Search engines and other sources get your business information from a huge number of sources, including:
- Business owners enter their own information
- Government sources
- User-generated content (UGC)
- Google sources (MapMaker, Places, etc)
- Data providers
This information is usually compiled in a server cluster, and can be verified by an actual employee. The most importantly weighted information in the US, however, comes from the four major data providers — Neustar/Localeze, Inforgroup, Acxiom and Factual. These providers disseminate their listing information to over 300 listings sites — Yelp, yp.com, City Search and many, many others. If their information is wrong, your customers won’t be able to find you.
