Local SEO guides.
Plain answers for business owners and agencies: what citations are, how to fix wrong or duplicate listings, and how to get a Google Business Profile right. Facts about Google, Bing, Apple and Yelp link to their own pages, and each guide shows the day it was checked.
Start here
- Explainer8 min read
What are local citations, and do they still matter?
What local citations and NAP are, where listings come from, how Google, Apple Maps and AI assistants use them, and what citations can't do for your rankings.
- Explainer8 min read
How many citations does a local business need?
What the most quoted citation-count study found and how to read it, which platforms every business needs first, and how to judge the rest from where top-ranking competitors are listed.
Fix your listings
- How-to8 min read
NAP consistency: how to find and fix mismatched listings
How to find listings with an old address, a wrong phone number or a different business name, and fix them in the right order, from Google down to the data providers that feed other sites.
- How-to9 min read
Duplicate listings: how to find and remove them
Why duplicate listings appear after a move or rebrand, how to find them, and how to remove or merge them on Google, Bing, Apple, Yelp, Facebook and other directories.
Google Business Profile
- How-to8 min read
Google Business Profile verification: every method, and what to do when it fails
Every Google Business Profile verification method, how to prepare for it, what to avoid while you wait, what to do when you're stuck, and the official routes when verification fails or a profile is suspended.
- How-to8 min read
Choosing your Google Business Profile categories
How to choose your primary and additional Google Business Profile categories, how many to use, where services go instead, examples by trade, and how they compare with other directories.
Choosing a service
- Comparison13 min read
Local citation building services, compared and scored
Six citation services scored out of 100 on price, proof, ownership, speed, refunds and updates, with every fact sourced and the points we lose ourselves.
We build your citations by hand, from $5 one-time, and your report shows every live link.