Research
What decides whether customers find you, channel by channel
Nine channels, one question: what decides whether a customer finds, chooses and contacts your business, and how do you measure it accurately? This series sets out our research, including a review of 80 diagnostic tools that shows what each one checks.
Start here
What decides whether customers find you online: nine channels, one picture
Customers find, choose and contact a business across 9 channels. Most businesses pay for one tool and get one slice. Here is what you see when you look at all 9 at once, including what 80 tools check.
Research and guides
Guide
What does a business buyer find when they search for a distributor in Gauteng?
Four Gauteng distributor searches, 40 Maps cards, 35 supplier websites and four AI answers, recorded on 20 October 2026, plus a six-step check for your own listing.
Guide
What do the plumbers at the top of Google Maps in Gauteng show a homeowner?
Four Gauteng plumber searches, 36 Maps listings, 33 websites and six AI answers, recorded on 19 October 2026, plus a six-step check for your own listing.
Guide
Marketing agency, managed service or do it yourself? What South African agencies charge and promise
What South African agencies publish about price, contracts and account ownership, how a managed service compares, and five questions to ask before you sign.
Guide
Why isn't my business showing on Google Maps? What 20 Sandton listings show
Google ranks on relevance, distance and prominence. What 20 Sandton Maps listings and BTR Signal Score scans show, plus eight causes to check on your phone.
Guide
Who can manage Google Maps, reviews and WhatsApp for a dental practice in Johannesburg?
Four ways to hand over Maps, reviews and WhatsApp for a Johannesburg dental practice, what each costs in rand, and a seven-point checklist, with our Sandton Maps data.
Part 2
Your Google Business Profile is your shopfront. Here is what 10 GBP tools check.
We analysed 10 GBP audit tools. Between them they check 118 data points across 15 categories. Most businesses have checked maybe 5.
Part 3
We tested 10 SEO audit tools so you don't have to. Here is what they check.
The 5 best SEO audit tools each check 140 to 300 items. But they speak a language most business owners don't. Here is what matters.
Part 4
Is AI recommending your business? We analysed 10 tools that track AI visibility.
When a potential customer asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, does your business come up? We analysed 10 tools that track this new dimension.
Part 5
Your reviews tell a story. Here is how to read it.
We analysed 10 review management platforms. The most useful ones don't just count stars. They read what customers actually say and show which complaint costs you most.
Part 6
Your business is listed in 50 places. Half of them are wrong.
Your name, address, and phone number should be the same everywhere online. Most businesses have inconsistencies they don't know about across dozens of directories.
Part 7
Your social media profiles are the first thing people check. Here is what 10 tools look for.
Counting followers tells you little. A useful social check benchmarks every metric against industry averages and named competitors, then writes the specific fix.
Part 8
Your website gets a grade in 30 seconds. Here is why that grade might be wrong.
We tested 10 website audit tools. The surprise: the most comprehensive tools and the most useful tools are rarely the same.
Part 9
WhatsApp Business is either your best sales channel or your biggest missed opportunity.
We analysed 10 WhatsApp Business platforms. Here is a six-level maturity model that shows where your business sits and what to fix next.
Part 10
Your competitors are beating you online. Here is how, and what to do about it.
Business owners don't want data. They want to know who is beating them, by how much, and what to do about it.
See who your customers pick instead of you
Search for your business the way your customers do. The free BTR Signal Score shows where you come up, why customers choose someone else, and the first three things to fix.
Free, no card needed. The full report with a 30-day plan is R799.