If your business has ever changed its name, phone number, or moved locations, chances are your online citations are outdated or inconsistent. These inconsistencies can negatively impact your local SEO performance, confuse search engines, and deter potential customers. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the complete process of auditing, cleaning, and claiming your citations to ensure consistent and accurate online visibility. Whether you choose to do it manually or use professional services, this guide is your blueprint to citation success.
Table Of Contents
What Are Citations in Local SEO?
Citations are any online mentions of your business’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone number). They appear on business directories, social media platforms, apps, and websites. Examples include Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, and industry-specific directories like Avvo or Healthgrades.
Types of Citations:
Structured Citations: Appear in directories and have a uniform format (e.g., Yelp, YellowPages).
Unstructured Citations: Mentions in blogs, news articles, or other online content.
Boosts Local SEO Rankings: Google uses citation consistency as a local ranking factor.
Builds Trust: Accurate citations create a trustworthy digital footprint.
Improves User Experience: Potential customers find correct info about your business easily.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning and Claiming Citations
Step 1: Perform a Citation Audit
Start by identifying existing citations and checking for inconsistencies.
Tools You Can Use:
BrightLocal
Whitespark
Moz Local
Citation Builder Pro – Local Citation Finder
NAP Hunter (Chrome Extension)
Audit Checklist:
Compare NAP details across top directories.
List incorrect or duplicate citations.
Export data to a spreadsheet for tracking.
Step 2: Prioritize Citation Cleanup
Focus on authoritative and high-traffic directories first:
Google Business Profile
Yelp
Facebook
Bing Places
Apple Maps
BBB.org
Use Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR) to prioritize.
Step 3: Manually Claim or Edit Citations
Claiming Citations:
Look for a “Claim this Business” or “Own this Business?” button.
Submit ownership verification (email or phone).
Editing Existing Citations:
Log in if you already own the listing.
Submit a request to update incorrect NAP info.
For Unclaimed Listings:
Use email verification or provide documentation to claim the listing.
Expect verification within 3-7 business days.
Step 4: Remove or Suppress Duplicate Listings
Duplicates can confuse search engines. Here’s how to address them:
Suppress: Some platforms allow you to hide rather than delete listings.
Request Removal: Submit a removal form or contact support.
Consolidate: Merge duplicates with correct listings.
Step 5: Monitor and Maintain Consistency
Use automated tools or periodic manual checks to keep data accurate.
Recommended Schedule:
Perform an audit every 6 months.
Recheck after any major business change.
Manual vs Automated Citation Cleanup: Pros & Cons
| Feature | Manual | Automated |
|---|---|---|
| Control | High | Moderate |
| Time | Time-consuming | Fast |
| Cost | Low (DIY) | Medium to High |
| Accuracy | High (if done well) | Varies by provider |
Citation Cleanup Timeline
| Week | Task |
| 1 | Perform audit and create a master list |
| 2 | Claim top listings (Google, Yelp, Facebook) |
| 3 | Edit or suppress duplicates |
| 4 | Submit update requests to remaining directories |
| 5 | Follow up and verify listing changes |
| 6 | Final audit and reporting |
When you hear of local citations, it simply means your business name, phone number, and address on your website. Just like the content you post on your online platform, local citations are also important for ranking your business or website on Google. Furthermore, nothing can offer validation on major sites like Google Business as an excellent local citation.
So, what are the benefits of having correct and consistent citations? Well, it boosts your online presence visibility. It provides a means for businesses with no websites to be visible on the internet Citations from established platforms like Yellow pages and Google will improve the overall online ranking.
What happens if you have a wrong citation? Wrong or inconsistent citation will significantly affect your overall SEO ranking. Citation is easy to overlook, yet it turns out to be an essential aspect of marketing for any growing business or an already established business. So how do you clean or claim your citations and take your business to the next level? Having to clean your citations could come as a result of several reasons. The most common cause is the wrong NAP listing. In addition to this, a duplicate citation will also hurt your business just as much. Today I am going to show you how to clean your citation. Cleaning or claiming your citation in five steps. The process of cleaning your citation is no small feat, but the results are simply phenomenal.
Step 1: Identify all existing variations to your NAP listing
It is the first step towards cleaning your citations. Call it the roots of the problem. Believe it or not, there may be several NAP listing variants affecting your online presence and local ratings. Start by reviewing the citations that you have posted for your business on various media platforms. After that, you can check significant directories platforms like google, yellow pages, and many others.
In the next phase, you can use different tools to check the other varying citations of your business on the internet. It is essential to have a reliable frame, for instance, a color-coding system, to help identify all the wrong, duplicate, incomplete and mismatched citations on the internet. Moz local has designed a spreadsheet that enables you to record your correct NAP against other variations easily. The color coding aspect helps you mark the very urgent as serious inconsistencies in different color codes like red. Green is for the correct NAP and yellow for those that require minor alterations.
