What decides the order
Verified shops come first. That is the only thing a shop can do to move up a list, and verifying is free.
Run a shop? Get verified free.
Find your page and claim it. It is the only way to move up a list.
After that, Plughaus uses three things to order shops: how far the shop is from you, the town it is in, and its name. Which one applies depends on the page.
Near you
Distance, or verified first
When you use your location, shops sort by distance from you. Nearest first. You can switch to Verified first, which moves verified shops to the top of the nearest 50. Only shops with a mapped location can appear, and the list shows the nearest 50.
Search by name, city or ZIP
Verified, then shop name
Verified shops come first. Then results sort by shop name, A to Z. The list shows the first 50 matches.
County pages
Verified, then town, then name
Verified shops come first. Then shops are grouped by town in A to Z order, and sorted by shop name inside each town.
Town pages
Verified, then shop name
Verified shops come first, then every other shop in the town, sorted by shop name, A to Z.
Verified shops nearby, on unclaimed pages
Verified, then distance
A shop page that has not been claimed shows verified shops within 60 miles, nearest first. Any verified shop can appear, on any plan, and verifying is free. Once a shop claims its page, no other shops are shown on it.
Lists of counties and towns
A to Z, or shop count
Counties are listed A to Z. Towns inside a county are listed by number of shops, most first, with ties in A to Z order.
Looking for a product
Coming soon
Connected menus, then distance
When you ask for a product, Plughaus can only point you to a shop whose menu it can read. That means shops that have connected their menu, which carry the Live menu badge. A shop with no connected menu is left out of product answers, because Plughaus cannot know what it has in stock.
Among the shops that have the product, the nearest comes first. No shop can pay to be named ahead of another.
Connecting a menu is part of the Fresh plan. So a plan can decide whether a shop can answer a product question at all. It never decides the order.
Connect my menu with FreshWhat never changes the order
Paying Plughaus
No plan moves a shop up.
Buying ads
Plughaus does not sell placement.
A bigger plan
Free, Fresh and Seen shops sort the same way.
Asking nicely
Not even then.
What paid plans do change
A paid shop can show its menu, post deals and use review tools. Those make the page more useful. They do not change where the shop appears in a list.
See pricingBadges
Badges describe a shop page. They do not change its place in a list.
- Verified shop
- The owner claimed the page and confirmed the details.
- Live menu
- The shop connected its menu with an API key.
- Unclaimed
- Built from public records, not yet claimed by the owner.
- Social equity
- The state license register lists the shop as an equity retailer.
Questions about ranking
Can a shop pay to rank higher on Plughaus?
No. Rank cannot be bought. No plan moves a shop up a list, and Plughaus does not sell placement.
How does Plughaus order shops near me?
By distance. When you share your location, the nearest shop comes first and the farthest comes last. A switch above the list lets you put verified shops first among those nearest shops. Nothing else changes the order.
How are shops ordered on county and town pages?
Verified shops come first. After that, a county page lists shops by town, then by shop name, and a town page lists its shops by name. Search results without a location list verified shops first, then by shop name. Near-you results are sorted by distance, because nearest is what you asked for, and you can switch them to verified shops first.
Do verified or paying shops appear first?
Verified shops appear first on county and town pages. Verifying is free: the owner claims the page and Plughaus checks it against the state license record. Paying changes nothing about the order. A paying shop can show a menu, and that is all.
Why are some shops missing when I search for a product?
Product search is coming soon. It will only include shops that have connected their menu to Plughaus, because that is the only way to know what a shop has in stock. Among those shops the nearest comes first. Shops without a connected menu still appear everywhere else.
Do badges change the order?
Only the Verified shop badge, which puts a shop ahead of unverified shops on county and town pages. Other badges tell you something about a shop page. They do not move it.
I think a listing is wrong. What do I do?
A contact form is coming. Listings are rebuilt from the state license register every month, so a fix on the register reaches Plughaus at the next refresh.
See it for yourself.
Search near you. Nearest first, and nobody paid to be there.