Editorial Policy: Val App Stories#

This document describes how Val App content is researched, written, fact-checked, reviewed, and corrected. It exists for two reasons: to make our process transparent to readers, and to satisfy Google's E-E-A-T standards for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content.

Linked from the site footer and from every author profile page.

Who we are#

Val App is a home inventory iOS application built by Wishabit, LLC. Our core team writes about home inventory, insurance documentation, organization, collecting, and disaster preparedness because these are the topics our product addresses every day.

Our editorial principles#

1. People-first, not search-first#

We write for readers who actually need this information, not for search engines. If a piece of content cannot answer a real question someone is asking, we don't publish it. Search rankings are a downstream effect of being genuinely useful.

2. Honest about what we are#

Val App is a commercial product. We're an app company, not a neutral consumer-protection nonprofit. We mention Val App in our content because we believe it solves the problems we describe. We also recommend competitor products (Sortly, Itemlist, NAIC's free app, HomeZada, Under My Roof) where they serve readers well, because pretending alternatives don't exist would be dishonest.

We do not hyperlink to competitor websites or App Store pages, because hyperlinks pass authority. We name them clearly so readers can find them on their own.

3. Primary sources first#

Where possible, we cite primary sources: government insurance regulators (NAIC, state insurance departments), nonprofit consumer advocates (United Policyholders, Insurance Information Institute), peer-reviewed research, and direct policyholder accounts. Secondary sources (other blogs, news summaries) only when they add unique synthesis.

4. Real numbers, real cases, real language#

We use specific data points (1,918 App Store reviews analyzed, 6,346 upvotes, $349.99 mixer) rather than vague references. We use direct quotes from Reddit threads and App Store reviews rather than paraphrasing what users say. We use real product names and real prices, not euphemisms.

5. No fabrication#

We do not invent statistics, quotes, expert opinions, or case studies. Every quote attributed to a person comes from a real, linked, verifiable source. Every statistic includes its origin. If we cannot verify a claim, we either remove it or label it as our own opinion.

How we research#

How we write#

1. Brief. Every post starts with a content brief identifying target keyword, search intent, target segment, and unique angle (docs/seo/content-briefs/)
2. Draft. Author writes a complete draft following the brief, with citations as they go
3. Self-critique. Author argues against their own draft: what's missing, what would a skeptical reader say, what does this have that competitors don't
4. Anti-AI-slop pass. Specifically check for: em dashes, throat-clearing phrases ("In today's world"), staccato sentence rhythm, AI vocabulary ("delve," "leverage," "unlock")
5. Link verification. Every outbound link is checked manually before publish. Broken links are replaced or removed
6. Internal review. Another team member reads the full draft and challenges weak sections
7. Expert review (YMYL only). For insurance, financial, or claims content, we either (a) have a licensed insurance professional review and approve the post, with their name appearing in a "Reviewed by" credit, or (b) explicitly flag the post as "informational only, not professional advice" with a prominent disclaimer

Fact-checking#

Before publish, every numerical claim, every quoted statement, every cited statistic must be verified against its primary source. The author is responsible for the citation; the reviewer is responsible for verifying the citation. We do not publish a number we cannot trace to its origin.

When a study or statistic is older than three years, we either find a more recent source or note the publication date inline ("according to a 2022 NAIC report").

Conflicts of interest#

Val App is a commercial product made by Wishabit, LLC. Authors of this content are employees, contractors, or principals of Wishabit, LLC. We have a financial interest in readers downloading Val App.

We disclose this conflict on every post (the E-E-A-T attribution paragraph at the bottom). We do not publish content that is solely promotional. Every article must teach the reader something useful even if they never download the app.

We do not accept payment, free products, or other consideration in exchange for editorial coverage of any company, product, or service.

YMYL handling#

Posts in the Insurance category and any post discussing financial decisions are treated as Your Money or Your Life content per Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines. For these posts:

• A licensed expert reviews the post where possible (credit appears on the page)
• A "Last reviewed: [date]" timestamp appears prominently at the top of the post
• A YMYL disclaimer block appears at the bottom: "This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or insurance advice. For decisions about your specific coverage, consult a licensed professional in your state."
• We do not give specific advice about individual coverage decisions; we describe options and trade-offs

Corrections#

If we publish something incorrect, we fix it. The correction process:

1. Update the article inline (do not silently edit; use a brief correction note)
2. Bump the updatedDate in frontmatter
3. Add a "Correction (YYYY-MM-DD): [what was wrong, what is now right]" note at the bottom of the post
4. If the correction is material (numbers, attributions, claim outcomes), notify subscribers via the next email broadcast
5. If we learned the error from a reader who emailed us, we credit them by name (with their permission) or anonymously

To report an error: email corrections@valuables.app (or whichever address is set up for this purpose).

Updating older content#

We update content on these triggers (codified in docs/seo/content-update-sop.md):

• Significant change in the underlying topic (new regulation, new industry standard)
• Statistics in the post are over 12 months old
• Reader-reported error
• Search performance signals (impression / position / CTR drops per the SOP triggers)

When we update a post, we bump updatedDate, refresh the "Last reviewed" timestamp, re-validate every link, and trigger an IndexNow ping so search engines re-crawl quickly.

What we don't do#

• We don't publish AI-generated content without human authorship and verification
• We don't write thin content optimized to rank rather than to inform
• We don't accept guest posts, sponsored content, or affiliate-driven articles
• We don't republish other people's work without permission and attribution
• We don't use clickbait titles that misrepresent the article's content

Contact#

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Last updated: 2026-05-05. This policy is reviewed quarterly and updated as our standards evolve.