How to Get Your Business Into "Best Of" Lists and Roundups

A roundup is an article that lists several businesses or products, like "the 10 best wedding photographers in Nashville", "top bookkeepers for contractors" or "best HVAC companies in Phoenix". If you've ever Googled "best [anything] near me", most of what came back was roundups.

Getting into the right ones is one of the best things a small business can do for its visibility. You get a link (good for Google), a mention in front of people who are actively shopping (good for sales), and a spot on the kind of page AI engines like ChatGPT read before they answer (good for AI search).

Getting into roundups is one of ten ways a small business can earn links and mentions, and this guide covers it end to end: finding the roundups you should be in, and getting added.

Why roundups matter more than they used to

When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews to recommend a business, the engine usually searches the web, reads a handful of pages, and names the businesses those pages mention. A lot of those pages are roundups.

Peak Answer measured this across 14 markets. In 10 of them, at least 80% of the sources the engines cited were somebody else's article and not any business's own website.

So in a lot of niches, if the roundups don't mention you, the AI answer won't either. And the business that's in all the roundups tends to be the one that gets recommended, even if it's smaller than you.

Step 1: Find the roundups for your niche

Start with a list of searches your customers would actually type. Mix the general ones with the specific ones:

• "best [your service] in [your city]"
• "top [your service] [your city] [this year]"
• "[your service] for [type of customer]", like "bookkeeper for restaurants" or "wedding photographer for elopements"
• "affordable [your service] [your city]"
• "[your service] near [neighborhood]"

Then look in three places.

Google. Search each one in a private window and open everything on the first two pages that's a list. Note the page title, the site, and whether you're on it.

AI engines. Ask the same questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Mode, and look at the sources each answer cites. These are the roundups that are actually feeding the answers, and they're often different from the ones on Google's first page.

Where your competitors show up. Search a competitor's name in quotes together with "best", for example "Riverside Bookkeeping" best. Any list that features them is a list that might feature you too.

Put everything in one spreadsheet: the page, the site, the search or question it came up for, whether it showed up in Google, whether an AI engine cited it, and whether you're on it.

After 10 questions or so, you'll usually see the same few pages coming up again and again. Those are your targets, and often the reason a competitor gets named over you. If you'd rather not run the first few by hand, a free check runs 5 buying questions in ChatGPT and shows you the sources too.

Step 2: Sort the competitor lists from the neutral ones

Not every roundup is worth pitching. A lot of "best of" lists are written by a business in your own category, and they almost always rank themselves first. They're not going to add you, and asking is a waste of an email.

Signs a list belongs to a competitor:

• It's on the website of a business that sells what you sell.
• That business is #1, gets the longest section, or has a "why choose us" box.
• The other entries are thin, vague or slightly unflattering.
• There's a "book a call" or "get a quote" button for the author's own business.

Signs a list is neutral, and worth pitching:

• It's on a publication, a blog, a directory, a review site, a local news or magazine site, or an association.
• It's written by a business in an adjacent category that serves the same customers (a wedding planner's list of photographers, a payroll app's list of bookkeepers, a realtor's list of home inspectors).
• Every entry gets about the same treatment.
• There's a byline, a date, or a note like "last updated".

The adjacent-business lists are often the best targets of all. A wedding planner listing photographers isn't competing with photographers. They want the list to be good, since their reputation is on it.

Step 3: Decide which ones are worth pitching

Once you've cut the competitor lists, rank what's left. Ask these questions about each one:

• Does anyone see it? It ranks on the first page of Google for a search you care about, or an AI engine cited it. A list nobody reads is worth a lot less.
• Is it kept up to date? A "last updated" date from this year, or recent entries, means someone still edits it. A list from 2019 with half the businesses closed probably has nobody behind it.
• Can you reach a person? There's a named author, a contact page or a "suggest a business" form.
• Do you honestly belong on it? If the list is "best luxury wedding photographers" and you're the budget option, pitch a different list. Editors can tell.
• Is it local or relevant? A local magazine or an industry blog beats a generic "best businesses in America" site.

Start with the lists that tick the most boxes. In practice, the best first targets are the small, recently updated, neutral lists that show up in both Google and the AI answers.

Step 4: Find the right person

On a small site, that's usually the owner. On a bigger one, it's the author on the byline.

• Look for a byline at the top or bottom of the article, and an author page.
• Check the contact page, or the "about" page on a small blog.
• Look for a "suggest a business", "submit your listing" or "work with us" link. Some lists have a form built for exactly this.
• Search the author's name on LinkedIn if there's no email on the site.

Write to a person by name when you can. A general inbox works, but the reply rate is lower.

Step 5: Send a pitch that makes their page better

A good pitch makes their list better and takes no work on their end. Three things help with that:

Write the entry for them. Look at how the other entries are written and match the format exactly: same length, same parts. Usually that's the business name, a one-line summary, who it's best for, a price range if the list shows prices, and a link. If they use a photo, attach one with permission to use it.

Give them a reason that's about their readers. Something the list is missing: the only option in a part of town, a specialty nobody else covers (elopements, construction bookkeeping, emergency weekend service), a price point the list doesn't have.

Offer something back. A link to their article from your own site (a "press" or "featured in" page is natural), sharing it with your customers or followers, or a correction to something on their page that's out of date.

