Help: Business Search

Searching for Businesses Results Page Help Other Tips Business Listing Help

Searching for Businesses

Business Name or Category

Enter the Business Name or Category you're looking for. Business Name is for a specific name like Guido's Pizza or Sleepwell Hotels. Category examples include Florists, Restaurants, Sushi, Roses, etc. You do not need to enter the whole name; we will attempt to find names or categories that match what you type. If no matches are found, we will automatically try different spellings and partial words to find a match.

You can enter a City, State or ZIP Code in the location box. If you enter just a city, you may be asked to clarify which city you mean. Then click the Search button.

Location Help

You can enter a Full Street Address, State, City and State and/or ZIP Code. If you enter a city, but no state you may be asked to clarify which city you mean since many names appear in more than one state. Please enter the 2-letter "state abbreviation".

You can enter the 5-digit ZIP Code for your location. These are the codes defined by the U.S. Postal Service. If you enter a City and State and a ZIP Code, and the two do not match, your search will be based on the ZIP Code you entered.

Tip! If you've already done a search at Switchboard, the last location you entered will automatically be filled in the Location box for you.

State Abbreviations

Please use these abbreviations for states when entering a location.

Alabama AL   Louisiana LA   Ohio OH
Alaska AK   Maine ME   Oklahoma OK
Arizona AZ   Maryland MD   Oregon OR
Arkansas AR   Massachusetts MA   Pennsylvania PA
California CA   Michigan MI   Rhode Island RI
Colorado CO   Minnesota MN   South Carolina SC
Connecticut CT   Mississippi MS   South Dakota SD
Delaware DE   Missouri MO   Tennessee TN
Florida FL   Montana MT   Texas TX
Georgia GA   Nebraska NE   Utah UT
Hawaii HI   Nevada NV   Vermont VT
Idaho ID   New Hampshire NH   Virginia VA
Illinois IL   New Jersey NJ   Washington WA
Indiana IN   New Mexico NM   Washington, DC DC
Iowa IA   New York NY   West Virginia WV
Kansas KS   North Carolina NC   Wisconsin WI
Kentucky KY   North Dakota ND   Wyoming WY

Recent Searches

Next to the Find a Business section, you will find a Recent Searches area. This section keeps track of your last 7 searches to help you find past lookups fast. Note: This feature requires that cookies be enabled on your browser to store recent search terms.

More Business Search Options

The More Business Search Options area includes the following links:

Search by Distance - Find listings near a specific street address or within a certain radius of your selected location.

Browse by Category - Provides you with a page of links to browse.  Start by selecting a category, then a city and state to see results.  This is helpful if you don't know the exact category you are looking for.  Choose the specific category you would like to browse listings for.

Browse by Location - Provides you with a page of links to browse, sorted by location.  Start by selecting a city and state and then a category to see results. View available business listings in the location you choose.

Bookmark This Page - Add this page to your favorite Web sites for fast, easy access to the site.

Results Page Help

Types of Results pages

Once you click the Search button, you will see your results page. The results page will show listings in either a matching category (such as "automobile repair", "plumbers", or "locksmiths") or results whose name matches some or all of your search keywords. Some of the options to refine your results are different between these two types of results.

Refine Your Results

You typically have two ways to refine your results if your original search was not quite on target.

Narrow Search

This lets you fine-tune your results within a category. The menu contains a list of sub-categories contained within your larger category. Click on the sub-category you want to narrow down your results.

Related Searches

This lets you adjust your search to focus on a different category. The menu contains a list of categories similar to your current category. Select the new category to see the applicable listings.

Sort Your Results

Results can be sorted using the links in the top right section of the blue box. Options for sorting include:
A-Z - See listings sorted in alphabetical order by name.

By Distance - See listings sorted according to how far they are from the location you entered.

By Advertisers - This is the default sorting for any searches you do. If you choose another sort method, click this link to return to the original sorting of your results.

See Specific Listings by Letter

To view listings from a certain letter of the alphabet, click the letter you would like to view.

Tip! - The # symbol is for all listings that start with a number or a symbol.

Types of Listings

Some listings are advertiser-based listings. Advertiser listings are labeled as either "Featured Sites" or "Local Advertiser". All other listings are non-advertisers.

Listing Details

Listings can contain any of the following links:
ZIP Code - See the ZIP Code for the selected listing.

Search the Web - Find out more information about the listing.

Map - See your selected listing on a map. You can also use the View these results on a map link to see all the listings on the page displayed on one map.

Driving Directions - Get directions to the selected listing.

Other Tips

Too Many Results?

If your search produces too many results, try any of the following:
  • Use the search form near the top of the results page to modify your search results and enter more information. If you entered just one keyword in the main search field, try adding another keyword or phrase. Add more address information if possible.
  • If you know the street address, use the Distance Search form and include the street address.

No Results?

If your search produced no results, use the search form near the bottom of the page to broaden your search using any of these tips:
  • If you entered multiple words for a business' name, try removing a word, or in general enter less of the business name (Joe's Auto instead of Joe's Auto Service).
  • If you have entered a business name, try a variation on the name, such as the acronym for the business (FBI) or its full name (Federal Bureau of Investigation). If a business is commonly abbreviated, try searching for it that way.
  • Check the spelling of the business name. If you are unsure, try using just part of the name.
  • Choose a more general category - Sporting Goods rather than Soccer Equipment.
  • Omit the City and ZIP Code.
  • Omit the Street on a distance search.
  • If all else fails, try the search using our Web Search.  Once you've found the correct spelling and location of the business, use Switchboard and do your search again.

Business Listing Help

Switchboard Basic Business Listings

All basic business listings are free and include the following information:
  • Business name (100 character limit.)
  • Street address (a map automatically links to the listed address)
  • City, State, ZIP Code
  • Phone number
  • Fax & Toll free numbers (optional)
  • Categories (up to 3)

Adding a Business Listing

To request to have your free Yellow Pages listing added to Switchboard's Yellow Pages, please click here.

Advertise with us

Click here to advertise on the Switchboard.com and Superpages.com networks.


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