Bizwiki USA Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Bizwiki?
Bizwiki is a free directory of businesses that anyone can contribute to and edit. As the US focused part of this international network, Bizwiki.com aims to become the largest, most comprehensive directory of American businesses on the Web.
- What is a "Structured Wiki"?
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Apart from our very specific focus on business information, there are two key differences in the approach we have adopted for Bizwiki when compared to that of sites such as Wikipedia.
- Users are required to register before editing. Registration is a very simple, fast process, but due to the business-orientated nature of the site's content registration is required as a basic filter against malicious editing or advertising 'spam'.
- Bizwiki is built using Structured Data.
We view this structured approach as a vital component of our site plan, ensuring consistency, allowing bulk-updates of data and reusability of information.
- What is the "Bizwiki Community"?
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The Bizwiki site is built around a self-organized and collaborative community that any of our users are invited to join.
Bizwiki users are grouped as:
- Public - non registered users that can read and print information.
- Registered Users - registered users who can set up their own profile page, add details and information to company listings, submit new businesses, and become part of the Bizwiki community.
- Editors - editors verify additions of information and new company listings, edit the contact details of existing business listings, and help ensure the data on Bizwiki remains organized.
- Admin - administrators and technical support, working with users and behind the scenes to help make sure everything runs smoothly.
- What businesses are on Bizwiki?
Bizwiki is focused on gathering and publishing detailed information about US companies, businesses and organizations - even those without a web site or online presence of their own. Inclusion in Bizwiki is free of charge, as is adding additional information and details.
- Who owns Bizwiki?
Bizwiki is owned and operated by Infoactive Media Ltd.
- Do you have any other international Bizwikis?
Bizwiki US and UK are live. Versions of Bizwiki focused on the business communities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand are planned in the near future. Plans for multi-lingual versions and user-contributed business directories for other nations are also being explored.
- How do I register/create an account?
Joining Bizwiki is free and easy. Simply fill out this short form.
- I've forgotten my password. What can I do?
If you have forgotten your password, click the "Send me my login details" link at the bottom of the Sign In page
- What is the MyBizwiki page?
Your My Bizwiki page is not viewable to the public, so personal information such as your name and email address cannot be seen by other Bizwiki users. You can also view a list of all businesses that you've added to your Watchlist.
- How do I close my account?
If you have a Bizwiki account and no longer wish to be registered you can close your account by simply emailing admin@bizwiki.com.
- What is the Watchlist?
The Watchlist allows you to keep track of a listing’s progress from submission through to various revisions. If you are watching a company on Bizwiki you will be notified by email when the company is approved and if it is updated.
- How do I add a company to my Watchlist?
You can add any company on Bizwiki to your Watchlist by clicking the “Watch this business” link on the listing. You can also add companies to your Watchlist when you submit them to Bizwiki or when you edit them by ensuring the “Add to Watchlist” box is ticked. Please note that you have to be signed in to add to your Watchlist.
- How do I remove a company from my Watchlist?
If you want to remove a company from your watchlist simply click “Unsubscribe” on your MyBizwiki page or click the “Remove from watchlist” link on that company’s listing. If you remove a company from your Watchlist you will no longer receive email updates about that company’s listing.
- Can I re-add a company to my Watchlist?
You can add a company to your Watchlist again at any time. Simply click the “Watch this business” link on the company’s listing.
- What services for businesses do you have?
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Bizwiki offers a number of services for businesses. These include:
- Add your business for free - If your business is not already in Bizwiki you are welcome to add it free of charge. Click here to register and add your business.
- Expand the information - If your company is already listed on Bizwiki you can add additional information to the details in the existing listing such as a Toll Free number, company specialities, opening hours, product/service details, etc.
- Message from the Company - In addition to factual information, company representatives can add a special Message from the Company in which they can place advertising messages free of charge.
- Advertising - Bizwiki does not currently offer any type of paid advertising but you can add your company and expand the information free of charge.
- How do I add a new business?
Before adding a new business please use the search facility to make sure the company you want to add isn't already in Bizwiki. If it isn't simply click on the Add a Company link to be taken to a form. Please note that only registered users can add companies. Registration is quick and simple.
- Can I add a business that is not based in the US?
Bizwiki US is entirely focused on the United States of America. Bizwiki UK is live and we will soon be rolling out similar business wikis for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
- What should I use for the Company Name?
Please use the company's registered or trading name. Do not enter the website name or keywords. Bizwiki editors verify each entry and may not approve your submission if the company name isn't correct.
- What should I use for the Category?
Please choose from the existing categories. Simply begin typing the first few characters of the category you think it should belong in and then choose from one of the categories that appear.
- What telephone number should I add?
Please use the company's main phone number or, in the case of national companies, the branch's main phone number. Fields for Toll Free and Cell phone numbers are provided as optional extras.
- Do you allow international telephone numbers?
International phone numbers are strictly not allowed. Bizwiki.com is ONLY for businesses based in the United States of America.
- What address should I add?
Please list the company's actual physical address. In some cases the PO Box address may be used.
- What fax number should I add?
Please use the company's main fax number or, in the case of national companies, the branch's main fax number.
- What website address should I add?
Please use either the main company website or, in the case of national companies, the branch's own website specific to this location. Please do not submit mini sites, brand and product or promotional websites here. Those can be submitted in the Additional Links section.
- What is the About section for?
The About section is optional and may be left blank. What you write here becomes the company's About section and should include what the company offers in terms of products and services, what areas they serve (town, county, several counties, nationwide), which market segments they target (B2B, B2C) and any other descriptive, factual information. Please ensure that the information does not contain any hype, superlatives, sales pitches, special offers or your own personal opinions of the company.
