✦ Local AEO
What Are Local Citations?
Local citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on websites other than your own. Search engines and AI systems use citation consistency across directories to verify that a business is legitimate and located where it claims to be. Inconsistent NAP — different phone numbers, name variations, or outdated addresses — reduces local search credibility.
The directories that generate the most useful citations: Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook, Better Business Bureau, and industry-specific directories relevant to your category (Houzz for renovation, Angi for home services, Avvo for legal, Healthgrades for healthcare). The data aggregators — Neustar Localeze, Data Axle, Foursquare — are worth submitting to because they feed dozens of downstream directories from a single entry.
The citation quality problem most local businesses have: they've been listed on directories over the years through organic aggregation and paid listing services, but the NAP is inconsistent across them. A business that moved, changed phone numbers, or rebranded often has 30–60 citations with varying degrees of accuracy. A citation audit identifies these discrepancies; a citation cleanup corrects them. The return on citation cleanup is measurable in local pack rankings within 60–90 days, and it cleans up the data that AI systems use to confirm business information.
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