Directories and review sites: claim them and fill them in
The general directories every business needs, from Bing and Apple to Yelp and the BBB, and how to make each profile complete and the same everywhere.
Directories and review sites were the biggest share of what AI cited. They're also the easiest win: most let you claim a free profile, and a complete, accurate profile is what gets you onto their pages in the first place.
The ones every business needs
- Bing Places and Apple Business Connect, next to your Google profile: the maps behind Bing, Siri and Apple Maps.
- Yelp, the BBB and Facebook: some of the most-read review sites, by people and by AI.
- Nextdoor and your local chamber of commerce, for local trust.
The lead sites
Thumbtack, Angi and HomeAdvisor came up again and again for home services. Most sites like these offer a free profile and sell leads or ads on top. Check what's free before you sign up for anything, and decide about paid leads separately.
Do each one properly
- Claim the listing that's already there before creating one. Duplicates confuse people and AI.
- Use exactly the same name, address and phone as on your Google profile and your website.
- Fill in every field: categories, services, the towns you serve, hours, photos, and your one sentence on what you do, for whom and where.
- Link to your website, then look at the profile as the public sees it.
Name · address · phone
All matching
| Site | Name | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Yelp | ✓ | ✓ | Fixed |
| BBB | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bing Places | Fixed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Angi | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sample data
Keep a simple list of every site you're on, your login, and the date you last checked it. You'll come back to it every few months.
Do this before the next lesson
- Search each site from lesson one, and the ones above, for your business.
- Claim or create the five that matter most for your trade, and fill in every field.
- Start your list of sites, logins and dates.
In Groow
Groow lists the directories and review sites AI cites for your questions, marks the ones that name your competitors but not you, and shows how to get onto each one.
Put this to work on your business
Groow checks how ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps see your business every week, tells you what to fix first, and drafts the work for your OK.