How should advertisers judge DIY and craft websites before buying?
Part of Lookalike websites
The short answer
A DIY or craft website is worth advertising on when it publishes tutorials its own makers photographed and tested, discloses paid supply mentions, and leaves the steps readable between ads. Buyers check originality, ask where traffic comes from, measure the layout on a phone, plan around craft seasons and grow the list from seeds in the same craft.
Key takeaways
- Craft publishers range from single maker blogs to pattern libraries and roundup sites, and roundups that copy other makers' photos fail the originality check.
- The US Copyright Office says methods and procedures are not protected, but the text and photos that explain them are, which is why copied tutorials matter.
- Pin saves are not site visits: Pinterest counts outbound clicks separately, so ask a craft publisher for referral evidence, not save counts.
- AdSense for Content publishers are paid by impression, which helps explain the pressure toward long, ad dense tutorial pages.
- Craft seasons differ by craft and region, so seeds and flights should be set per craft, using Google Trends for each state or province.
What makes a DIY website worth advertising on?
A reader on a craft tutorial is about to make something: pour a candle, cut a stencil, string a bracelet. That intent suits supply brands, tool makers, storage and home goods, and the pages are full of named materials. The question for a buyer is whose work the page shows. A maker who designed, made and photographed a project offers context no aggregator can copy.
| Kind of site | What a sampled page looks like | Strength for a buyer | Weak point to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single maker blog | One person's projects with step photos, supply lists and their own mistakes | Original work and a loyal readership in one craft | Small reach and irregular posting |
| Craft magazine site | Staff and contributor tutorials, pattern features and technique guides | Editors, credits and a steady schedule | Sponsored projects mixed with editorial |
| Pattern library | Downloadable patterns and charts with short instructions | Readers ready to start a project | Who holds the rights to each pattern |
| Roundup site | Lists of projects from other makers with one photo each | Broad coverage of a craft | Whether the photos and steps are its own |
| Supply store blog | Tutorials that end in the store's product links | Detailed material knowledge | A store promoting itself, not a publisher |
IAB Tech Lab's Content Taxonomy 3.1 (opens in a new tab) files crafts under Hobbies & Interests, in an Arts and Crafts branch with children including Beadwork, Candle and Soap Making, Drawing and Sketching, Jewelry Making, Needlework, Painting, Scrapbooking and Woodworking. Home improvement sits in a different branch, and the home improvement websites guide covers renovation publishers. Craft plans are better set one craft at a time.
How do you tell original tutorials from copied content?
The US Copyright Office's Circular 33 (opens in a new tab) says the law excludes "any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described". Anyone can teach how to pour a soy candle. What the law does protect is the description: the written explanation and the photographs. A site that lifts another maker's step photos is copying the part that has an owner.
Google's publisher policies (opens in a new tab) bar Google served ads on screens "with embedded or copied content from others without additional commentary, curation" and similar added value. A roundup that credits each maker, links to the source and adds its own judgment is curation. A roundup that reposts photos with a sentence each is the case the policy describes.
Originality checks on five recent craft tutorials
- Step photos show the same hands, workspace and materials across the tutorial, not a mix of styles.
- A reverse image search of two step photos finds them first on this site, not on another maker's blog.
- The tutorial names exact materials and amounts and explains a choice, such as why one wax or wick size was used.
- The maker shows a failed attempt, a fix or a variation, a sign of the maker's own work.
- Roundups credit each maker by name and link to the original tutorial.
- Sponsored projects carry a label near the title, and supply links say when the site earns a commission.
Why does image search and pin traffic matter for craft sites?
Craft projects are visual, so photos can carry a large part of a tutorial's reach. Google's image SEO documentation (opens in a new tab), updated March 2, 2026, says "High-quality photos appeal to users more than blurry, unclear images" and that images are "often the largest contributor to overall page size, which can make pages slow and expensive to load." A craft page with twenty full size step photos can be a strong page and a slow one at once.
Definition
- Outbound click
- Pinterest's analytics help (opens in a new tab) defines outbound clicks as "The number of times people perform actions that lead them to a destination off Pinterest", counted apart from impressions and saves, which happen on Pinterest itself.
That distinction matters when a craft publisher pitches its reach with save counts. A pin saved thousands of times may have sent few readers to the tutorial. Ask for outbound clicks or referral visits from the site's own analytics, and treat a site that cannot show any as unproven reach, not as a failed site. The FTC's native advertising guide (opens in a new tab) adds a point for sponsored projects: "Advertisers should maintain disclosures when native ads are republished by others", and a sponsored tutorial pinned by readers travels well beyond the page.
Why are some craft sites ad heavy?
