Short answer: a citation is any listing of your business name, address and phone number on another website, like Yell, Thomson Local, Bing Places, Apple Maps or a trade directory. NAP is short for name, address and phone. Citations matter less than they used to, but inconsistent ones still hurt: if your old address or an old phone number is scattered across the web, Google and AI tools are less sure which details are right, and less likely to recommend you.
Ten years ago, local SEO was mostly about getting listed on as many directories as possible. That era's over. What hasn't changed is that Google cross-checks your details, and mixed signals make you look less established.
Citations won't win you the top spot. Messy ones can quietly stop you getting near it.
What counts as a citation
- The big platforms: Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Facebook
- General directories: Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, Scoot and similar
- Trade and industry bodies: member directories for NICEIC, Gas Safe, FMB, TrustMark, professional bodies and so on
- Local sites: chambers of commerce, local business groups, community sites
Why consistency matters more than quantity
Google wants to be confident a business is real and that the details it shows are right. When your name, address and phone match everywhere, that confidence goes up. When half the web has your old unit number, a former partner's mobile, or "Ltd" in some places and not others, it goes down.
AI tools are the same. They lean heavily on what other sites say about you, and conflicting details make them less likely to name you.
How to clean yours up
- Write down your exact details once: business name as registered, address formatted one way, one main phone number, website address.
- Search for your old details. Previous addresses, old numbers and former names, in quotes, and note every site that comes up.
- Fix the big ones first: Google, Bing, Apple, Facebook, Yell and your trade bodies.
- Claim listings you don't control where you can, and update them to match.
- Make your website the reference point. Your details in the footer and on the contact page, marked up with schema so machines can read them.
Is it worth paying for citation building?
Some, done properly, yes. Hundreds of low-quality directory listings, no. The handful that matter for most local businesses are the major platforms, your trade bodies and a few good local sites. Beyond that the returns drop fast.
The Growth plan includes listings on 10+ trusted directories, kept accurate every month, alongside a properly set-up Google Business Profile. It's part of how we do local SEO.
