Listings
How listings are ordered
Directory lists show Premium firms first, each with a Featured label, then every other firm. Within each group, firms are ordered by a published quality score.
Premium listings come first
Directory lists and search results show Premium listings first, each with a Featured label, then every other listing. Premium is a paid annual upgrade for one listing. Among Premium listings, and among free listings, the quality score below decides the order. Where two listings score the same, the list keeps its usual order, such as alphabetical.
A listing only ever appears in the categories, places and searches its own details match. Premium never adds a company to a list it does not belong in.
Similar listings on free listing pages
A free listing page can show up to three Premium listings of the same type that share a category with it (and, for venues, the same area). We only show genuinely similar ones, so many free listings show none. Premium listing pages never show other businesses.
Links to business websites
Free listings link to the business website with a nofollow link. Premium listings have a followed link. Neither is marked as an advert.
Verified listings
A Verified label means the business has claimed its listing and we have confirmed it is theirs. Claiming is free for every business, Premium or not.
How the quality score works
Every listing is scored out of 100 from the information it actually holds. It is updated whenever the listing changes, and daily.
| What we check | Points |
|---|---|
| A description of 80 words or more (30 to 79 words: 8 points) | 15 |
| A short summary | 5 |
| An image or logo | 10 |
| An official website | 10 |
| Location: city or country, plus an address or venue | 10 |
| A category | 5 |
| An official source for the details | 5 |
| Claimed and verified by its owner | 10 |
| Key facts for its type, such as services, location and team size | 10 |
| Details checked against the official source in the last 90 days (within 6 months: 14 points; within a year: 8 points) | 20 |
Where a listing has verified reviews, they count for 30 of the 100 points, using a weighted average so a single five-star review cannot outrank many strong ones. The other checks above then count for 70 points: 55 for the profile and 15 for freshness.
What Premium does not change
- Our articles, news and editorial verdicts
- The facts on any listing, which come from official sources
- Free corrections and removal requests
- Claiming a listing, which is always free
See Free and Premium.