local-citations
Local Citations
Default data tool: LocalSEOData (
localseodata-tool). Usecitation_auditto check NAP consistency across 20 directories in one call (50 credits). For citation building/submission, use Whitespark or BrightLocal.
You are an expert in local citation strategy. Your goal is to build a consistent, authoritative citation profile that reinforces NAP data across the web and supports local ranking signals.
What is a Citation?
A citation is any online mention of a business's Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP). Two types:
- Structured citations: Directory listings (Yelp, BBB, industry directories) with formatted NAP fields
- Unstructured citations: Mentions on blogs, news sites, or other pages where NAP appears in text
NAP Consistency Rules
Name: Character-for-character match. "Smith's Plumbing" ≠ "Smiths Plumbing" ≠ "Smith Plumbing LLC" Address: Exact formatting. "123 Main St Ste 200" everywhere — not "Suite" on some and "Ste" on others Phone: Same primary number everywhere. If using a tracking number, it must also appear on your website
Common Inconsistencies
- Old addresses from a previous location
- DBA vs. legal name variations
- Suite/unit number present on some, missing on others
- Toll-free vs. local number
- Different phone from call tracking implementations
- Abbreviation mismatches (St/Street, Ave/Avenue)
Citation Building Priority
Tier 1: Essential (Do First)
- Google Business Profile
- Apple Maps / Apple Business Connect
- Bing Places for Business
- Facebook Business Page
- Yelp
Tier 2: Data Aggregators
These feed data to hundreds of smaller directories:
- Data Axle (formerly Infogroup)
- Neustar/Localeze
- Foursquare
Tier 3: Major Directories
- BBB (Better Business Bureau)
- Yellow Pages / YP.com
- Angi (Angie's List)
- Thumbtack
- MapQuest
- Superpages
- Manta
- Citysearch
Tier 4: Industry-Specific
Examples by vertical:
- Healthcare: Healthgrades, Vitals, WebMD, Zocdoc
- Legal: Avvo, FindLaw, Justia, Martindale
- Home services: HomeAdvisor, Porch, Houzz
- Restaurants: OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Zomato
- Real estate: Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin
- Auto: CarFax, Cars.com, AutoTrader
Tier 5: Local & Niche
- Local Chamber of Commerce
- Local business associations
- City/town business directories
- State professional association directories
- Niche industry directories
Citation Audit Process
- Search
"business name" "phone number"to find existing citations - Search
"business name" "address"for additional mentions - Check major directories manually
- Use citation audit tools (BrightLocal, Whitespark, Moz Local)
- Document every listing: URL, current NAP, accuracy status
- Prioritize fixes: wrong info on high-authority sites first
Citation Cleanup
Fix Priority Order
- Tier 1 directories (Google, Apple, Bing, Yelp, Facebook)
- Data aggregators (Data Axle, Neustar, Foursquare)
- High-authority directories with wrong information
- Duplicate listings on any directory
- Industry-specific directories
- Lower-authority directories
How to Fix
- Claim and update: Most directories allow you to claim the listing
- Submit corrections: Use the directory's correction/update form
- Data aggregator updates: Fix at the source — changes propagate downstream
- Duplicate suppression: Merge or mark duplicates on each platform
Citation Building for Multi-Location
At Scale
- Use data aggregator submissions to cascade to smaller directories
- Bulk submit to Tier 1-3 directories
- Prioritize industry-specific directories by location
- Maintain a master spreadsheet of all citations per location
Per-Location Tracking
Track per location:
- Total citations
- Percentage accurate
- Missing from which Tier 1 directories
- Industry-specific directory coverage
Output Format
Citation Audit Report
- Total citations found
- Accuracy rate (% consistent NAP)
- Tier-by-tier coverage
- Specific listings needing correction
- Missing directory opportunities
- Prioritized action plan
Task-Specific Questions
- What is the exact NAP (as it should appear everywhere)?
- Has the business moved, changed names, or changed phone numbers?
- Single location or multi-location?
- What industry? (determines industry-specific directories)
- Has any citation work been done previously?
What to Do Next
| What You Found | Next Action | Skill |
|---|---|---|
| Citations are clean but GBP isn't optimized | GBP is the #1 citation — optimize it first | gbp-optimization |
| Found NAP inconsistencies during audit | Fix citations as part of the broader audit action plan | local-seo-audit |
| Website schema doesn't match citation data | Align schema with corrected NAP | local-schema |
| Managing citations for multiple locations | Build a citation management system per-location | multi-location-seo |
| Citations are clean but still not ranking | Citations alone won't fix ranking — run a geogrid scan to diagnose | geogrid-analysis |
Default next step: After citation cleanup, wait 4-8 weeks for changes to propagate through aggregators and downstream directories, then re-audit to verify.
Tools for This Skill
See docs/tool-routing to pick based on what's connected.
- Citation audit (find listings, check accuracy) → citation tools (multiple options)
- Citation building (submit to directories) → citation tools (multiple options — quality varies)
More from garrettjsmith/localseoskills
gbp-optimization
When the user wants to set up, optimize, or manage a Google Business Profile, or improve visibility in Google's local map pack. Also use when the user mentions "GBP," "Google Business Profile," "Google My Business," "GMB," "business listing," "Google Maps listing," "optimize my profile," "map pack," "local pack," "3-pack," "Google Maps ranking," or "why am I not in the map pack." For review strategy, see review-management. For GBP posts, see gbp-posts. For suspension issues, see gbp-suspension-recovery.
10service-area-seo
When the user operates a service-area business (SAB) without a public storefront. Also use when the user mentions "service area business," "SAB," "no storefront," "hide my address," "mobile business," "home-based business SEO," or "I go to the customer." For location page creation, see local-landing-pages. For GBP setup, see gbp-optimization.
7lsa-ads
When the user wants help with Google Local Services Ads (LSAs), the pay-per-lead ad format with Google Guaranteed or Google Screened badges. Also use when the user mentions "LSA," "Local Services Ads," "Google Guaranteed," "Google Screened," "pay per lead," "LSA ranking," "LSA leads," "LSA disputes," or "LSA budget." For map pack ads, see local-search-ads. For geographic PPC, see local-ppc-ads.
6screaming-frog-tool
When the user wants a technical site audit, crawl data analysis, location page quality checks, duplicate content detection, schema validation at scale, or internal linking analysis. Trigger on "Screaming Frog," "site crawl," "technical audit," "crawl data," "broken links," "duplicate content," "location page audit," or when analyzing exported crawl CSV/Excel files.
6brightlocal-tool
When the user wants citation audits, citation building, review monitoring across platforms, GBP audit scoring, or white-label local SEO reports. Trigger on "citation audit," "check my citations," "NAP consistency," "where am I listed," "BrightLocal," "directory listings," "review monitoring," or "client report.
6local-search-ads
When the user wants to run ads that appear inside the Google Maps local pack / map pack results. Also use when the user mentions "local search ads," "map pack ads," "ads in the map results," "local pack ads," "Google Maps ads," "location extensions ads," or "promoted pins on Google Maps." For LSAs (pay-per-lead), see lsa-ads. For standard geographic PPC, see local-ppc-ads.
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