FAQs

Frequently asked questions

A quick reference for how Podium Atlas works, what funding affects, how placement behaves, and what to expect from review and support.

1

What is PodiumAtlas?

A discovery platform for users and a king-of-the-hill style ad marketplace driven by supply and demand.

This means advertisers only pay for what a spot is worth based on demand, and if demand is low enough you can advertise for free.

2

What am I paying for?

You are paying for advertising placement and ranking power within the platform.

3

How does ranking work?

Rank is determined by the platform’s ranking algorithm. The algorithm estimates relevance, but it is predominantly driven by the amount of funding allocated to an ad relative to others in that category.

There is also an internal recency and decay mechanism that acts uniformly and proportionally on all ads in the system from the moment they go live.

Example: $1 of ranking power could equate to $0.90 after one week, then $0.81 after week two, and so on.

4

Does adding funds to my existing ad have less influence after the ad has been live?

No.

Every time funding is added to an existing ad it is treated as new funding and has the same influence per dollar spent as any new listing.

Your total effective funding is increased by the full amount that you add.

5

Is placement guaranteed?

No.

Because this is a free-market ad environment, another business is able to overtake any spot on the website at any time by raising funding for its ad.

Payment does not guarantee a permanent position.

6

How do I know how much I need to fund to be in a certain position?

Once you are logged in, there is an estimate provided for the amount necessary to take a position within a category or how much supplemental funding an existing ad needs to overtake a category.

7

Are positions category specific?

Yes.

To maintain fairness for advertisers and to allow more targeted marketing, ads and rankings within a category are only against other ads in that specific category.

There is also a top list for parent categories, when available, that ranks ads from their subcategories.

8

Do ads need to be approved first?

Yes.

Ads are subject to review and must comply with platform rules and policies before they can appear publicly.

9

Am I refunded if my ad is not approved?

Yes.

We will first attempt to reach out if we believe there was a mistake or that an issue can be remedied.

If we do not have mutually satisfactory alignment for approval, we will issue a full refund if the ad was never live.

10

What happens after I submit and pay?

Your submission is processed, your ad enters the platform workflow for approval, and ranking and placement update as the system recalculates.

Approval can take up to 24 hours before your ad is live. No funding power decay occurs until your ad is actually live.

11

Can my rank change after I pay?

Yes.

Rankings are dynamic and may change as other ads receive funding, engagement changes, or the ranking system updates.

12

Are payments refundable?

Except where required by law, payments are generally non-refundable after your ad is live.

Please review our Terms for full details.

13

Can an ad be rejected or removed?

Yes.

Ads may be rejected, limited, paused, or removed if they violate platform rules, legal requirements, or review standards.

14

Can I edit my ad after submission?

Certain changes may require re-review or resubmission depending on what is changed.

15

How long does an ad stay active?

Because this is a free-market platform, that depends on marketplace conditions.

Rank and placement are driven by supply and demand within the platform and by ongoing ranking conditions. Active placement is not guaranteed indefinitely.

16

How do I get help?

If you need help, contact us through the contact page.

17

Do you sell my data to 3rd parties?

No. We do not sell your data.

18

I’m unsure if my ad belongs in a specific category or am concerned it would not pass review. What should I do?

Please reach out to us through the contact form with details and we can help you evaluate it before submission.

19

The category I want isn’t available. How do I make a new category on the website?

As the platform grows, categories are expanded based on user needs, engagement, and marketplace behavior.

If you would like to suggest a new category or category change, please use the contact form. We can place it into the category review pipeline or let you know the current company stance on that category.

Still unsure?

If your situation is specific to a category, review concern, or ad setup question, use the contact page and we’ll point you in the right direction.