NearGuides
Practical, sourced guides for owner-run local businesses. We only state what providers have documented or what we've measured ourselves — and we say so when something is unknown.
Want to check your own site while you read? Use the free AI Crawler Checker (robots.txt), LocalBusiness Schema Generator and AI-Readiness Check. For the full picture, the $49 one-time audit asks ChatGPT about 28 local questions and reports whether it mentions you. No guarantees, and no subscription.
How AI assistants choose which local plumber to recommend
What OpenAI and Google have publicly said about finding websites — and a practical to-do list.
Is your robots.txt hiding you from AI search?
A 2-minute check, the difference between search bots and training bots, and copy-paste examples.
How to unblock AI crawlers (robots.txt, CDN and firewall)
Where AI search bots usually get blocked, how to let them in without opening the door to training bots, and how to check.
What is llms.txt, and does a local business need one?
What the file is, what Google says about it, and a copy-paste template you can fill in.
LocalBusiness schema: a copy-paste starter and checklist
Based on Google's documentation, with honest notes on what structured data will and won't do.