Local Citations New

Local Citations checks whether your business information is accurate and consistent across major online directories beyond Google. Inconsistent name, address, or phone data across platforms can hurt your local search rankings. This feature is part of the Localith local SEO optimization tool.

Overview

Google is not the only place customers find your business. Apple Maps, Yelp, Bing, and other directories all pull and display business information independently. When that information does not match your Google Business Profile — different address format, outdated phone number, wrong business name — it sends conflicting signals to search engines and confuses customers.

Local Citations scans these directories automatically, compares the results against your Google profile as the baseline, and flags anything that is missing, mismatched, or not found.

Before you start

Before you review your citation report, make sure:

• your Google Business Profile is connected and has accurate baseline information
• you know which directories matter most for your industry and region
• your business name, address, and phone number are correct in Google (this is the source of truth for comparison)

If your Google profile itself needs updating first, start with Edit Business Info.

How it works

Navigate to SEO Management > Local citations for any connected location. Localith displays your baseline information pulled from Google, then shows a comparison table for each directory it checks.

The baseline card shows:

• business name
• full address
• phone number
• website URL
• business categories
• business description
• operating hours for each day of the week

Below the baseline, a table lists each directory with a status for five fields: Name, Status, Address, Hours, and Phone.

Status labels

Each field in the citation table gets one of four status labels:

• Correct (no label shown) — the information matches your Google profile
• Mismatch — a listing was found but some details are different from your Google profile
• Missing — the directory has a listing but that specific field is empty or could not be verified
• Not found — no listing for your business was found on that directory at all

Step-by-step

1. Open SEO Management from the left sidebar.
2. Select the location you want to check.
3. Click Local citations in the Keywords section.
4. Review the Baseline information (Google) card to confirm your source data is correct.
5. Scroll down to the directory table.
6. Check each row for status labels — focus on Mismatch and Not found entries first.
7. For mismatched listings, click Not your business? if the wrong business is linked, then paste the correct directory URL and click Update Link.
8. For directories marked Not found, visit the directory directly to create or claim your listing.

Directories checked

Localith currently checks citations across these directories:

• Apple Maps
• Yelp
• Bing Places

The directory list may expand over time. Each directory is checked against the same baseline Google profile data.

Tips and best practices

• Fix Mismatch entries before worrying about Not found — inconsistent data actively hurts rankings, while missing listings are a missed opportunity but not a negative signal.
• Use the Not your business? link when Localith has matched the wrong business in a directory. Pasting the correct URL fixes the mapping for future checks.
• After updating a directory listing externally, allow a few days for the citation report to reflect the change on the next scan.
• Prioritize directories that matter most in your market. For US businesses, Yelp and Apple Maps carry significant weight. For other regions, local directories may matter more.

Limits or edge cases

• Localith reads directory data but cannot edit listings on third-party platforms directly. You need to update Yelp, Apple Maps, or Bing listings through their own management tools.
• Some directories take days or weeks to reflect updates after you make changes.
• If your business has recently moved or changed its phone number, update your Google profile first, then use this tool to find and fix downstream mismatches.
• The Not your business? correction only updates how Localith maps the listing — it does not change anything on the directory itself.

Common questions