History
This hyperlinking policy was revised and adopted by BOC on August 23, 2017. This policy is posted in the Terms and Conditions section on bbb.org. It applies to CBBB and BBBs.
Adoption: December 4, 2000
Amended: August 7, 2006 (to allow certain forms of online linking)
Amended: September 20, 2014 (to bring policy into conformance with other brand-related policies)
Amended: April 9, 2015 (significantly revised to be consistent across all departments/functions, more easily enforced, and consistent with current law)
Amended: August 23, 2017 (Addition of Social Media Button paragraph and general updating)
Amended: March 2, 2020 (Elimination of the Social Media Button per Brand Committee vote February 4, 2020 and update CBBB to IABBB)
For International Association of Better Business Bureaus (IABBB) and member BBBs
Inbound Links
IABBB, separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, (collectively “BBB”) welcome the opportunity for third parties to link to the following websites, so long as the links are used in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Policy:
- BBB.org
- give.org
- bbbmarketplacetrust.org
Terms and Conditions
Third parties may link to our home page, publications, educational or consumer information, business profiles, charity reports and/ or to other website information so long as the link:
- is not in any way misleading;
- does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the linking party and its products, services or membership;
- appears without the use of any confusingly similar logo or border around the content;
- correctly uses the name “Better Business Bureau”, “BBB”, “BBB Wise Giving Alliance”, “Advertising Self-Regulatory Council”, “BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust”, or “International Association of Better Business Bureaus”;
- uses the uniform resource locator (“URL”) being linked to or any other description of the IABBB or BBB website or material being linked to that makes sense within the context and format of content on the linking party’s site; and
- does not reflect unfavorably on BBB (organizations representing inherently suspect types of businesses, such as work-at-home opportunities, are considered unfavorable and shall not be allowed to link).
The BBB Accredited Business and BBB Accredited Charity Seals (the “Seals”) are designed to provide BBB Accredited Businesses and Charities with links from their web pages, and those where they advertise, to their BBB Business Profile or Charity Review. Such use is under license and approval by IABBB and BBB. Non-accredited businesses and charities are strictly prohibited from using the Seals to link to their BBB Business Profile or Charity Review. To obtain information about how to become accredited by BBB, please visit us online at http://www.bbb.org or http://www.give.org.
Outbound Links
From time to time, BBB may, with permission from the site owner, decide to link to websites that we determine may be of interest to our visitors. These websites may offer educational, governmental or other resources or may be owned or controlled by other third parties.
BBB is not responsible for the content of any linked site, any link(s) contained in any linked site, or any changes or updates to the information contained in such sites. We provide links to third party sites only as a convenience and the inclusion of any such link on our site does not imply our endorsement of either the site, the organization operating such site, or any products or services of that organization. A visit to any site or page from our website via any such link is done entirely at your own risk.
We strongly recommend reading any Standard Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Disclaimers or other notifications that may be found on any such third party websites. Under no circumstances will we be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage that is caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with the use of, or reliance on, any content, goods or services available on any site not under the direct control of BBB.