A citation is a mention of your business details somewhere other than your own website. Most are directory listings: Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Facebook, the Better Business Bureau, Angi for home services, Healthgrades or Zocdoc for medical practices. Others appear in local news, on supplier sites, or on community pages.
Citations don’t need a link to count. A structured listing with your name, address and phone number (NAP) is a citation whether or not it links to your site.
Why they matter
Trust in your details. Search engines cross-check your business information across many sources. Consistent citations confirm that the business exists at that address with that phone number.
Prominence. Being listed on the respected directories in your industry and city is part of being a well-known business, one of the factors Google uses for local rankings.
Customers. Many people search directly on Yelp, Apple Maps or industry sites. Voice assistants and car navigation systems also pull from these sources.
That said, citations have become a smaller factor than they were a decade ago. Once your core listings are accurate, adding hundreds more brings little. Reviews, your Google Business Profile and your website matter more.
Which citations to prioritize
- Core platforms: Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Facebook, Yelp
- Data aggregators that feed other directories (in the US, these include Data Axle and Foursquare)
- Industry directories: Angi and HomeAdvisor for Coastline Plumbing; Healthgrades, Zocdoc and the state dental association for Brightside Dental
- Local sources: chamber of commerce, city business directories, neighborhood associations
A realistic plan
Coastline Plumbing doesn’t need 300 listings. It needs 30 to 50 accurate ones, starting with the platforms customers actually use. The first job is cleaning up what exists: finding old listings with a previous phone number, merging duplicates, and claiming listings it never set up.
Common mistakes
- Paying for bulk submissions to hundreds of low-quality directories
- Creating new listings while old inaccurate ones stay live
- Different business names or phone numbers across listings
- Never checking listings again after setting them up. Directories can change details based on user suggestions
How to check
Search your business name plus your phone number, and your old phone number, to find listings. RankThat’s Local SEO tools include a citations check that shows where you’re listed and where details are missing or inconsistent. Some citations also include a link, which can add a small backlink benefit.