If Claude names some contractors again and again, what do their websites have in common? We read the homepages of the companies Claude named often and of sites its searches found but did not name, and compared what each group shows.
Original study · v1.0
What the websites of contractors Claude names have in common
We compared the homepages of companies Claude named often with sites its searches found but did not name. The named group more often showed a street address, its city and LocalBusiness markup, and more often had profiles on sites such as Yelp, Angi and BBB. License numbers, insurance mentions and lists of the areas served ran the other way.
By Found ClearlyPublished October 29, 20265 min read
Part 4 of 4 in our study How Claude picks contractors, with the method and the other parts.
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Abstract
In October 2026 we asked Claude 9 buyer questions about 6 home service trades in 4 US metros. Across all 2,376 main-study answers, we compared two groups of websites in each city and trade: companies Claude named in at least 25% of a city and trade's answers (counting all 2,376 main-study answers), and sites Claude's own searches found but it did not name. The named group more often showed a street address on the homepage (88% vs 54%), named its city in plain words (90% vs 71%), used LocalBusiness markup (71% vs 56%) and had an Angi or HomeAdvisor profile (60% vs 33%). License numbers, insurance mentions and lists of the areas served ran the other way. These are patterns, not causes.
Key points
- A street address on the homepage: 88% of the sites Claude named often, against 54% of the sites it saw but did not name.
- The city named in plain words: 90% vs 71%. LocalBusiness markup: 71% vs 56%. An Angi or HomeAdvisor profile: 60% vs 33%.
- The other way round: license numbers (9% vs 23%), insurance mentions (34% vs 50%) and a list of the areas served (65% vs 75%) were more common on the sites Claude did not name.
- These are patterns, not causes: bigger companies tend to have more of everything.
Our data · Oct 2026 · Claude answers and company websites · Method →
Websites
What the named companies’ websites have in common
In each city and trade we compared two groups of sites, from all 2,376 main-study answers. Named often: companies Claude named in at least 25% of a city and trade’s answers (97 homepages we could read, of 125). Seen, not named: sites that came back from Claude’s own searches in at least 2 answers but that it did not name there (52 of 79).
We read the homepages, and a second page from most sites. Claude marked what each page shows, and a second, separate Claude check read a seeded 10% of all the pages again (45 pages).
88% vs 54%
Street address on the homepage
90% vs 71%
City named in plain words on the homepage
71% vs 56%
schema.org LocalBusiness markup
60% vs 33%
An Angi or HomeAdvisor profile
The address gap held inside cities and trades: of the 21 pairs with both groups, the named group showed an address more often in 16 and less often in 1.
On the homepage: named often (97 sites) vs seen, not named (52 sites)
| What the homepage shows | Named often | Seen, not named | Pairs: higher / lower / same |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street address | 88% (85/97) | 54% (28/52) | 16 / 1 / 4 |
| City named in plain words | 90% (87/97) | 71% (37/52) | 11 / 1 / 9 |
| schema.org LocalBusiness markup | 71% (69/97) | 56% (29/52) | 11 / 7 / 3 |
| A list of the areas served | 65% (63/97) | 75% (39/52) | 8 / 11 / 2 |
| License number | 9% (9/97) | 23% (12/52) | 3 / 9 / 9 |
| Insurance mentioned | 34% (33/97) | 50% (26/52) | 6 / 14 / 1 |
| Warranty | 75% (73/97) | 69% (36/52) | 5 / 10 / 6 |
| Financing | 52% (50/97) | 42% (22/52) | 8 / 8 / 5 |
| A price or price range | 20% (19/97) | 25% (13/52) | 8 / 8 / 5 |
| Reviews on the page | 80% (78/97) | 73% (38/52) | 10 / 6 / 5 |
| Years in business | 78% (76/97) | 73% (38/52) | 7 / 10 / 4 |
| Phone number | 100% (97/97) | 98% (51/52) | 1 / 0 / 20 |
Profiles found when Claude searched the web for each company
| Profile | Named often | Seen, not named | Pairs: higher / lower / same |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angi or HomeAdvisor | 60% (53/88) | 33% (17/52) | 14 / 4 / 3 |
| Houzz | 35% (31/88) | 23% (12/52) | 10 / 4 / 7 |
| 57% (50/88) | 37% (19/52) | 12 / 5 / 4 | |
| Yelp | 72% (63/88) | 52% (27/52) | 10 / 5 / 6 |
| Nextdoor | 49% (43/88) | 35% (18/52) | 11 / 9 / 1 |
| A manufacturer’s dealer locator | 23% (20/88) | 12% (6/52) | 8 / 3 / 10 |
| BBB | 76% (67/88) | 60% (31/52) | 11 / 10 / 0 |
| Google Business Profile in Claude’s search results | 0% (0/88) | 0% (0/52) | 0 / 0 / 21 |
Some results run the other way. License numbers (9% vs 23%), insurance mentions (34% vs 50%) and a list of the areas served (65% vs 75%) were more common on the sites Claude did not name. That is a pattern in this sample, not a reason to take them off your site.