- What is the Message from the Company section for?
This section is for company owners/representatives only please. Message from the Company is where company owners/representatives can advertise their business. Please do not fill this section in or edit it unless you are a representative of that company.
- What is the Company Verification section for?
A verification may be the company's CIK or State issued business number, a listing on the local business bureau or industry association website, a link to the business' website that clearly shows the company's address, or anything that would help us to be able to verify that this is indeed a real company so that we can approve the listing as quickly as possible.
- What is the Additional Links section for?
This is the place for brand, product and promotional sites belonging to the company as well as for links to authoritative resources that have written articles about the company.
- I filled out the form but it tells me the business is already listed?
Bizwiki has received a substantial number of submissions to date and it is likely that we already have the company on record. If we do you are more than welcome to add to the information.
- I added my business, but the business listing says "Awaiting Approval". What does this mean?
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"This record is Awaiting Approval" means that this record has not yet been checked and approved by a Bizwiki editor. An editor will shortly review, verify and, if the record meets Bizwiki guidelines, approve the record. The approval process can take several weeks, at busy periods it can take longer.
Bizwiki welcomes business submissions from all registered users, helping us to compile the most comprehensive directory of American businesses and organizations with rich data that goes far beyond standard yellow page listings. All submissions are published on Bizwiki as soon as they are submitted but they are not distributed to the other sites that use Bizwiki's data until an editor has verified and approved them.
- I added my business, but the business listing now says "Not Approved". What does this mean?
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"This record was Not Approved" means that the record was checked by an editor and for one or more reasons it was not approved.
Bizwiki's editors review each submission and while the vast majority are approved, not all are. The most common reasons that submissions not approved are:
- It is already listed in Bizwiki - Someone else may have submitted your company's details already. Have you done a search for the company name? If you find that your company is already listed but the details aren't correct you can simply update them.
- We cannot verify the authenticity of the record details - Sometimes it is difficult to authenticate the details for very new ventures. If you have a company number please be sure to include it in the submission along with your website address and any third-party mentions that would help us to verify the existence of the company.
- It is not based in the US - Bizwiki US is strictly for American companies.
- It is of an adult nature - We do not allow records for companies, clubs or organizations that would be classed as "adult".
- Who can make changes to information?
All registered Bizwiki users can make changes to the information. Please note that ALL changes are held for verification by an editor before being published. This is to protect the information from malicious or "spam" attacks, and to ensure accuracy and compliance with Bizwiki’s guidelines.
- The company name is wrong. Can I update it?
The company name cannot be edited by users. If the company name needs to be changed please contact us.
- The company is listed under the wrong category. Can I update it?
If the category is incorrect you can change it by typing a few letters into the category field and choosing the best option from the drop down list.
- The company address is incorrect/missing information. Can I update it?
You can change the address if it is incorrect or expand it if it does not yet contain all details.
- The company telephone numer is incorrect/missing information. Can I update it?
You can change the main phone number and/or add a Toll Free number and Cell number.
- The About section is incorrect/missing information. Can I update it?
You can expand the company's About section by adding factual and descriptive information such as what the company offers in terms of products and services, what areas they serve (town, county, several counties, nationwide), which market segments they target (B2B, B2C) and other facts. Please ensure that the information does not contain any hype, superlatives, sales pitches, special offers or your own personal opinions of the company.
- The Message from the Company section is incorrect/missing information. Can I update it?
This section is for company owners/representatives only please. Message from the Company is where company owners/representatives can advertise their business. Please do not fill this section in or edit it unless you are a representative of that company.
- Can I update the Additional Links section?
These should be links to product or brand specific sites owned by the company or links to authoritative information and resources about the company such as news articles and publicly available company reports.
- Why can't I see the information I just added?
The business information on Bizwiki is protected and all changes are verified by an editor before being published in order to ensure accuracy and compliance with Bizwiki's guidelines.
- What is history?
All changes made to company listings are logged with the time and date they were made and who made them. Keeping track of changes means that users can easily see what was done, when and by whom. We also keep an exact history of all changes so that if any were made erroneously we can simply revert to the correct version.
- How can I see who made changes?
There is a History tab on each business listing that tells you the user names of anyone who has updated that page.
- How can I see when changes were made?
Click on the History tab at the top of the business page and it will show you a list of all changes made including when they were submitted.
- Can I undo a change?
If a change was made erroneously you can simply view the History tab to see what it was previously and then change it back by clicking on the update/edit link on the listing.
- My telephone number used to belong to a business and is listed on your site, how do I remove it?
If any personal information is erroneously listed on Bizwiki please click on the report an error link on the listing, or contact us and we will remove it immediately.
- There is a problem with a business listing. What do I do?
If there is an error with a business listing you can simply update it. Please note that the listings are protected and therefore your amendments will be reviewed by an editor before being published. If you would rather not amend the listing yourself you are welcome to contact us with the relevant information.
- I'm having a problem/conflict with a Bizwiki user. What do I do?
If you are having a problem with a particular user please let us know via the contact form. If the problem relates to a listing please include all relevant details. Our editors will look into the issue and, if necessary, take appropriate action.
- I'm having a different type of problem. What do I do?
Any other errors, problems or issues can be reported to Bizwiki by using the contact form. Please try to include as much information as possible.
- Can I link to my business listing on Bizwiki?
It's easy and free to link to your own business on Bizwiki. Simply cut and paste the code on the bottom of your Bizwiki page. If you'd like to use a graphic here's a few options:
