How to rank on Perplexity: the engine that reads directories

Perplexity is the answer engine that shows its sources most openly: every sentence has its link. For a local business that’s good news, because you can see exactly where it gets the names. In my study on local SEO and AI I asked Perplexity 352 questions across 23 business categories in Catania, Sicily, and the surrounding towns, and read the sources of every answer.

A note on method: I queried Perplexity through its API («sonar» model, web search set to Italy). The app on your phone may use other models, but the starting sources are the same.

Perplexity almost always cites a directory

Two numbers set it apart from the other engines: it never cites Google Maps, and it cites a directory almost every time. In the first collection 39 answers out of 40 cited a «best of» or ranking page, usually generated by a portal from the reviews collected there.

Which directories it reads

These are the domains Perplexity cited most in the first collection (40 answers, October 15-16, 2026), counting the answers they appear in. They are Italian, but the pattern carries over: old, big business directories with a page for almost every company.

These aren’t prestige sites: they are the largest, oldest listings in the country. My reading is that Perplexity uses them because they have a page for almost every business, with tidy data, and they rank for searches like «electrician catania». Other engines, such as ChatGPT, cite them far less.

What gets you cited by Perplexity

In the study’s statistical model, holding the other factors equal, what matters for Perplexity is:

• Your own website linked to your Google profile: about 2.8 times the odds of being cited.
• Appearing in many searches of your category: +60% per doubling. The more needs you cover, the more lists and rankings include you.
• Reviews: +10% per doubling, the smallest effect among the engines.

What doesn’t matter, unlike ChatGPT: rating and Google Maps position. That fits the fact that Perplexity doesn’t read Maps: it sees reviews only as the directories report them.

Perplexity also agrees least with the other engines. On the same question it had no name in common with ChatGPT 48% of the time, and with Google 45%. Being recommended by ChatGPT tells you nothing about Perplexity, and vice versa.

An example: the sources for «SEO consultant in Catania»

On October 15, 2026 I asked Perplexity questions such as «Can you recommend an SEO consultant in Catania?». Its sources were crystal clear: Addlance (in three answers), Trustpilot, PagineGialle, PagineBianche, ProvenExpert, Clutch and LinkedIn. A later check with Perplexity’s larger model gave the same picture: directories like Addlance before websites.

These aren’t the directories it would cite for a plumber or a dentist: every trade has its own. That’s why the test is useful for uncovering sources you hadn’t thought of. The same reasoning works for any local business: see which directories Perplexity cites for your trade and city, and make sure you’re on them, with complete details and genuine reviews.

What to do, in order

1. Ask Perplexity about your trade («Can you recommend a [trade] in [city]?») and note the directories it cites. It’s free and gives you the right list for your industry.
2. Claim and complete your page on those directories: the general business directories for almost everyone, plus your industry’s portal (doctors’, beauty, home services and so on).
3. Keep name, address and phone identical everywhere: Perplexity combines different sources, and inconsistent data gets you confused with others.
4. Link a website that explains your services to your Google profile, with a page for each: it is the strongest factor for Perplexity too.
5. Let its crawler in: your robots.txt shouldn’t block PerplexityBot. In the study only 4 sites out of 630 blocked AI bots, but check yours.

The other engines play by different rules: ChatGPT looks mostly at rating and reviews, Gemini at your website. The full picture is in the study.