Real lab testing behind the reviews, but its famous Seal is, by its own program rules, tied to advertising in the magazine.
What it's really for A magazine with a real product-testing Institute; earns affiliate commissions and Seal licensing.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its Institute lab tests and the GH Seal, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Brands pay it most, both as affiliate-link retailers and as Seal applicants who, by the program's own rules, must run a minimum volume of paid advertising in the magazine to license the Seal.
Source →- Operating since
- 1885 (141 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Hearst earns affiliate commissions on its 3,000+ annual product reviews and licensing/advertising revenue from its Seal of Approval program.
- What they do
- Its in-house Institute runs hands-on lab tests across categories (appliances, beauty, tech, home) to produce thousands of editorial product reviews and award the Good Housekeeping Seal.
- What to watch for
- Don't conflate the editorial reviews with the Seal: per the program's own terms, a product must be advertised in the magazine to carry the Seal, so the Seal is not a purely independent endorsement.
- Composite score
- 3.10 / 5.00 → grade B-
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- The Good Housekeeping Institute is a product testing and research unit that provides the fodder for over 3,000 product reviews Good Housekeeping runs a year; in the UK it has 13 researchers testing items like beauty products, fashion and tech appliances, and reviews carry affiliate purchase links via Amazon and Skimlinks from which the publisher takes a cut of sales. Source: Digiday - Inside Good Housekeeping's affiliate commerce business →
- Companies desiring a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for a product must advertise in the magazine, and a licensing contract requires a minimum volume and frequency of advertising in the magazine. Source: Bizfluent - How to Apply for the Good Housekeeping Seal →
- In 1939 the FTC filed a complaint against Good Housekeeping over 'misleading and deceptive' guarantees including the Seal and 'exaggerated and false' advertising claims; the FTC ruled against the magazine, forcing it to drop certain claims and the words 'Tested and Approved' from the Seal. Source: Good Housekeeping - Wikipedia (history/FTC section) →