Local SEO Citation Checklist

// NAP: Name | Address | Phone — must match exactly across all directories

// STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR CANONICAL NAP
Business Name: [exact legal or DBA name — never abbreviate inconsistently]
Address:       [full address, include Suite/Unit if applicable]
Phone:         [primary local number — avoid toll-free for local SEO]
Website:       [canonical URL with trailing slash consistency]
Note: Choose ONE format and NEVER deviate. Small differences compound.

// STEP 2: CLAIM CORE DIRECTORIES MANUALLY
1. Google Business Profile   google.com/business
2. Apple Maps                mapsconnect.apple.com
3. Bing Places               bingplaces.com
4. Yelp for Business         biz.yelp.com
These 4 carry the most authority. Claim directly — never through a third party.

// STEP 3: HIGH-AUTHORITY GENERAL DIRECTORIES (via BrightLocal)
Yellow Pages      yellowpages.com       DA: High
Foursquare        foursquare.com        DA: High
Better Biz Bureau bbb.org               DA: High
Angies List       angi.com              DA: High (service businesses)
Chamber of Comm.  local chapter         DA: Medium-High
Facebook Business facebook.com          DA: High (social signal)
Nextdoor          nextdoor.com          DA: Medium (hyper-local)
MerchantCircle    merchantcircle.com    DA: Medium
Citysearch        citysearch.com        DA: Medium
Hotfrog           hotfrog.com           DA: Medium

// STEP 4: INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC DIRECTORIES
Home Services:    Angi, Houzz, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack
Medical:          Healthgrades, Zocdoc, WebMD, RateMDs
Legal:            Avvo, FindLaw, Justia, Lawyers.com
Restaurants:      TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Zomato, MenuPages
Auto:             CarGurus, AutoTrader, DealerRater
Real Estate:      Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia
Financial:        FINRA BrokerCheck, NerdWallet

// STEP 5: BRIGHTLOCAL CITATION WORKFLOW
Action 1: Run Citation Tracker audit → export inconsistency report
Action 2: Fix existing inconsistencies BEFORE building new citations
Action 3: Run Citation Builder for 50–100 directories
Action 4: Configure Local Rank Tracker for target keywords + zip codes
Action 5: Set up Reputation Manager review request campaigns
Action 6: Schedule monthly audit re-run to catch new inconsistencies

// CITATION HEALTH BENCHMARKS
Accuracy Score:     > 80% = healthy | < 60% = needs urgent remediation
Citation Volume:    50+ quality citations for competitive markets
Build Velocity:     5-10 new citations/week (avoid sudden dumps)
Review Velocity:    3-5 new reviews/week minimum
GBP Completeness:  100% required (categories, hours, photos, description)

// BRIGHTLOCAL KEY FEATURES
Citation Tracker:  Scans directories, finds inconsistencies, scores NAP accuracy
Citation Builder:  Submits to 50-300 directories with consistent NAP data
Local Rank Track:  Grid-based Local Pack tracking by keyword and geographic area
Reputation Mgr:    Aggregates reviews from Google/Yelp/FB, sends review requests
GBP Audit:         Flags GBP completeness issues affecting Local Pack ranking
White-Label Rpts:  Agency-ready reporting for client-facing deliverables