The Web Presence API

`POST /web_presence_requests` is an independent product

The Web Presence API accepts the same kind of inputs as a Business Search but runs only the digital-footprint analysis. It operates independently of KYB: it doesn't require a registration match, doesn't influence KYB scores, and returns results regardless of whether the business appears in Secretary of State records.

This makes it the right primary path for several common integration patterns, not just a fallback for failed Business Searches.

When standalone is the better default

Scenario	Why standalone fits
You approve sole proprietors	Business Search returns `FAILED` for most sole props, no SoS registration means no match and no orderables. Standalone returns web presence on every applicant regardless of registration status.
You want to pre-screen before KYB	Run digital discovery early in your funnel to gather context before committing to a full KYB search.
You want signals on every application, including rejected ones	Industry classification and online activity are valuable for analytics and underwriting calibration even when KYB fails.
You're latency-sensitive on KYB	Running web presence in parallel to (or earlier than) your KYB call keeps the Business Search fast.
You don't want online signals influencing KYB ratings	Standalone keeps the two pipelines fully independent.

Request fields

Required

Field	Description
`name`	The business name to evaluate.
`address`	The business's physical address. A full street address is ideal; state is the minimum required. More detail improves match precision, especially for businesses with common names.

Optional

Field	Description
`alternative_names`	Known DBAs, trade names, or brand names. Can significantly improve discovery accuracy when businesses operate under different names online.
`officer_names`	Officers or directors associated with the business. Used to improve match confidence when linking discovered online officers back to the entity.
`website`	The business's claimed website. When provided, Baselayer analyzes both this domain and any domain it independently discovers, returning separate results for each.
`phone_number`	Used to validate consistency across online directories and contact pages.
`email`	Used to check alignment between submitted data and discovered online contact information.
`social_profiles`	Known social media profiles for the business. Pass as an array of `{site, value}` pairs where `value` can be a URL, handle, or free text. Baselayer will verify each against its discovery results and report back which were independently confirmed.
`reference_id`	An optional string to associate this request with an internal ID or case in your system. Returned in webhooks and API responses for traceability.
`options`	Sub-products to include in the analysis. See the table below.

Valid values for `options`

Order.Enhanced and Order.Pep are not supported on this endpoint. To get social profiles and reviews via /web_presence_requests, request each sub-product individually.

If no options are submitted, Order.WebsiteAnalysis and Order.NaicsPrediction are requested by default.

Value	What it returns
`Order.WebsiteAnalysis`	`website_analysis` inline in the response. If a `website` was submitted, an additional analysis is returned for that domain under `input_website_analysis`.
`Order.NaicsPrediction`	`industry_prediction` inline in the response.
`Order.SocialMedia`	`found_social_profiles[]` at the top level of the response.
`Order.ReviewSummary`	`found_reviews[]` at the top level — summary depth.
`Order.ReviewFull`	`found_reviews[]` at the top level — full review detail.
`Order.DirectoryListing`	`found_directory_listings[]` at the top level.

Where the data lives in the response

A key difference from /searches: on this endpoint, website_analysis and industry_prediction are returned inline in the response. You do not need to call a separate GET endpoint to retrieve them.

Data	Location
Match flags (`business_address_match`, `business_website_match`, `email_match`, `phone_number_match`)	Top level
`*_match_sources` arrays	Top level
`website_analysis`	Top level inline
`industry_prediction`	Top level inline
`found_social_profiles[]`	Top level (requires `Order.SocialMedia`)
`found_reviews[]`	Top level (requires `Order.ReviewSummary` or `Order.ReviewFull`)
`found_directory_listings[]`	Top level (requires `Order.DirectoryListing`)
`input_website_analysis`	Top level - derived from your `website` input
`input_social_profiles[]`	Top level - scraped profiles derived from your `social_profiles` input
`social_profiles_match[]`	Top level — one entry per submitted social profile, indicating whether it was independently verified by Baselayer

No unified address or officer list. Unlike /searches with Order.Enhanced, this endpoint does not merge discovered addresses and officers into a single business object. Discovered addresses and officers are nested within each sub-product result (e.g., inside website_analysis or individual found_social_profiles entries).

Sample request

{
  "name": "Acme Corp",
  "address": "123 Main St, New York, NY 10001",
  "website": "acmecorp.com",
  "social_profiles": [
    {
      "site": "linked_in:company",
      "value": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/acme-corp"
    },
    {
      "site": "instagram",
      "value": "@acmecorp"
    }
  ],
  "options": [
    "Order.WebsiteAnalysis",
    "Order.NaicsPrediction",
    "Order.SocialMedia",
    "Order.ReviewSummary"
  ]
}

