Your Past Self Is Sabotaging You
Remember that office you moved out of in 2021? There are still 37 websites listing your old address.
Remember that phone number you changed? It's on 22 directories right now.
Remember when you incorporated and added "LLC" to your name? Half the internet still has the old version.
sighs
These inconsistencies are actively confusing Google and dragging down your local rankings. If you haven't nailed the basics yet, start with our NAP consistency guide before diving into cleanup.
How to Audit Your Citations
Option 1: Manual audit. Google your business name. Check every result. Note inconsistencies. This takes hours but costs nothing.
Option 2: Use a tool. Moz Local, BrightLocal, or Whitespark's citation finder all offer citation audit tools that scan hundreds of directories and flag issues.
Option 3: Hire it out. If you have more money than time, citation cleanup services will handle the entire process for you.
Fixing What You Find
Claimed listings: Log in and update directly. Simple.
Unclaimed listings: Most directories let you claim existing listings. You'll need to verify ownership, then update.
Stubborn listings: Some directories don't allow edits. You'll need to contact them directly (email works best) and request corrections.
Data aggregator issues: If your incorrect data originated from an aggregator (Neustar, Foursquare, etc.), fix it at the source. The corrections will flow downstream over 3-6 months.
Priority Order
Fix these first:
Don't try to fix everything at once. Work through the list over 2-4 weeks.
Hear me when I say this... a citation cleanup can take weeks of work. But the ranking improvements that follow are real and lasting. Once you're clean, move on to building new citations with our citation building guide.
Track Your Progress
SEO Checkup helps you stay on top of all 113 local SEO tasks, including citation management. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds.