Local SEO3 min

Industry-Specific Citations: The Directories Your Competitors Don't Know About

General directories are table stakes. Industry-specific citations are where you get the competitive edge.

The Secret Directories Your Competitors Miss

Every industry has its own ecosystem of authoritative directories. These carry MORE weight than general directories because they signal relevance.

A dentist on Healthgrades is worth more than a dentist on YellowPages. A lawyer on Avvo outweighs a lawyer on Manta. Make sure these listings are backed by solid local business schema markup on your website.

Industry-Specific Directories by Vertical

Healthcare: Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, WebMD, RateMDs

Legal: Avvo, FindLaw, Justia, Martindale, Lawyers.com

Home Services: HomeAdvisor, Houzz, Porch, Thumbtack, Bark

Restaurants: TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Zomato, MenuPages, DoorDash

Real Estate: Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, Homes.com

Automotive: Cars.com, AutoTrader, CarGurus, RepairPal, MechanicAdvisor

Fitness: ClassPass, Mindbody, GymBird, Gym Finder

Beauty/Salons: StyleSeat, Booksy, Fresha, Vagaro

How to Find Your Industry's Directories

Google "[your industry] directory" and "[your industry] listings." Look at where your top-ranking competitors are listed.

Use BrightLocal or Whitespark's citation finder to identify industry-specific citation opportunities you're missing.

Anyhoo.

The point is simple: build citations where they count most. General directories get you in the game — and we list them all in our top citation sources guide. Industry directories get you ahead.

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