Citations (local SEO)
A local citation is any mention of your business's name, address, and phone number on another website — directories, review sites, industry associations — used by search engines to confirm you're real.
What it is
In local SEO, a citation is a mention of your business — name, address, phone, sometimes website — on another site. Big general directories (Yelp, Yellow Pages, Bing Places, Apple Maps), industry-specific directories (Angi, HomeAdvisor, Houzz for home services), and local chambers of commerce all create citations. Some link to your website, some don't. Either way, they act as cross-references search engines use to confirm your business exists, is consistent, and is locally relevant.
Note: this is a different meaning of "citation" than the one used in AI search. Local-SEO citations are about identity verification across the web; AI citations are about being quoted as a source in an AI answer. The terms collide; the underlying ideas are related but distinct.
Why it matters for your business
Search engines lean on local citations heavily for entity clarity. If your business is listed identically on twenty trustworthy directories, Google is very confident you exist and the facts about you are accurate. If you're listed on three, two of which contradict each other, Google gets nervous. The flip side: citations have diminishing returns. The first ten — covering Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, Yellow Pages, BBB, Facebook, and your industry's two or three big directories — do almost all the work. The eleventh through fiftieth add very little.
Example
A new electrician had perfect NAP on their website but was invisible on every directory. Submitting to the top ten citations for their industry (and one chamber of commerce) — about three hours of work spread over two weeks — got their Google Business Profile to start ranking in the Local Pack within two months. The citations weren't sending any direct traffic; they were just telling Google "yes, this business is real and these are the facts."
Related
- Guide: Google Business Profile guide
- Related terms: NAP, Google Business Profile, Entity clarity, Citation vs Recommendation