Since its inception in 1912, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​has been one of the go-to sources for assessing a company’s performance and trustworthiness. For example, if you’re looking for a new software provider or a local hairdresser, you can check out the BBB profiles of the companies you’re considering for added reassurance.

To be accredited by the BBB, companies must meet and maintain certain qualifications. However, you can register your company on the website before applying for accreditation. Unlike accreditation, which is a paid service, these listings can be made for free. Here’s how.

Adding a brand new entry

Depending on whether you’re adding a single company or a company with multiple locations, you’ll need to approach this process a little differently. Both are explained below.

How to add a single business listing

Step 1: Search for your business

• Go to bbb.org/get-listed and search for your business using your business name and your city, state or zip code.
• If nothing is found or your business is not listed in the search results, click the Add Now button.

Step 2: Add your business details

• Fill out the form that appears with your business information.
• You can add up to three business categories. Just start typing and you’ll see the appropriate suggestions. You cannot add custom categories. Therefore, select the ones that most closely match your company’s activities.

Step 3: Submit and verify your business details

• Once the form is filled out, click on the “Add my company to the directory” button.
• If there are no problems, a thank you message is displayed.

• In some cases BBB may suggest a correction of your given address. If the suggestion is correct, you can continue with the suggested address. If it’s incorrect, select the address you originally provided.

Please note that BBB representatives may call the company to verify the information provided before posting the listing.

How to add a business listing with multiple locations

If your company operates under a parent location/headquarters with multiple locations, rather than individual locations with different owners, they must be listed under the same profile.

On BBB, all locations are linked to the main HQ page. The profile indicates that it is a company with multiple locations and a specific tag. It provides the ability to view all locations linked to the main page via the Find Locations feature.

The Find Locations feature in profile only shows the list of all locations that you can scroll through. Unfortunately these cannot be displayed via separate URLs.

If you want to list multiple locations for the business under the same brand name, you must first set up a primary location listing.

Step 1: Set up an entry for the primary location

• Follow the same steps above to add a single company.

Step 2: Submit details of other locations to BBB representatives

How to claim an existing page

To claim an existing page, you must have a BBB.org account. To register an account, you must first set your location. This is because each US state has its own local BBB office responsible for the company profiles that operate there.

Step 1: Set your location

• Go to the main page and click “Set my location” in the top right corner.

• You will be prompted to select the country and then the state where your business is located.

Step 2: Create an account

• Once the location is set, you’ll see new features at the top of the page. One of them is the ability to log into your account.
• If you already have an account, you can simply log in. If you need to create one, select the “Create my BBB Login” button from the options on the right.

• The account creation option will open a new page asking for an email address. BBB will match this address to its records and if there is a match, will email you further instructions. You will be prompted to create a new account if the email address does not match your listings.

• If your email address doesn’t match their records and BBB still doesn’t allow you to create an account, you’ll need to contact their support team. The contact request button is located on the right side of the screen.

Search for an existing Company Page

Step 1: Search for your business

• First, make sure you’re logged into your BBB account or have set your location.
• Go to bbb.org/search and search for your business.
• If a profile exists on BBB, it will appear in the dropdown menu as a suggested result in the search results list.
• Once you’ve found your page, you’ll see the message “Is this your business?” News.

Step 2: Claim your company

• Once you’re signed in, you should be able to follow the steps to claim the page. If not, you will be prompted to log in to your account first (at the top of the page you will see which BBB office can help you with each business page).

• If you don’t see the opportunity to lay claim to the company, most likely someone already owns it. Your best bet is to contact your local BBB office for assistance.

How to get help

The easiest way to resolve issues with existing profiles on BBB.org is to contact the support team. However, keep in mind that BBB representatives will always want to speak to the business owner or an authorized representative.

If you contact them using an email address that doesn’t match the company’s website domain, you’ll be asked to verify your affiliation with the company. You can do this by providing the appropriate documentation or by getting confirmation from the business owner that you are allowed to work at their locations.

Rada works tirelessly to manage BrightLocal’s Citation Builder product. She oversees the processes and queries related to the campaigns, works closely with the research team on the ongoing maintenance of our citation database, and with our product team on the improvements and fixes to the citation builder tool itself.