One highly impactful campaign that we run for our clients is called a Citation Audit.
In a citation audit, we evaluate the organization’s Business Listings to see which are misaligned and use this to create a Clean-Up Campaign.
Let’s get into what these phrases mean and why they’re important for your local business SEO strategy.
What are Business Listings / Citations?
Business listings, also known as Citations, are directories that exist across the web where your business information might display. Some very common ones that most people are familiar with include:
Some less common but still important citations include:
These are just a few of hundreds of possible citations. Some are more niche directories, such as the Avvo network for lawyers, Angi for contractors, or Clutch for B2B organizations.
Why are Business Listings important for SEO?
Current industry weighting supports that consistent citations is important. I say this with a small caveat. It’s not a light switch. Running a campaign audit/clean-up will not automatically skyrocket your business to the number 1 positioning for your search phrases; however, it is a very important piece of a larger strategy.
BrightLocal’s January 2026 local ranking guide, summarizing Whitespark’s 2026 expert survey, lists citations at 6% for Local Pack/Maps and 7% for localized organic, compared with GBP at 32%, reviews at 20%, and on-page at 15% for Local Pack/Maps. For AI-driven local visibility, citations/mentions appear more meaningful, with citations grouped at 13% in the same guide. Across local pack, organic, and AI visibility together, BrightLocal summarizes citations at 9% on average.
SEO is a million little things done consistently well, not one big thing done once.
What is a Clean Up Campaign?
A Citation Clean Up Campaign is when we have run an audit and have identified some key listings that are displaying inaccurate information. In order for your citations to provide value, they need to have current, accurate information and visuals.
Here are some things we check:
- Is the name of the business correct and consistent? If you consistently list your business as Best Construction, Inc. then we want to ensure that all listings display that way rather than Best Construction or BC or Best Construction INC.
- Is the phone number correct and consistent? Sometimes businesses will use different phone numbers or change their number over time. A sales line, cell phone, business line, etc., used inconsistently can create confusion and dilute the value of the listing.
- Is the address correct and consistent? Businesses can move locations over time. Likewise, sometimes a listing will not pull a Suite number accurately. This can reduce the quality of the listing and trust in the business.
- Are the visuals accurate and up-to-date? Just like with business details, brand aesthetics can change over time. Imagery, logos, photography, etc., need to be checked and updated regularly.
- Is the messaging up-to-date? Ensure that the description of your services, business, and offering are all aligned with current voice/tone and standards.
If we find listings that are not accurate, we will run a campaign to go and clean up those citations with consistent and current information.
How long does a Citation Campaign take?
Depending on how many listings need to be cleaned up, a citation campaign can take as little as a week or as long as a month. Some listings may need business support to claim/manage via verification, like Post Cards or Phone Calls to confirm that you are the legitimate business owner and want to manage the listing.
How quickly will a Citation Clean Up impact my visibility?
Sometimes, the impact of a citation clean-up is immediate. Sometimes, it takes a few weeks for Google to view the changes and apply any adjustments to your ranking. It is not a foolproof technique, but we have seen a lot of success implementing it over the years.
Here’s a Mini Case Study from a Citation Campaign we ran for a client in Missoula recently:
This was their ranking in April before running the campaign:
And this was their ranking in June (after completing the campaign in May):
This was a very quick turnaround for results in visibility. It is important to note that we did not change any other aspects of their marketing strategy. The only change we implemented was a Citation Clean Up campaign.
We highly suggest you implement this as a tactic for your business in order to boost your Local Visibility in Montana.
Not sure where your citations currently stand? We can discuss this in our MarketingStack Challenge to review the key metrics of what matters to your business and what you should work on first to improve your marketing strategy.