Step 2: Find all the Wrong NAP Listing for Your Business
Finding the wrong NAP is the second stage in cleaning your citation. The bigger question is perhaps how you got the wrong NAP listings. Wrong NAP listings are a result of several activities. These include:
- Changing the location of the business in the past
- Wrong business name, address, or phone number
- Using a dirty phone number.
- Wrong NAP information from bloggers and exaggerators
- Incomplete profile information.
You used an 800 for your NAP instead of using a local number.
Whichever way it came, the important thing is to clean it and start reaping the benefits of clean, consistent citation. You can easily search for this information on many platforms, namely:
1. Secretary of State’s Filing for Business
Here is an excellent place to start searching for duplicate listings. It is possible through an online system framework that many Secretaries of State have since adopted. It is possible to find variable names that have direct registration links to your business. Make sure to note all the duplicates in a color-coded spreadsheet for ease of follow-up BBB Listing.
2. BBB business listings
You will most definitely have different business names, phone numbers, and address information here. Again all you have to do is copy them according to the different color codes. The correct listing can be in blue or green for easy identification.
3. Business accreditation
Here you will find records of all variables of businesses accredited with your NAP listing details.
Step 3: Track and Record all incorrect NAP listing
Tracking is the most strenuous stage, but it doesn’t have to be. Several valuable tools will help you scan the internet for all the NAP listings for your business. Additionally, it will indicate the correct, the duplicate, and the incorrect citations. These tools include:
In addition to offering free listing, this tool automatically deletes duplicate listing. This feature will help you trace and manage your incorrect listing.
Citationbuilderpro – Local Citation Finder
Here all you need to do is key in your correct NAP, and it will crawl the top directories in marking any notable inconsistencies in your listing. Moreover, they have a free version, so you don’t have to worry about the cost!
Steps to add business in local citation finder
Go to citationbuilderpro.com and click on free tool here you will find local citation finder
sign up for free
Add your business details in Dashboard
4. Click on the generate report button
5. Here you can see all existing citation reports with inconsistent data
6. Also you can view possible citation list in the next tab
Step 4: Notify the directories of the Issues.
This will be done through a concise email. The Moz spreadsheet will guide you in filling the information on the website, business name, address, state, zip, links, live listing issues, duplicates, status. I can’t stress why you need to be as accurate as possible when filling out this information. Furthermore, your initial color coding of the NAP listing issues will help you tackle the most urgent issue in significant directories. Minor inconsistencies may then follow in the order of priority. For some directories, you will be given the option to make the changes yourself.
Step 6: Fixing my citations
This last stage will require that you contact the website using the following template.
Hi,
State the Problem – duplicate listing, wrong NAP
A link for reference- makes it easy to follow up
A link to where your inconsistency appears
Provide a time frame for the modifications
Thanks,
Name & Business Name
This needs to be concise and straight to the point. Additionally, you can request a notification from the website once the issue is fixed. Adding new citations could only worsen the problem. The shortcut here is to do the actual work and give your business the lifeline it needs.
Final Thoughts
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. Why do unclaimed business citations pose a risk to local SEO?
Ans: Unclaimed citations can be edited by third parties or outdated sources, which may lead to incorrect business information being published. This misinformation can mislead customers, damage trust, and confuse search engines, ultimately lowering your local SEO rankings. Claiming your citations puts you in control of your data, ensuring consistency and credibility across all platforms.
Q2. Can incorrect citations cause issues with Google Business Profile verification?
Ans: Yes, inconsistencies in your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across various directories can trigger verification issues in your Google Business Profile. Google compares external data sources when validating a listing, and mismatched details may cause verification delays or rejections. Cleaning your citations before attempting verification can help avoid these problems.
Q3. How often should I audit and clean my citations?
Ans: It’s best practice to audit your citations at least twice a year or immediately after any business change such as relocation, phone number update, or rebranding. Continuous monitoring ensures your business details remain accurate across all directories, helping maintain trust with both search engines and customers.
Q4. What’s the difference between structured and unstructured citations?
Ans: Structured citations appear in predefined fields on business directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, or Google Business Profile, while unstructured citations occur in blog posts, news articles, or mentions on social media. Both types contribute to local SEO, but structured citations are easier to monitor and claim. Cleaning both types boosts your local relevance and trustworthiness.
Q5. Do paid tools offer advantages over free citation finders?
Ans: Yes, paid tools like BrightLocal, Whitespark, or Yext often provide more accurate data, bulk cleanup services, and automated submission options, saving time and effort. Free tools can be helpful but typically require more manual work and might not detect deeper inconsistencies. If you’re managing citations for multiple locations or clients, investing in a premium tool can provide long-term ROI.
Struggling with Duplicate or Wrong NAPs?
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I am the founder of Citation Builder Pro. I have been in the SEO and content marketing industry for 15 years and have a lot of experience in public relations and online marketing.
I started Citation Builder Bro to help businesses of all sizes create high-quality citations for their websites. My team and I are dedicated to providing our clients with the best possible services.
