As market share shifts away from Google toward AI platforms, we’re noticing a trend where directories play an important role in increasing visibility in AI search results.
After reading this article, your business will be left with ideas on how to get more directory exposure, which could help your AI search visibility.
It’s essential to start by getting a basic understanding of business directories.
Author Note: What I’m sharing comes from seeing these patterns play out across dozens of our clients. I don’t have hard data to back this up. It’s my working theory based on what’s actually happening in the real world. AI search is still evolving fast, and we’ll all get better numbers as time goes on. But for now, these observations should give you a solid starting point if you want to stay ahead of the curve
A directory is a business listing with specific categories, industries, or locations. I’m sure you’ve seen directories when searching on Google.
If you conduct a Google search for “Best Columbus Personal Injury Lawyer,” Super Lawyers directory is the first result to populate.
Because of Google’s prominent positioning, personal injury lawyers in the Columbus market want to be listed in the directory and will pay Super Lawyers for this exposure. Below is what the directory looks like. You can also view it HERE.
Perception of Directories
Directory listings often get a bad rap because people know they aren’t always organic. Directory owners are trying to make money, and rankings are often influenced by who pays the most rather than who’s actually the best.
Regardless of your moral viewpoint on directories, our agency is noticing a trend in which they are helping businesses populate AI search results. Let’s dive into this more.
Disclaimer: I own a directory in Columbus called Entrepreneurs of Columbus. Based on feedback, I know how people feel about directories, so I’m sharing this sentiment with you.
Why AI Search Relies on Directories
My theory is that AI search engines don’t want to be like Google and just give you the same list of organic results that you’d find on Google. Instead, they are scraping other information to find their lists. In many industries, directory listings are all that’s out there to showcase the ‘Top Companies,’ which is why they’re becoming so important for AI visibility.
Let’s look at real examples of how different AI platforms like Perplexity and Claude use directories in unique ways to populate their search results.
Understanding How AI Queries Pull from Directories: Perplexity Example
I started noticing our agency on Perplexity, one of the most popular AI search engines.
I typed in “Best Marketing Agencies in Columbus,” and different directories, such as Entrepreneurs of Columbus and UpCity, started populating as the source within Perplexity.
When you visit a site like UpCity for “Top Columbus Marketing Agencies,” our agency appears near the top of the results. This is consistent with many of the directories that Perplexity is pulling in.
On Perplexity, it seems pretty straightforward. Getting listed in directories is helpful if you want to rank in AI search results. They scrape and rely on business directory information.
Claude Example
Moving on to Claude. When I searched “Best Marketing Agencies Columbus,” I noticed much larger agencies started to populate (see list below). It wasn’t pulling these businesses from the UpCity or Clutch directories. They were pulling from sources like Columbus Business First, which had a list of the busiest Central Ohio Ad Agencies, and the Ad Agency Report from AdAge.com.
This was interesting because it showed that Claude is more selective in its listing criteria for businesses. Rather than just choosing businesses in pay-to-play directories like UpCity and Clutch, it is scraping the web for actual financial information, such as revenue from ad agencies.
Understanding How AI Queries Pull from Google
Moving onto Google. When searching for “Web Design Companies Columbus,” you’ll see our agency in the AI overview, and then it pulls DesignRush, another directory, as a source of information. We are listed prominently on DesignRush. I believe a direct correlation exists between this and our appearance in the AI overview section.
For Google, it seems to combine directories and your overall website’s credibility and authority. You can populate in the AI overview section if your site ranks well despite not being listed in a directory. Strong organic rankings and directory exposure could push you past the competition.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Directory Listings
For an industry like personal injury law, where the cost per click can be north of $50, directories often result in a cheaper cost per click and cost per acquisition. Each directory’s pricing is different, but a great way to gauge ROI is to analyze whether you’re getting more leads and new clients compared to your existing paid advertising efforts.
I recommend doing a Google search for the keyword you want to rank for, for example, “Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer.” Find all of the directories ranking on the first page of Google for that query and advertise with them if it’s within your budget. This will be another source of referral traffic and can increase your likelihood of generating more often in AI search results.
In Closing
My theory for populating well in AI search results is that you should create great content that users will find helpful. When you follow this rule of thumb, strong organic results tend to follow. There’s no doubt Google takes organic rank into account for your AI Overviews.
AI search engines like Claude and Perplexity are scraping information from business directories. Populating within these directories can improve your AI visibility while gaining valuable referral traffic.
