It means we checked and the business exists — through a registration document, an email or call to the listed contact, its own website or social media, or a visit. It is not a quality rating, and it is not the same as the business having claimed the page.

Why do some listings look empty?

They were seeded from public sources and nobody has claimed them yet. The quality bar on each one lists exactly what it is missing.

Can a business pay to rank higher?

No. Paid placement sits in its own slot carrying the word Featured, and does not move anybody up or down. The ranked list is not for sale, and neither is the tick.

A business here has closed. What now?

Report it from the listing page. We mark closed businesses as closed rather than deleting them, because that is useful information.