Homepage size is similar in both groups: the median homepage had 32 internal links in the named group and 36 in the other, and 1,379 words against 1,273.
These are patterns, not causes. Bigger companies tend to have more of everything. 22% of the named group’s sites and 27% of the other group’s could not be read, and that may differ by group. Two checklist items, the exact service named and the owner or team named, are left out because the two checks agreed on them less than 85% of the time.
Our data · Oct 2026 · Claude answers and company websites · Method →
Your website
Check your website against these patterns
The named group showed each of these more often. Each takes a few minutes to check on your own homepage and profiles.
- Your street address on the homepage, written as text.
- Your city named in plain words on the homepage, not only in a map or a picture.
- schema.org LocalBusiness markup with your company’s name, address and phone.
- Profiles on the sites Claude’s searches found more often for the named group, such as Angi or HomeAdvisor, Yelp and BBB.
Your company
Or have us look at it
For a second pair of eyes on your homepage and profiles, start with the free check. We review your website and Google Business Profile by hand and email your first fixes, usually within two business days.
What this cannot tell you
- We asked Claude outside the Claude app. The app can answer differently: it may know where you are, remember earlier chats and use other settings.
- Claude and the way it searches the web change over time, so read this as a snapshot of October 2026.
- The study covers 4 metros and 6 home service trades. Other cities, trades and wordings can give other lists.
- The website comparison shows patterns, not causes. Larger companies tend to have more of everything, some sites could not be read, and Google review counts were not measured.
How to cite this
Found Clearly. "What the websites of contractors Claude names have in common", from "How Claude picks contractors", version 1.0. Published 2026-10-29. Data: Claude (Anthropic), October 2026.
The text and the figures on this page are under CC BY 4.0: quote, chart and republish them with credit to Found Clearly and a link to this page. That includes competitors.
Primary sources
FAQ
Related questions
What do the contractors Claude names have on their websites?
Compared with sites Claude's own searches found but it did not name, the companies Claude named in at least 25% of a city and trade's answers (counting all 2,376 main-study answers) more often showed a street address on the homepage (88% vs 54%), named their city in plain words (90% vs 71%) and used LocalBusiness markup (71% vs 56%). These shares are of 97 and 52 homepages. They also more often had an Angi or HomeAdvisor profile (60% vs 33%: 53 of 88 sites vs 17 of 52). These are patterns, not causes.
What showed up less often on the websites of contractors Claude named?
License numbers (9% vs 23%), insurance mentions (34% vs 50%) and a list of the areas served (65% vs 75%) were more common on the sites Claude saw but did not name (our data, October 2026). That is a pattern in this sample, not a reason to take them off your site.
Does a street address on the homepage make Claude name a company?
The data shows a pattern, not a cause. The companies Claude named often showed a street address on the homepage more often (88% vs 54%), and the gap held in 16 of the 21 city and trade pairs with both groups (our data, October 2026). Bigger companies tend to have more of everything, so an address may come with size.
Keep reading
Evidence you can check. Public prices, month to month.