Google's AdSense earnings help (opens in a new tab) states that "AdSense for Content publishers are paid by impression." A long tutorial with a photo for each step gives a page room for more ad slots, and each slot seen is income. That incentive does not make a site bad, but it explains layouts where the supply list sits below several ad units. Google's publisher policies also bar Google served ads on screens "with more ads or other paid promotional material than publisher-content."
Four steps to measure a craft page layout
- Open the tutorial on a phone. Count the screens a reader scrolls before the first step photo.
- Count ad units against steps. Note the number of ad units between the supply list and the final step.
- Watch for movement. Note sticky ads, pop ups and video players that start on their own over the steps.
- Compare with the seed. Hold the candidate to the layout of the site the client already trusts, and record both.
How does seasonal crafting affect a plan?
Crafts follow the calendar of what people make and give. Google Trends (opens in a new tab) scales search interest from 0 to 100 after dividing each point by the total searches of its geography and time range, so charts are comparable across places only as relative interest. Chart each craft in each target state or province and set the flight from that curve, not from a national holiday list.
| Craft | Season to check | What tutorials cover then | Planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candle and soap making | Fall and the weeks before winter holidays | Gift sets, scents, packaging | Fragrance and safety content needs review |
| Paper crafts and scrapbooking | Back to school and graduation | Albums, planners, cards | Check reuse of others' printables |
| Jewelry making and beadwork | Before gift holidays and summer markets | Bracelets, earrings, market stock | Small seller blogs promote their shops |
| Needlework | Colder months | Patterns, stitches, gifts | Pattern rights belong to their designers |
How do you find DIY sites similar to a trusted one?
Seed by craft, not by the word DIY. A candle making blog and a woodworking blog share a maker spirit and few readers' projects, so blending them pulls results toward general lifestyle sites. Use tutorials from the seed as the example pages, since a seed's home page can show a sale banner or a roundup that misrepresents the site. The seed site selection guide covers that choice.
Before a candidate joins, open its ads.txt (opens in a new tab) file to see who is authorized to sell its space. Small maker blogs can sell through one ad network as a reseller, which says nothing on its own about quality. The lookalike websites hub explains the rest of the method.
How does PlacementGraph help build a craft publisher list?
What does a craft publisher review look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A fictional candle making supplier in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
An unnamed Moncton supplier of soy wax, wicks and fragrance oils wants display ads in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, in English and French, before the holiday gift season. Its agency starts from one seed: a candle making blog whose founder photographs each pour. The planner charts candle making interest for each province before setting the flight.
The search returns maker blogs, a craft magazine's candle section and three roundup sites. Two roundups repost other makers' photos with one line each and are set aside. One maker blog runs dense ads but shows its own failed pours and fixes, and the client keeps it with a note on layout.
A French language soap and candle blog from Quebec matches closely, so the planner keeps it for the French line. A wax retailer's tutorial pages are removed as a store promoting itself. Each remaining site is labeled candle making, with two matching tutorials noted beside it.
Frequently asked questions
Should a craft supply brand advertise on a blog that uses its products?
It can, with the relationship recorded. If the brand sends free supplies or pays for projects, the blog should disclose that near the tutorial, and the media team should note it in the plan. A display buy beside an unpaid tutorial that happens to use the product needs no special handling.
Are craft video tutorials on a website treated like YouTube channels?
No. A video embedded on a maker's site is part of that website's page, and the site sells the space around it. Judge the page by its own text, photos and layout. If the client also wants the maker's YouTube channel, plan it as a separate YouTube line with its own checks.
Do printable pattern sites count as publishers?
Some do. A designer's site that publishes free patterns with instructions, photos and notes on technique is a publisher. A site that collects other designers' printables without permission is copying protected work. Check who designed each pattern and whether the site links to the designer before it joins a plan.
Is a small craft blog worth the setup time?
It can be, when it matches the craft exactly and its readers come back for each project. Small sites can be missing from public popularity data, which is a gap to note, not a reason to drop them. Group several strong small blogs on one line so the buy is practical.
Sources
- Content Taxonomy 3.1 (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- Circular 33: Works Not Protected by Copyright (opens in a new tab)US Copyright Office
- Google Publisher Policies (opens in a new tab)Google Publisher Policies Help
- Image SEO best practices (opens in a new tab)Google Search Central, updated March 2, 2026
- Review Pinterest Analytics (opens in a new tab)Pinterest Business Help
- Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses (opens in a new tab)Federal Trade Commission, December 2015
- Troubleshoot common AdSense earnings issues (opens in a new tab)Google AdSense Help
- FAQ about Google Trends data (opens in a new tab)Google Trends Help
- ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.