When Patch launched in La Grange in the summer of 2010, editors and contributors ventured to local businesses to collect information for our directory. The result: Patch Places.

It's the spot to find local business descriptions, hours, payment methods, parking situations, and much more. New this month, we've added MapQuest directions that will send you right to the front door of a local business.

We're also big on ratings and reviews. To that end, you can see what your neighbors and patrons think of a business before you try it.

But local businesses get extra bonuses when they claim a listing.

Owners or managers can sign in and search for their business. Underneath the photos, there is a box with the question: Do you own or manage this location? Claim it! Just click 'Claim it!' and a form will pop up asking for contact information and authorization to claim the listing.

Within a few days, someone from Patch will contact you to verify your authenticity. You'll then be approved as the business owner and will see a "Manage Your Listing" button.

From there, you have lots of options to add photos, see your statistics and edit the listing. Here are the tools you'll see and what they mean:

Your Stats

Here you can see how many users have rated, reviewed or follow your listing. You can e-mail your customers to seek out more reviews, and link the Patch Place to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Edit Listing

Add photos, website information, hours of operation, contact information and more under the Basic Info tab. Some of this information cannot be changed, but you can request a new description if you think your business is inaccurately described.

Choose Extra Info to add information like the founding date of your business, what kinds of payments you accept, parking information and more.

Manage Photos & Media

Add and edit photos, choose which image is featured. If you have a video or PDFs, that's where you'd add it.

Reviews

You can see what people have to say about your business and respond to reviews.

Free Tools

An easy way to post events and add job openings to our classifieds section, also known as the Marketplace.

Paid Tools

You can upgrade your listing with a video profile, add a message from the owner and become a featured business on the Places page for a fee. You can learn more about these options and see how to get in touch with a sales team member.

Claim your listing today to help keep Patch users up to date with your company and keep your listing looking fresh.

Questions? Contact Patch Advertising Manager Mary Olson at 708.218.6724 or
Mary.Olson@Patch.com