Outreach rules

Last updated October 12, 2026

SiteSprout is for honest, one-to-one outreach to local businesses. These rules keep you within the law, protect business owners, and keep SiteSprout welcome. Breaking them can get your account suspended.

Always

• Contact businesses one at a time, as yourself. Say who you are and why you’re reaching out.
• Be honest about what you offer and what it costs.
• Stop when someone says no, asks you not to contact them again, or doesn’t reply after your follow-ups.
• In emails, include your real name and a way to reach you, and honor every request to stop.
• Get the owner’s permission before you publish a website using their business name, photos or reviews.

Never

• Send bulk or automated emails, texts or calls to the businesses you find.
• Send automated or pre-recorded calls or text messages to cell phones. In the US this needs written consent under the TCPA. Call by hand, walk in, or message through the business’s own contact form or social page.
• Pretend to be Google, the business, a government office, or anyone else.
• Use fake urgency, threats, or false claims (for example “your listing will be removed”).
• Publish a website for a business without its permission, or keep a preview online after the owner asks you to take it down.
• Harass anyone, or keep contacting someone who asked you to stop.
• Collect business data from SiteSprout to sell or share as a list.

Know your local rules

Laws differ by country and state. In the US, commercial email follows the CAN-SPAM Act and calls and texts follow the TCPA and Do Not Call rules. Other countries (such as Canada’s CASL or the EU’s rules) can be stricter. When in doubt, walk in or call during business hours. It works best anyway.

Report a problem

If a SiteSprout user contacted your business in a way that breaks these rules, tell us and choose “Report a user”. We read every report.