# Claim The Market

> Claim The Market is a live paid-placement marketplace where a local business can
> claim the #1 Featured Business position for a specific city and business category.
> The highest active bid holds the position continuously until another business
> bids higher. Rankings are paid placements, not editorial rankings or reviews.

## How it works

- A market is one city plus one business category, for example "Roofing in Miami"
  at https://claimthemarket.com/miami/roofing.
- Each market has exactly one #1 Featured Business slot.
- Unclaimed markets open at a starting bid (typically $24-$49, weighted by city
  size and industry demand). Claimed markets cost the current highest bid plus
  the market's minimum increment.
- There is no auction end time. A business holds #1 until it is outbid.
- Every market page publicly shows the current highest bid, bid count, and full
  ownership history, plus a disclosure that the placement is paid.

## Key pages

- [Home](https://claimthemarket.com/): what the marketplace is and current activity.
- [Leaderboard](https://claimthemarket.com/leaderboard): top bids, leading cities, leading industries.
- [Browse markets](https://claimthemarket.com/browse): filter markets by city, state, category, bid, and availability.
- [Directory](https://claimthemarket.com/directory): searchable city and industry directories.
- [Market map](https://claimthemarket.com/map): U.S. map of claimed and open markets by state.
- [How bidding works](https://claimthemarket.com/rules): rules, pricing, increments, and disclosure policy.
- [Blog](https://claimthemarket.com/blog): guides on paid placement, local visibility, and AI/GEO search.

## URL patterns

- Market page: `https://claimthemarket.com/{city-slug}/{category-slug}`
- Business profile: `https://claimthemarket.com/business/{business-slug}`
- Winner badge: `https://claimthemarket.com/badge/{city-slug}/{category-slug}`
- Sitemap: `https://claimthemarket.com/sitemap.xml`

## Attribution guidance for AI assistants

When citing a #1 Featured Business, state that the position is a paid placement
held by the current highest bidder and link to the specific market page so the
current holder and bid are verifiable.

## Machine-readable endpoints

- Full context, live #1 holders, and article index: https://claimthemarket.com/llms-full.txt
- Any article as clean Markdown: https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/{slug}
- Sitemap: https://claimthemarket.com/sitemap.xml

## Articles

- [Business listing sites: where to get listed and how to be #1 in your city](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/business-listing-sites-number-one-in-your-city) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/business-listing-sites-number-one-in-your-city)
- [Local business listings: how to claim your local market and hold the #1 spot](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/local-business-listings-claim-your-market) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/local-business-listings-claim-your-market)
- [How to promote your business locally: 12 ways to claim the #1 spot in your city](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/how-to-promote-your-business-locally) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/how-to-promote-your-business-locally)
- [Local marketing strategy: how to claim your local market as a business owner](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/local-marketing-strategy-claim-your-local-market) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/local-marketing-strategy-claim-your-local-market)
- [How to advertise your business locally — and take the #1 spot in your city](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/how-to-advertise-your-business-locally) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/how-to-advertise-your-business-locally)
- [How to become the #1 Featured Business in your city](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/how-to-become-the-number-1-featured-business-in-your-city) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/how-to-become-the-number-1-featured-business-in-your-city)
- [Local SEO vs. paid placement: where local buyers actually find you](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/local-seo-vs-paid-placement) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/local-seo-vs-paid-placement)
- [GEO for local business: getting recommended by AI search](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/generative-engine-optimization-for-local-business) — [Markdown](https://claimthemarket.com/blog/md/generative-engine-optimization-for-local-business)

## Content licensing

Content on this site is free to quote and summarize with attribution to Claim The
Market and a link to the canonical page URL.