Local SEO Services
Local Citation Building and Cleanup
Inconsistent business information across the web is costing you trust. Here's the fix.
A citation is any mention of your business name, address, and phone number on the web. Yelp. Angi. HomeAdvisor. The Better Business Bureau. Industry directories. Local chamber of commerce listings. Data aggregators that feed dozens of other platforms automatically.
Google uses these citations as trust signals. When your business information is consistent across authoritative sources, Google gains confidence that you're a legitimate, established business operating at a real location. That confidence translates directly into ranking consideration.
When your information is inconsistent — different phone numbers, old addresses, name variations, duplicate listings — it creates conflicting signals. Google doesn't know which version to trust. So it trusts you less.
The Inconsistency Problem
Most businesses accumulate citation problems over time without realizing it. You changed your phone number two years ago. Updated your website and Google Business Profile. But didn't track down the forty-seven other places your old number appears. You moved locations. Same problem. Your business name has a natural short form people use. Some listings have one, some have the other.
None of these feel like big deals individually. Collectively, they add up to a trust signal that's actively working against you.
What Citation Building and Cleanup Includes
Full citation audit — identifying where your business is listed, what the information says, and where the inconsistencies are. Cleanup — correcting name, address, and phone number across existing listings. Duplicate removal — finding and consolidating duplicate listings that create conflicting signals. New citations — building presence on high-authority directories you're missing. Data aggregator submission — ensuring your correct information flows to the platforms that feed dozens of secondary directories automatically.
This isn't glamorous work. It's also not optional if you want Google to trust your business information enough to rank you in the top three.
Ted Tibbetts
Local SEO Strategist and Direct Response Copywriter, Touchstone Local Marketing
Core 30 certified · Trained under Caleb Ulku · Worked with Miles Beckler and Terry Dean
About Ted →