Sample response

{
  "id": "c3f1a2b4-...",
  "state": "COMPLETED",
  "found_website": "https://www.acmecorp.com/",
  "business_address_match": "EXACT",
  "business_address_match_sources": ["FOUND_WEBSITE", "REVIEW"],
  "business_website_match": null,
  "email_match": null,
  "email_match_sources": [],
  "phone_number_match": "EXACT",
  "phone_number_match_sources": ["FOUND_WEBSITE"],
  "website_analysis": {
    "id": "7e815bec-...",
    "url": "https://www.acmecorp.com/",
    "parked": false,
    "website_build_status": "active",
    "email_deliverable": true,
    "emails": [],
    "phone_numbers": ["+12125550100"],
    "website_summary": "Acme Corp provides industrial supply solutions across the northeast US.",
    "website_structure_metrics": { "breadth": "5", "depth": "2+" },
    "addresses": [
      {
        "street": "123 Main St",
        "city": "New York",
        "state": "NY",
        "zip": "10001"
      }
    ],
    "people": [
      { "name": "Jane Smith", "titles": ["CEO"] }
    ],
    "social_profiles": [
      { "site": "linkedin", "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/acme-corp", "username": "acme-corp" },
      { "site": "instagram", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/acmecorp", "username": "acmecorp" }
    ],
    "ssl_validity": {
      "is_valid": true,
      "cert_age_days": 45,
      "days_until_expiry": 320,
      "expiry_date": "2027-04-01T00:00:00Z",
      "tls_version": "TLSv1.3",
      "is_wildcard": false,
      "is_self_signed": false
    },
    "whois_record": {
      "domain_age_months": 84,
      "domain_created_at": "2019-05-01T00:00:00",
      "domain_expires_at": "2027-05-01T00:00:00",
      "registrar": "GoDaddy"
    },
    "screenshot_url": "https://api.baselayer.com/website_analysis/7e815bec-.../screenshot"
  },
  "industry_prediction": {
    "code": "423840",
    "title": "Industrial and Personal Service Paper Merchant Wholesalers",
    "accuracy": 0.91,
    "keywords": ["industrial supply", "safety equipment", "wholesale", "B2B"],
    "risk_level": "low",
    "reasoning": "Website describes wholesale distribution of industrial supplies and safety equipment to commercial clients.",
    "mcc_codes": [
      {
        "code": "5085",
        "description": "Industrial Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified",
        "mastercard_risk": false,
        "visa_risk_tier": null
      }
    ],
    "sic_codes": [
      {
        "code": "5085",
        "description": "Industrial and Personal Service Paper"
      }
    ]
  },
  "found_social_profiles": [
    {
      "site": "linked_in:company",
      "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/acme-corp",
      "username": "acme-corp",
      "confidence": "high",
      "found_on": ["FOUND_WEBSITE"],
      "metadata": {
        "followers_count": 1840,
        "company_size_range": "51-200 employees",
        "bio": "Industrial supply solutions across the northeast US.",
        "business_website": "https://acmecorp.com"
      }
    }
  ],
  "found_reviews": [
    {
      "source": "google",
      "confidence": "high",
      "rating": 4.6,
      "volume": 112,
      "summary": null,
      "address": "123 Main St, New York, NY 10001",
      "phone_number": "+12125550100",
      "business_website": "https://acmecorp.com",
      "reviews": [
        { "date": "2026-05-20", "rating": 5, "text": "Fast delivery, great quality.", "username": "Jane D." },
        { "date": "2026-05-15", "rating": 4, "text": "Good selection, responsive team.", "username": "Mark T." }
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Industrial supply distributor serving commercial clients across the northeast.",
        "open_state": "Open",
        "service_options": { "delivery": true, "dine_in": false, "takeout": false }
      }
    }
  ],
  "found_directory_listings": null,
  "input_social_profiles": [
    {
      "site": "linked_in:company",
      "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/acme-corp",
      "confidence": "high",
      "found_on": ["FOUND_WEBSITE"],
      "metadata": {
        "followers_count": 1840,
        "company_size_range": "51-200 employees"
      }
    }
  ],
  "social_profiles_match": [
    {
      "site": "linked_in:company",
      "value": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/acme-corp",
      "matched": true
    },
    {
      "site": "instagram",
      "value": "@acmecorp",
      "matched": false
    }
  ]
}

Sole proprietors

Web presence is the cornerstone of sole proprietor verification. Sole props typically lack SoS registration data, which means a Business Search alone cannot confirm their identity. Online presence (an active website, social media profiles, review history, and consistent contact information) fills that gap.

For the complete sole proprietor workflow covering TIN verification, web presence, and individual identity checks, see Sole Proprietorship Verification.

Webhooks

When a web presence request completes, Baselayer fires:

WebPresenceRequest.completed: signals the full request is done and all requested sub-products are available in the response.

Related guides

Online Presence: Basics - integration path decision guide
Adding Online Presence to a Business Search - the bundled path via /searches
Response Reference - full field definitions and path-specific response shapes
Online Presence: Best Practices - how to use these signals for onboarding decisions
Sole Proprietorship Verification - full sole prop workflow

POST /web_presence_requests is an independent product