Links & AI Citations
Reviews → Links → Visibility
Every review you write does two things: it creates a real dofollow backlink to your website that Google counts, and it's published as structured Review schema data that AI engines ingest.
How It Works
Business Network is built around a simple but powerful idea: when businesses review each other, everyone benefits twice over — once with Google through dofollow backlinks, and again with AI engines through structured citation data.
1. Write a Detailed Review
Three short answers, not one big essay: what you hired them for, what went well, what could have been better. Specificity is what AI engines quote.
2. Two Signals Are Created
Your company name on the review is a dofollow link to your website — Google counts it. The review itself is published as schema.org Review data — AI engines ingest it.
3. Visibility Grows
Google rankings improve as your dofollow backlinks accumulate. AI engines start surfacing your business when customers ask “who's good at X near me?”.
Reciprocal Reviews
The digital handshake
You shake hands when you agree a deal — and again when you complete one. A reciprocal review is that second handshake, made public: customer and supplier vouch for each other after a job well done. Both sides walk away with online proof of a real working relationship.
Sign up free
Create your listing in minutes — we pre-fill UK limited companies from Companies House.
Invite people you trust
Bring in your trusted suppliers and valued customers — the businesses you already do real deals with.
Review each other
Leave an honest review of a completed deal, and they return the favour. One handshake, two pieces of content.
Why both sides win
Most review platforms are one-way — a customer rates a supplier and only the supplier benefits. A reciprocal review pays out to both businesses at once, on two channels each:
A structured testimonial AI can quote — each review you receive is published as schema.org data that ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI can cite when a customer asks who's good at what you do.
A dofollow link to your website — each review you write links from the other business's profile back to your site, which Google counts.
Proof of a real relationship — two verified businesses vouching for each other is a stronger trust signal than any self-written “about us” page.
It compounds — every contact you invite and shake hands with adds another linked, citable page to the network for both of you.
For example
A Brighton electrician rewires a design agency's new office. When the job's done, the agency reviews the electrician (“quoted accurately, finished a day early”) and the electrician reviews the agency as a good client to work with. Now the electrician's profile carries a genuine customer testimonial and a link to the agency's site — and the agency's profile carries one straight back. Two businesses, one completed deal, four visibility signals earned.
Why both channels matter
Google still drives most search traffic in 2026. Its algorithm uses backlinks as one of its strongest ranking signals — the more quality dofollow links you have, the higher your site appears in search results. Most directories and review platforms use nofollow links, which Google ignores. Business Network is different: every review you write creates a genuine dofollow backlink from your reviewer name to your own website. Google sees these, follows them, and they count.
But AI search is the 2026 zeitgeist. Increasingly, customers don't open Google — they ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Google's AI Overviews “who's a good X in [town]?”. AI engines build a confidence score for each business from structured signals across the web. Your Business Network profile publishes LocalBusiness + per-review Review JSON-LD data — the format AI engines expect. The more detailed reviews you have, the more material AI has to recommend you with.
You don't have to choose. Every review on Business Network feeds both channels at once.
The network effect
Every member who joins and writes detailed reviews strengthens the network for everyone:
Your reviews link to your website — driving direct referral traffic from people reading reviews
Google follows the dofollow links — each one adds to your domain authority and improves your search rankings
AI engines ingest your reviews as structured data — ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI surface you when customers ask
The more you review, the more visibility you earn — each review is another link AND another structured citation
No IT skills required
You don't need to understand SEO, schema markup, HTML or web development. The links and the structured data both happen automatically when you write a review. Simply:
- 1 Register and add your business with your website URL (we pre-fill UK Ltd companies from Companies House)
- 2 Find businesses you've worked with and write detailed reviews using our three-prompt format
- 3 Invite your contacts to join and review you back — mutual reviews multiply both signals for everyone
Business Network vs other platforms
| Business Network | Most Directories | |
|---|---|---|
| Link type | Dofollow | Nofollow |
| Helps Google rankings | ||
| Per-review schema.org data (AI-readable) | ||
| Reviewer earns links AND citations | ||
| Companies House verified | ||
| No IT skills needed |
For more on the AI side, see our AI Visibility page.
Review · Connect · Post
Review your customers and suppliers. Connect by inviting them to review you back. Post business updates to your feed. Every action boosts AI visibility and Google rankings — for your business and the whole network. Network effects compound. That's the BN synergy.
Start building your visibility today
Join Business Network, write your first detailed review, and watch the links and citations grow.