Recommendation widget
Updated
A recommendation widget is a block of headline links, below or beside an article, that mixes paid ads with links to other stories. A 2019 IAB playbook renamed these "content recommendation ads". It says a click always leads to an outside page or another page on the same site.
The FTC (Dec 2015) describes an ad styled like a site's own headlines, in a box headed "From Around the Web". It says readers are likely to take it for an independent news story. Where a widget mixes ads with links to stories, the FTC says each ad needs its own label. One label for a group of ads needs visual cues, such as shading or a border.
The ASA (dated 23 Oct 2026) says clear labels are likely to be needed if the context does not show which links are ads. It reports that CAP's Industry Advisory Panel suggested "paid-for ad", "ad" or "ad link" in 2014, placed near the heading.
Example: a hotel's headline about a spa weekend appears in a widget under a city news story.
Related: native advertising · sponsored content · cost per click