Citation Audit: Find Out What’s Actually Wrong Before You Pay to Fix Anything
A citation audit is the diagnostic step of our local citations service — it tells you what’s already out there before we recommend building, cleanup, or nothing at all.
What Is a Citation Audit?
Direct answer: A citation audit is a diagnostic review of your business’s existing name, address, and phone number (NAP) listings across the directories and platforms where they already appear — identifying what’s accurate, what’s outdated, what’s duplicated, and what’s missing, before any building or fixing work begins.
An audit doesn’t create or change anything by itself. It’s the step that tells you and us exactly what condition your citation footprint is in, so any money spent afterward on building or cleanup is spent on the right thing instead of a guess. If your business is brand new with no listings anywhere, an audit still has value, but citation building may be the more direct next step.
What We Check
Existing listings
We search for every directory and platform where your business currently has a listing, including ones you may not know exist.
NAP accuracy
Each listing is compared against your verified source data to catch mismatched addresses, old phone numbers, or misspelled business names.
Duplicate listings
We flag duplicate or conflicting entries on the same directory, which can confuse search engines about which listing is authoritative.
Category accuracy
We check whether the business categories selected on each directory still match what your business actually does.
Coverage gaps
We identify directories relevant to your industry and location where your business has no listing at all yet.
Claim status
We note which listings are unclaimed or claimed by a previous owner, agency, or employee who may no longer have access.
How It Works
Source data confirmation
We confirm your correct, current NAP data and business details directly with you as the baseline everything else is checked against.
Footprint discovery
We search across directories, map platforms, and industry-specific sites to find every existing listing tied to your business.
Comparison and scoring
Each listing found is compared against your source data and flagged as accurate, inconsistent, duplicate, or outdated.
Findings report
You receive a plain-language report of what we found, listing by listing, with a clear recommendation for what to do next.
Honest recommendation
We tell you plainly whether you need building, cleanup, both, or in some cases neither — we don’t recommend paid work your findings don’t support.
Building, Audit, or Cleanup — Which Do You Need?
Citation Building
You’re new or under-listed. There’s little or nothing to fix — you’re creating a presence where none exists yet.
Citation Audit
You’re not sure what’s already out there, right or wrong. Start here if your business has any history at all.
Citation Cleanup
You know something is wrong — an old address, a disconnected number, a duplicate listing — and need it corrected.
What You Get
- A full list of every existing listing found, directory by directory
- A clear accurate / inconsistent / duplicate / outdated status for each one
- A gap list of relevant directories where you have no listing yet
- A written recommendation for next steps — building, cleanup, both, or neither
- No pressure to purchase further services the findings don’t support
FAQ
Is a citation audit part of your local citations service, or a separate product?
It’s the diagnostic front door to our local citations service — the audit is free because we’d rather you know exactly what you need before spending anything on building or cleanup work.
Will you try to upsell me regardless of what the audit finds?
No. If the audit finds your existing footprint is already in reasonably good shape, we’ll tell you that directly rather than manufacturing a reason to sell further work.
How long does an audit take?
It depends on how many directories your business already appears on and how long your business has been operating. We’ll give you a realistic estimate once we understand your situation.
What happens after the audit?
You get a written report with our recommendation. Whether you move forward with building, cleanup, or nothing at all is entirely your decision.
Find Out What’s Really Out There
A free audit tells you honestly whether you need building, cleanup, both, or nothing — before you spend a dollar on either.