever possible, or used with permission and credited.
• Screenshots show the real tool or settings screen and are updated when the screen changes.
• Any AI-made illustration is labeled and never used to show a real product or test result.
• Every image has alt text that describes it for screen reader users.
• Test audio is generated in the browser so it plays exactly as described.

Ads, Affiliates And Independence

Sound Tester is free to use. To pay for hosting and development, we may show ads and use affiliate links, which earn us a small fee if you buy through them at no extra cost to you.

• Our editorial team decides what we cover and recommend. Advertisers and affiliate partners have no say.
• Pages with affiliate links say so near the top.
• Sponsored content, if ever published, is clearly labeled as sponsored.
• Ads never change how a tool works or what result it shows.

Updates And Corrections

• Scheduled reviews. Tool pages and guides are reviewed at least every six months, and the review date is shown on the page.
• Real updates only. We change the date only when the content has really changed, never to make a page look fresh.
• Corrections. When we get something wrong, we fix it as soon as we confirm the problem. Important corrections get a short note at the end of the page saying what changed and when.
• Tool fixes. Bugs that affect results are fixed as a priority and tested again on the device where they were reported.

Accountability And Contact

The Sound Tester editorial team is responsible for everything on this site. Learn who we are on the About page, and reach us any time through the Contact page.

This policy is reviewed every six months and updated when our process or Google's published guidance changes. The date at the top always shows the latest version.