The email: you're missing from their list

Subject: A suggestion for your [list title]

Hi [name],

I came across your list of [list title] and it's a really useful guide. One thing I noticed is that none of the [businesses on the list] cover [the gap, like: small courthouse weddings / construction companies / weekend emergency calls].

That's all [your business] does, so I thought it might be worth adding. In case it's helpful, here's an entry written in the same format as the others:

[Your business]: [one-line summary]. Best for [type of customer]. [Price range, if the list shows prices]. [Link]

If you do add it, I'll link to your list from my "featured in" page as well.

Thanks either way, [Your name]

The email: their list is out of date

Subject: Quick update for your [list title]

Hi [name],

Thanks for putting together your list of [list title]. Just a heads up, [business on the list] closed earlier this year (their site is down and their Google listing says permanently closed).

If you're looking for a replacement, [your business] does [what you do] in [area]. Here's an entry in the same format as the others in case it's useful:

[Your entry]

Thanks, [Your name]

Only send that one when it's true and you can show it. An editor who finds out the "closed" business is still open won't add you to anything.

The form: "suggest a business"

If the site has a form, use it, and paste the same entry you'd put in an email. Keep the details exactly the same as your Google Business Profile and website (name, address, phone, description), so every place that lists you says the same thing.

Step 6: Follow up once

If you don't hear back in about a week, send one short follow-up.

After that, leave it. Two emails is polite, and three or more starts to annoy people. Make a note to check the list again when it's next updated.

Expect most pitches to get no reply. Two yeses out of ten is a good result, and in a lot of niches, two or three roundups in the right place can change who the AI engines name.

When they say no, or ask for money

They say it's not a fit. Ask, briefly, what they look for in a business they add. Sometimes it's reviews, sometimes it's that they only list places they've worked with. That tells you what to do next time.

They ask for payment. Some sites charge to be listed. Decide on value: would the page send you customers on its own, ignoring the link? If you pay, the link should be marked as sponsored (or nofollow), which is how Google's rules say paid links should be handled. A paid placement on a page nobody reads isn't worth it.

They don't answer. Totally normal. Move on to the next list, and try again when the article is updated.

They're a competitor after all. Sometimes you only notice after you send it. No harm done, just move on.

Keep your listings accurate

Getting added is half the job. Roundups go out of date, and an AI engine reading the page today will repeat whatever it says, including an old price or a service you stopped offering.

• Keep a simple sheet of every list you're on, with the link and what it says about you.
• Check them every few months, and when your prices or services change.
• Send corrections as soon as something's wrong. Editors are much happier to fix a mistake than to add something new, so these get done.
• When a list gets a new version (the "2027" edition), send a short note so you're carried over.

Three worked examples

A wedding photographer in Nashville

The searches: "best wedding photographers Nashville", "Nashville elopement photographer", "affordable wedding photographer Nashville", "documentary wedding photographer Tennessee".

What comes back is a mix of directories (The Knot, WeddingWire), local wedding blogs, a few venue and planner sites, and other photographers' "best photographers in Nashville" posts. In Peak Answer's wedding photography study, Reddit, Facebook, WeddingWire and The Knot each showed up on a third or more of the 30 questions.

What to do:

• Claim and fill out The Knot and WeddingWire profiles first. They're forms, not pitches.
• Skip the other photographers' lists.
• Pitch the venue and planner sites. A venue's "recommended photographers" page is neutral (the venue wants its couples happy), it's local, and it ranks for venue-related searches. Lead with weddings you've shot at that venue, with a couple of photos they can use.
• Pitch the local wedding blogs with a specialty they're missing, like elopements or small weddings.

A bookkeeper for construction companies

The searches: "bookkeeper for construction company", "construction bookkeeping services", "best bookkeepers for contractors", "bookkeeper for general contractors [state]".

What comes back is mostly other bookkeeping firms' pages (skip them), software vendors' guides, a few trade association pages, and accounting directories.

What to do:

• Get into the software advisor directories you qualify for, like the QuickBooks or Xero advisor listings, and fill out every field, including the construction specialty.
• Pitch software vendors in adjacent categories. A construction estimating or job costing app that publishes "how to find a bookkeeper for your contracting business" has every reason to list a bookkeeper who specializes in its customers.
• Check the trade associations your clients belong to. Many have a member services or recommended providers page.

A residential HVAC company in Phoenix

The searches: "best HVAC company Phoenix", "AC repair Phoenix reviews", "emergency AC repair Phoenix", "HVAC company for older homes Phoenix".

In Peak Answer's measurement of this market, 85% of the sources the engines cited were other people's pages, so the roundups and directories matter a lot here.

What to do:

• Make sure the Google Business Profile, Yelp and Angi profiles are complete and consistent, and ask happy customers for reviews there.
• Look for local news and city magazine "best of Phoenix" lists. Many have a reader nomination or a submission form, and they're often updated every year.
• Pitch neighborhood and home improvement blogs with something specific, like emergency weekend service or experience with older homes.
• Ask the realtors and property managers you already work with whether they have a "trusted vendors" page.

Where Peak Answer fits

The slow part of all this is steps 1 to 3: running the questions, finding the cited pages and sorting out which ones are worth it. Peak Answer's AI visibility tracker runs your buying questions on 6 AI engines, records every page they cite, and ranks the sites that are worth getting onto, with the pitch and the directory submissions drafted for you. That's one of five parts of the work Peak Answer does. It doesn't buy placements or run link exchanges.

The other half is making your own site one of the pages the engines quote.