Bizwiki is a free directory of businesses that anyone can contribute to and edit. As the UK focused part of this international network, Bizwiki.co.uk aims to become the largest, most comprehensive directory of British businesses on the Web.

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.

1. 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'.
2. 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.

Bizwiki is focussed on gathering and publishing detailed information about the world's companies, businesses and organisations - 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.

Bizwiki is owned and operated by UK registered company Infoactive Media Ltd.

Bizwiki UK 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 record. Click here for suggestions of additional information that Bizwiki users want.

Claim your business - You will soon be able to claim your business on Bizwiki. Claiming your business enables you to add additional information such a Customer Support and Sales telephone numbers, product specific website addresses, associations you belong to, awards you have won, lists of services and products you offer, opening hours, and other details that Bizwiki users may find helpful. Claiming your business also means that you become the editor for your company's record which means that you can monitor and, if necessary, use a simple "revert" option to remove any incorrect changes made by others. Click here for more information about Claiming Your Business.

Advertising - Bizwiki does not currently offer any type of print advertising but you can add your company and expand the information free of charge.

Before adding your business please use the search facility to make sure your company 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.

• 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.
• Telephone number - Please use your primary phone number or, in the case of national companies, the branch's primary phone number.
• Address - Please list your actual physical address if at all possible. In some cases the PO Box address may be used. Please note that Bizwiki UK makes use of Post Office Address File (PAF) which is the Post Office's division of counties and towns throughout the UK. This means that your local parish, village or town name may not represented on the Town selection box. If this is the case please make use of the 2nd or 3rd Address lines as appropriate to include your locality.
• Fax Number - Please use your primary fax number or, in the case of national companies, the branch's primary fax number.
• Website - Please use either the main 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 External Links section.
• Description - What you write here becomes your About section and should include what you offer in terms of products and services, what areas you serve (town, county, several counties, nationwide), which market segments you target (B2B, B2C) and any other descriptive, factual information. Please ensure that the information does not contain any hype, superlatives, sales pitches or special offers.
• Message from the Company - 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. Bizwiki editors will check this section but will not edit it unless it contravenes our guidelines, so please check your spelling, punctuation and accuracy.
• Citations - A citation may be a link to your business' website that clearly shows the company's address, a copy of the company's listing at Companies House with an address that matches the one you are submitting, 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.
• External Links - This is the place for brand, product and promotional sites belonging to your company as well as for links to authoritative resources that have written articles about you.
• Additional Information - Holding company name, VAT number, Company registration number

Premium Rate Telephone Numbers - Premium phone numbers are strictly not allowed. These include phone numbers beginning with the following: 090/ 091/ 098/ 118 / 070 / 0871 and mobile sms short codes.

International Telephone Numbers - International phone numbers are strictly not allowed. These include any phone number beginning with 00. Bizwiki UK is ONLY for UK based businesses.

Can I add a business that is not based in the UK? - Bizwiki UK is entirely focussed on the United Kingdom. Bizwiki will soon be rolling out similar business wikis for the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

I filled out the form but it tells me the business is already listed? - Bizwiki UK has received a substantial number of submissions to date and it is likely that we already have your company on record. If we do you are more than welcome to add to the information.

Awaiting Approval - "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 UK's most comprehensive directory of UK businesses and organisations with rich data that goes far beyond standard phone book 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.

Not Approved - "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 edit 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 registered company number please be sure to include it in the submission along with your website address and any third party citations that would help us to verify the existence of the company.
• It is not based in the UK - Bizwiki UK is strictly for UK listings.
• It is of an adult nature - We do not allow records for companies, clubs or organisations that would be classed as "adult".

If your business is already listed in Bizwiki you are more than welcome to expand the information and correct any errors or omissions that there may be. Edits are free of charge.

