How certification works
How a site will get the GSERP mark, keep it and lose it, how to complain or appeal, and what keeps the results independent. The check is free.
The free check and the GSERP mark are not open yet. They will open on swomi.ai. Until then no site holds the mark, and a GSERP mark shown anywhere is not genuine.
1 The path to the mark
- Run the free check. On swomi.ai, enter a site's address. There is no sign-up. The check reads the site's public pages and files only, and applies the criteria of the current version.
- Read the report. Every result is given by its criterion id, such as ROBOTS-3, with what was found, so each fix points to a published requirement and its test. The report is private to whoever has its link, and it is kept out of search.
- Fix and check again. As often as needed.
- Meet the standard. The site meets the version when no required criterion fails. Warnings are advice and never block.
- Hold the mark. The person who runs the site takes the GSERP mark for that site, through a Swomi account, so that re-check results reach them. How a holder shows that the site is theirs will be published here before the first mark is granted.
- Show it, and keep it. The mark links to its own verification page on swomi.ai. The site is re-checked every month (3), and a failed re-check withdraws the mark (4).
2 The GSERP mark
What it says. That a named site met a named version of GSERP on a named date, and is re-checked every month. For example: example.com met GSERP 0.1 (checker 0.1.1) on 1 December 2026.
Nothing more.
What it does not say. That the site is trustworthy, safe, secure, accurate or good. That any search engine or AI provider approves of it, ranks it or cites it. The mark is about how a site presents itself to readers, as the criteria define it.
Its verification page. Each mark has a unique id and a page on swomi.ai, which is where the mark links. The page shows the site; the version and checker it was tested against; the true date of the check behind the mark, the date of the last re-check and when the next is due; the scope, meaning which criteria were tested and what GSERP does not test; and the mark's history. It never shows a date later than the last check that actually ran. The register lists every verification page.
Its name. The mark's final name will be published with version 1.0. Until then this site calls it the GSERP mark, and shows no image of it.
3 The monthly re-check
Every site that holds the mark is checked again every month, with the same criteria and tests as anyone's check. Each re-check is recorded with its date on the verification page. The cycle is tracked, so that a missed re-check is visible rather than silent: certifiers have been held to account both for seals that showed a current date while sites were not reviewed that often,[1] and for promised annual recertifications that were not done, more than 1,000 times between 2006 and 2013.[2]
A re-check uses the version in force on its date. When a new version takes effect, the Versions page announces the date first.
4 Withdrawal
On a failed re-check. When a re-check finds a required criterion failing, the mark is withdrawn at once. There is no suspended state: a mark is current or withdrawn. The verification page then shows that the mark is withdrawn, the date, and the ids of the criteria that failed. The holder is told, and asked to take the mark off the site. A site that meets the standard again can hold the mark again, after a new check, with the new date.
For misuse. A mark is also withdrawn when it is shown on a site it was not granted to, changed, or used to claim more than it says. Displaying a trust mark without the authorisation it needs is one of the practices EU law bans in all circumstances, as is claiming an approval or endorsement that does not exist.[3]
Copied marks. The register is the record. A GSERP mark that the register does not list as current is not genuine. Swomi asks the site that shows it to take it down. Anyone who finds one can report it.
5 Complaints and appeals
Complaints. Anyone can complain: that a site shows the mark without meeting the standard, that a mark is copied, or about the way GSERP is run. Write to support@swomi.com with the site and, where you can, the ids of the criteria concerned.
Appeals. A site's holder, or anyone who ran a check, can appeal a result they believe is wrong. A person at Swomi runs the test again by the published method and compares it with the report. Where the checker and the published text disagree, the text decides the appeal, and the checker is corrected in a new patch version, recorded in the changelog.
Answers. Every complaint and appeal is acknowledged, and answered with the decision and its reasons. Each one is recorded. The response times will be published here before the first mark is granted.
6 Independence, and the ties Swomi has
No one can buy a result. The check is free. If a fee is ever charged for any evaluation under GSERP, it will pay for the evaluation, never for the outcome. Results come from the published tests, applied the same way to every site, not from anyone's opinion of a site or relationship with it.
The ties, stated. Swomi writes GSERP, runs the checker, grants the marks and keeps the register. Swomi also runs a search of its own, which is one of the four readers GSERP is written for, and swomi.io, where services that help sites meet the criteria may be offered. Buying or using any Swomi product or service changes no result. Swomi's own sites are tested and listed under the same rules as every other site, and the register will say which sites Swomi runs.
No engine stands behind it. No search engine or AI provider has endorsed GSERP or takes part in it. Holding the mark does not mean any of them has approved a site.
Not a third party. Swomi both owns GSERP and runs its checks. Every test method is published in enough detail to be repeated by anyone, by hand or with other tools.
7 Fair access
Anyone can run the check on any site. Every site is held to the same criteria. The mark has no condition beyond the criteria and the rules on this page.
8 Records
Swomi keeps the check behind every mark, every re-check, every withdrawal, and every complaint and appeal with its answer. The register publishes each mark's history, and running totals of marks granted and withdrawn.
9 Where these rules come from
GSERP is Swomi's own standard. It is not an ISO standard, and the GSERP mark is not a certification accredited under ISO/IEC 17065. The rules on this page take as their model the public rules for marks and seals:
| Rule | Model |
|---|---|
| Published criteria and real tests, never a declaration by the site (the standard) | In the US, the name or seal of an organization can be an endorsement; an expert's endorsement must rest on a real examination or test, and an organization's on its collective judgment, using qualified experts or standards adopted beforehand.[4] |
| The mark says what it is based on, and no more (2) | The FTC's Green Guides, written for environmental claims, say that a certifier's seal may be an endorsement, and ask for clear language on what a certification refers to.[5] |
| True dates, and a tracked re-check (3) | The FTC's cases on ControlScan and TRUSTe.[1][2] |
| Withdrawal, copied marks, no claimed endorsement (4, 6) | Directive 2005/29/EC, Annex I, points 2 and 4.[3] |
| Open on fair terms, published requirements, published withdrawal (7, 4) | Directive (EU) 2024/825's conditions for certification schemes, which apply from 27 September 2026, conditions (i) and (iii).[6] |
| Complaints and appeals, impartiality, a directory of what holds the mark (5, 6, register) | ISO/IEC 17065, the international standard for bodies that certify products, processes and services.[7] |
References
Numbered in the order they are first cited on this page; each entry links back to the places that cite it. Every source was opened on 5 November 2026.
- ↑ a b Online privacy and security certification service settles FTC charges. US Federal Trade Commission, 25 February 2010.
- ↑ a b FTC approves final order in TRUSTe privacy case. US Federal Trade Commission, 18 March 2015.
- ↑ a b Directive 2005/29/EC (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive). EUR-Lex, 11 May 2005. Annex I, points 2 and 4.
- ↑ 16 CFR Part 255: Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (US). Sections 255.0(b), 255.3(b), 255.4(a) and 255.5.
- ↑ 16 CFR 260.6: Certifications and seals of approval. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (US).
- ↑ Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition. EUR-Lex, 28 February 2024. The definition of a certification scheme, conditions (i) to (iv); applies from 27 September 2026.
- ↑ ISO/IEC 17065:2012 Conformity assessment: Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services. ISO, 2012, confirmed 2024.