Our editorial policy
This page sets out how we write, check and change what we publish. It is the promise behind every post on Larkspur Ledger, written down so you can hold us to it.
Who writes and who checks
Every post has one named author, who has done the work the post describes. Every post then goes to a second member of the team before it goes live. On our longer guides, that second reader is named at the top of the post as the reviewer, with a link to their profile, so you can see why they know the subject.
We do not publish guest posts or posts written for payment.
How we check facts
- Every number has a source. A number either links to the page it comes from or names the year and the study it belongs to.
- Our own research is labelled. Numbers from the Larkspur content benchmark say so, with the year. Larkspur Studio and its benchmark are fictional, because this blog is the demo of the Khalid blog engine; sample data is always marked as sample data.
- Advice is tested. We only recommend a method we have used on real work, and we say where it falls short.
- Claims get a fact check. When a common belief about search keeps coming up, we check it against the search engines' own documents and publish the verdict, as in our fact check on word count.
How we review tools
We buy or use the free version of every tool we review, on client work, for at least two weeks. Nobody pays to be reviewed or listed, and we do not use affiliate links. When a free tool does the job, we say so. Each review names who tested the tool, for how long, and on what. Read how to choose SEO tools for the scorecard we use.
How we use AI
Our writers may use AI tools to find questions readers ask or to check spelling. A person writes, checks and signs every post, and every fact is checked against its source by a person.
How we keep posts current
Each important post comes up for review every six months. A review that changes nothing moves only the review date. A change that matters to readers moves the "updated" date and says what changed at the top of the post.
How we correct mistakes
When we get something wrong, we fix it, and we say what we changed at the top of the post. We do not quietly rewrite. To report a mistake, use the contact page.
These habits follow what Google describes as helpful, reliable, people-first content, and its E-E-A-T idea of showing who made a page and why they know the subject.