• Addresses - You can change the address if it is incorrect or expand it to include the locality (village, parish, town) in the 2nd or 3rd address line if it is not in the drop down Town list.
• Phone numbers - Additional phone numbers such as Sales, Customer Service and Technical Support can be added.
• About Section - You can expand your company's About section by adding factual and descriptive information such as what you offer in terms of products and services, what areas you serve (town, county, several counties, nationwide), which market segments you target (B2B, B2C) and other facts. Please ensure that the information does not contain any hype, superlatives, sales pitches or special offers.
• Message from the Company - 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. Bizwiki editors will check this section but will not edit it unless it contravenes our guidelines, so please check your spelling, punctuation and accuracy.
• External Links - These should be links to product or brand specific sites owned by your company or links to authoritative information and resources about your company such as news articles and publicly available company reports.

Who can make changes to information? - All registered Bizwiki users can make changes to the information but some information must be approved by an editor before the changes become public. This is to protect the information from malicious or "spam" attacks. Soon you will be able to claim your business which will enable you to make real time changes.

Why can't I see the information I just added? - Some of the information in each business record is protected. This means that depending on what changes/additions you made they may be sent for review. An editor, moderator or administrator will review your submissions as soon as possible.

What is history? - All changes made to records 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 record that tells you the user names of anyone who has edited 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? - Bizwiki uses a "revert" system so any erroneous change can easily be corrected simply by reverting to the correct version.

Reviews on Bizwiki - Bizwiki is dedicated to collecting and publishing business information rather than opinion. In some cases, what a user will most want to know is other peoples' experiences with a business, so we have decided to add reviews as an alternative place for users to share opinions that would otherwise inevitably filter through into the information section. The reviews are clearly separated out from the business information. More about reviews

What is a review? - Reviews are a means by which Bizwiki users can discuss their experiences and express their personal opinions of businesses they have had dealings with. Separate from the business' information, the reviews are intended to be a way in which other users can find out more about the company from those who have already used their services.

What do the stars mean? The star rating is matrix of several factors that the reviewer can use to rate a business. After the ratings have been made by the user the matrix update the overall star rating.

Who can write a review? - All registered Bizwiki users can write reviews. Simply find the company you want to review and click on Write a Review.

Can I or my employees write a review for my company? - No, we do not accept self-reviews. Any reviews that appear to be written by the company will be removed.

Can businesses write reviews for other businesses? - If you do business with, buy from or in some way have dealings with a business then yes you are more than welcome to write a review. A review should be personal, your own individual opinions and experiences of dealing with a company as in how easy they were to work with, lead times, delivery times, fulfilled commitments, etc. even if you are dealing with them in a B2B capacity.

Can I respond to reviews? - In future versions of Bizwiki we will give businesses that have claimed their listing the opportunity to respond to reviews.

Can I remove an unfavourable review? - We see reviews as a way in which customers can communicate openly and honestly with other potential customers and businesses. Many businesses have benefited from treating reviews as qualitative market research, channelling the customer feedback into their CRM marketing systems and thereby working to improve overall customer satisfaction levels. Such candid, unsolicited reviews, both positive and negative, can be hugely beneficial in helping to give you a real time snapshot of how customers view your company's products and services, enabling you to work towards greater efficiency in customer retention and word of mouth referrals.

Can I request that reviews are turned off for my business? - We will only consider such requests in certain unique circumstances. For the most part reviews are a useful addition to the information Bizwiki provides to the public. Why not be proactive and ask your satisfied customers to write a review?

How can I get more favourable reviews? - Ask your satisfied customers if they wouldn't mind writing a review for your company. You can even link to your Bizwiki company page from your own website by using the code at the bottom of your Bizwiki record.

Linking to 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:

Business Listings - If there is an error with your business listing you can simply edit it. Certain parts of the listing are protected and therefore your amendments will be reviewed before being published unless you have Claimed Your Business. If you would rather not amend the listing yourself you are welcome to contact us with the relevant information.

Reviews - There is a "Report as Inappropriate" link next to each review giving you an instant way in which to let us know if a review contains inappropriate language or references.

User Problems/Conflicts - If you are having a problem with a particular user please let us know by sending a message to the Bizwiki Community Manager via the contact form. If the problem relates to a listing or review please include all relevant details. Our dedicated Community Manager will look into the issue and, if necessary, take appropriate action.

Other - 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.