A "listing" is any website that shows your business name, address and phone number: Google, Apple Maps, Yelp, the Yellow Pages and hundreds more. They matter less for the Google map than they did ten years ago, but they matter again for a new reason: AI tools like ChatGPT read them when they decide which businesses to recommend.
The one rule: same details everywhere
Pick one exact way to write your name, address and phone number and use it on every listing and on your website. Old listings with an old phone number or address confuse Google and AI tools, and send customers to the wrong place. If you ever move or change numbers, update the big ones first (below), then the rest.
Do these by hand, first
- Google Business Profile. The big one. See our checklist.
- Apple Business (Apple Maps). Every iPhone uses it for directions and Siri.
- Bing Places. Bing's results feed other search tools, including some AI ones.
- Facebook page with hours, phone and website filled in.
- Yelp. BrightLocal's 2026 study found Yelp is ChatGPT's number one source for local businesses. Claim it and fill it in, but do not ask customers for Yelp reviews; Yelp's rules forbid it.
- Nextdoor business page, especially for home services.
- BBB, if your customers are the kind who check it.
Then the ones for your industry
These often matter more than generic directories, both to customers and to AI tools:
- Trades: Angi, Thumbtack, Houzz for remodeling, manufacturer "find a dealer" pages.
- Salons and spas: Booksy, StyleSeat, Vagaro, Fresha.
- Restaurants: Tripadvisor, OpenTable or Resy, your delivery apps.
- Auto: RepairPal, CARFAX service shops, AAA Approved Auto Repair if you qualify.
- Healthcare: Healthgrades, Zocdoc, your insurers' directories, your professional association's finder.
Local ones that carry weight
Your chamber of commerce membership page, local "best of" lists, and local news mentions. Whitespark's 2026 survey of local search experts ranked being on "best of" lists as the top factor for showing up in AI answers. You earn those; you cannot submit to them.
What to skip
- Paying for hundreds of low-quality directories nobody visits.
- Listing services that only keep your listings correct while you pay a subscription, then let them lapse when you stop.