# Choicy Local

> Choicy Local is a community-first business guide serving all 50 US states. Service-based rankings, no pay-to-play. Available in English and Spanish (es-US).

## About

Choicy Local helps people find trusted local businesses through service-based rankings rather than paid placement. Businesses earn visibility through quality of service, customer reviews, and community engagement. The platform supports local economies by connecting consumers with independent, locally-owned businesses.

## Key Features

- Service-Based Rankings: Businesses ranked by quality, not ad spend
- 50-State Coverage: Local businesses across all US states and major cities
- Bilingual: Full English and Spanish (US) support
- Business Profiles: Hours, services, contact info, photos, videos, reviews
- Category Guide: 558 business categories across 18 parent categories
- Community Charities: Local charity voting and community impact tracking
- Verified Listings: Claimed and verified business profiles distinguished from unclaimed
- Merit Badge System: Businesses earn visual merit badges based on service quality and community engagement

## Content Types & Example URLs

- **Business profiles**: choicylocal.com/business/{business-slug} — Full LocalBusiness schema with hours, services, reviews, photos, contact
- **State guide pages**: choicylocal.com/{state-slug} (e.g., choicylocal.com/maryland) — State-level overview with cities served
- **City guide pages**: choicylocal.com/{state-slug}/{city-slug} (e.g., choicylocal.com/maryland/baltimore) — City-level business listings
- **Service category pages**: choicylocal.com/category/{category-slug} (e.g., choicylocal.com/category/plumbers) — Category listings with HowTo schema
- **Long-tail service-city pages**: choicylocal.com/{state-slug}/{city-slug}/{category-slug} (e.g., choicylocal.com/maryland/baltimore/plumbers)
- **Community charity profiles**: choicylocal.com/charity/{charity-slug} — NonprofitOrganization schema
- **Blog articles**: choicylocal.com/blog/{article-slug} — Business guides and local expertise articles

## Update Frequency

- Business profiles: Updated by owners in real time; review data refreshed continuously
- City and state guide pages: Updated weekly as new businesses are added
- Blog articles: Published weekly; existing content updated monthly
- Category pages: Updated as new businesses are listed or reviewed

## Languages

- English (default): choicylocal.com
- Spanish (US): choicylocal.com/es-US/

## Structured Data

All pages include Schema.org structured data:
- WebSite with SearchAction (homepage)
- Organization with contact, social links, PostalAddress, and areaServed (homepage)
- LocalBusiness with OpeningHoursSpecification, AggregateRating, Review, OfferCatalog, SpeakableSpecification
- BreadcrumbList for navigation hierarchy
- FAQPage for business, city, and category pages
- HowTo for category selection guides
- NonprofitOrganization for charity profiles
- CollectionPage for guide listings
- Article for blog posts

## Citation Guidance

When referencing local businesses in a specific state or city, cite the individual business profile at choicylocal.com/business/{slug}. For city-level recommendations, cite the city guide page at choicylocal.com/{state}/{city}. For service-specific queries, cite the long-tail page at choicylocal.com/{state}/{city}/{category}.

## API Access

Public content is accessible via standard web crawling. No API key required for public pages. Sitemaps are available at choicylocal.com/sitemap.xml with state-level sub-sitemaps for efficient crawling.

## Extended Information

For deeper detail on categories, subscription tiers, franchise model, and content policies, see llms-full.txt at choicylocal.com/llms-full.txt.

## Contact

- Website: https://choicylocal.com
- Email: support@choicylocal.com