Managing Visibility and Referrals per Publication

Quick Answer

Control your listing's presence on each publication using two toggles: Visibility (whether your listing displays) and Referrals (whether you receive leads). Access these in the Publication Table to customize your presence across Heritage Web's 300+ community publications.

Overview

Not every publication may be right for your business. Maybe you want to focus on specific communities, or you're at capacity and don't need more leads from certain sources. The Publication Table's visibility and referral controls let you fine-tune your presence without removing Languages or Community Connections from your listing.

The Two Controls

Visibility Toggle

Setting	What Happens
On/Visible	Your listing displays on this publication
Off/Hidden	Your listing doesn't appear on this publication

Hiding your listing means potential clients on that publication won't find you through search or browsing.

Referrals Toggle

Setting	What Happens
On	You receive referral leads from this publication
Off	You don't receive referrals from this publication

Turning off referrals means you won't be matched with client requests originating from that publication.

Control Combinations

You can mix and match these settings:

Visibility	Referrals	Result
✓ On	✓ On	Full presence—visible and receiving leads
✓ On	✗ Off	Visible for branding, but no referral leads
✗ Off	✓ On	Not visible, but still receive referral matches
✗ Off	✗ Off	No presence on this publication

Step-by-Step: Managing Visibility

To Hide from a Publication

Go to your Organization listing edit page
Scroll to the Publication Table
Find the publication you want to hide from
Toggle Visibility to Off or Hidden
Save your changes

To Restore Visibility

Find the publication in your Publication Table
Toggle Visibility to On or Visible
Save your changes

Step-by-Step: Managing Referrals

To Stop Receiving Referrals

Go to your Organization listing edit page
Scroll to the Publication Table
Find the publication
Toggle Referrals to Off
Save your changes

To Start Receiving Referrals

Find the publication in your Publication Table
Toggle Referrals to On
Save your changes

When to Adjust These Settings

Turn Off Visibility When:

Scenario	Example
Focusing on specific communities	Only want to serve Iranian community, hide from others
Updating your listing	Hide temporarily while making major changes
Capacity constraints	Too busy to serve certain markets
Market testing	Try different publication combinations

Turn Off Referrals When:

Scenario	Example
At full capacity	Have enough leads, don't need more
Branding only	Want visibility but not actively seeking leads
Seasonal adjustment	Reduce leads during busy periods
Quality concerns	Leads from certain publications aren't converting

Keep Both On When:

Scenario	Example
Growing your business	Want maximum visibility and lead flow
Entering new markets	Just added new language/community
Default recommendation	Best for most businesses most of the time

Examples

Example 1: Focus on Two Communities

An immigration attorney wants to focus on Iranian and Mexican communities only:

Publication	Visibility	Referrals
HeritageWeb.com	✓ On	✓ On
IranianLawyers.com	✓ On	✓ On
MexicanLawyers.com	✓ On	✓ On
ChineseLawyers.com	✗ Off	✗ Off
KoreanLawyers.com	✗ Off	✗ Off

Example 2: Branding Without Leads

A medical practice wants visibility everywhere but only referrals from select publications:

Publication	Visibility	Referrals
HeritageWeb.com	✓ On	✓ On
IranianDoctors.com	✓ On	✓ On
ChineseDoctors.com	✓ On	✗ Off
KoreanDoctors.com	✓ On	✗ Off

Example 3: Temporary Capacity Limit

A busy law firm needs to reduce lead flow temporarily:

Publication	Visibility	Referrals
HeritageWeb.com	✓ On	✗ Off
IranianLawyers.com	✓ On	✓ On
LosAbogados.com	✓ On	✗ Off

They stay visible everywhere but only accept referrals from their primary community.

Best Practices

Do:

Start with all visibility and referrals on (default)
Adjust based on actual business needs
Review settings periodically
Re-enable when circumstances change

Don't:

Hide from publications without reason
Turn off referrals and forget about it
Assume hiding improves lead quality (it just reduces volume)
Make changes during critical business periods without testing

Impact on Your Business

Visibility Off

Won't appear in searches on that publication
Won't appear in browse/directory listings
Existing direct links may still work (depends on implementation)
No organic discovery from that community

Referrals Off

Won't receive matched referral leads from that publication
Still visible to clients browsing
Direct messages still possible (if enabled)
Reduces your lead volume from that source

Important Notes

Changes take effect immediately (no re-approval needed)
Settings are per-publication—customize each independently
Hiding doesn't delete your listing from that publication—just hides it
You can't add new publications this way—only manage existing assignments
HeritageWeb.com visibility cannot be fully disabled

FAQs

Will turning off referrals affect my listing quality? No. It simply means you won't receive referral matches from that publication. Your listing quality is unaffected.

Can I turn referrals on but visibility off? Yes. You'd receive referral matches from that publication without your listing being publicly visible there. This is unusual but possible.

How quickly do changes take effect? Immediately. Visibility and referral changes don't require review.

Should I ever turn everything off? Only HeritageWeb.com has restrictions. You can turn off visibility/referrals for community publications, but being completely hidden everywhere defeats the purpose of having a listing.

Can I set different settings for Sponsor vs. Free? No. These settings apply to your listing regardless of tier. Sponsor and Free affect contact visibility, not publication presence.