Citations are crucial to your local rankings in Google. Not only that, but being listed on lots of these third-party sites (AKA “citation sources”) can help you attract customers from a wide variety of sources.
You may know where to get citations, and you may know all about how to go about building them. You may even use the excellent Local Citation Finder.
But you probably don’t know whether you’ve gathered all the citations you need—or all that you humanly can gather. That’s what this list is for. It’s the product of 4 years of jotting down every citation source I’ve encountered.
The local-search landscape constantly changes, so I will keep growing and perfecting this list. I know there must be some good sites I’m missing, even now. I’d love any suggestions (see bottom of page).
I’ve broken it up into the following sections (click to jump to a section):
Ethnicity- and identity-specific sites
If you’re looking for citation sources for Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, or South Africa, go check out Nyagoslav Zhekov’s great post on “international” local citations.
If you run a business in the US, you’ll only really need to pay attention to the first two sections. You may also want to skim sections 3-5, but that’s icing on the cake.
A few notes:
1. The sites in the “data-aggregators” section aren’t really citation sources, but they help you earn citations, which is why I’m including them.
2. None of the sites requires a reciprocal link from you. In other words, this list does NOT include the types of sites that will list your business only if you paste their stupid link and logo on your homepage. I haven’t found that those sites are important to anyone’s visibility— except theirs. Your site should be about you.
3. All the sites are free to add your business to, with a few exceptions (which I note in the list). On the off-chance you try to list your business on one of the hundreds of other sites on this list and are asked to pay a fee, please let me know (in which case I’ll either note down that fact on the list or — more likely — remove the site from the list entirely).
4. Red = the most important citations to gather for Google local rankings, regardless of your industry or location.
5. When I write “verification required” next to one of the sites, that usually means that the business owner or someone in the company has to go through a verification process (often by phone) in order to create or gain access to a business listing on that site.
6. A few sites no longer have free self-serve “submit a listing” options because they’ve got a near-exclusive partnership with Yext. That means that in many cases the only way to add or edit a listing on one of these sites is to pay for Yext (although there may be creative workarounds). I’ve labeled those sites, “Powered by Yext.” I’m including them in case you want to check your listings.
The sites:
US citation sources
(it’s worth listing your business on any of these sites, regardless of your industry or location)
247OnlineNetwork.com
2FindLocal.com
6QubeDirectory.com
ABLocal.com
AGreaterTown.com
Akama.com
AllPages.com
AlltheLocal.com
AngiesList.com
B2BYellowPages.com
BBB.org
BigwigBiz.com
BingPlaces.com
Birectory.com
BizHwy.com
BizVotes.com
BrownBook.net
BusinessDirectory.BizJournals.com
CBSYellowPages.com
ChamberofCommerce.com
Cherrp.com
CornerstonesWorld.com
City-Data.com
CityFos.com
CitySearch.com (verification required for claiming listing)
CitySlick.net
CitySquares.com
CMAC.ws
Craigslist.org
DexKnows.com
DigaBusiness.com
DirectoryCentral.com
DirectoryM.net (AKA nSphere)
DiscoverOurTown.com
eBusinessPages.com
eLocal.com
eLocalFinder.com
ExpressBusinessDirectory.com
EZLocal.com
FourSquare.com
Fyple.com
GetFave.com
HotFrog.com
iDirectory.com
iBegin.com
Infignos.com
InsiderPages.com
Inter800.com
Jayde.com
JudysBook.com
JustDial.com
Kudzu.com
LinkedIn.com
Local.BOTW.org (costs $1.99 / month as of June 2013)
Local.com (powered by Yext)
Local.Yahoo.com
LocalCensus.com
LocalDatabase.com
LocalGuides.com
LocalPages.com
MakeitLocal.com
Majon.com
Manta.com
MapQuest.com (powered by Yext)
MerchantCircle.com
MojoPages.com
MyCityBusiness.net
MyHuckleberry.com
MyLocalServices.com
MyWebYellow.com
NetHulk.com
Nexport.com
OpenWiFiSpots.com (only if you offer free Wi-Fi access)
Patch.com
PegasusDirectory.com
PremiumPages.net
Primeplace.Nokia.com (verification required)
RadarFrog.GateHouseMedia.com
RateItAll.com
SalesSpider.com
SeekItLocal.com
ShowMeLocal.com
SmartGuy.com
SocialRaves.com
SocialStreets.com
SoMuch.com
SuperPages.com
Switchboard.com (powered by WhitePages, and in turn by Yext; see note on WhitePages, below)
Thumbtack.com
Topix.com (powered by Yext)
TripAdvisor.com
TrueYellow.com
Tupalo.com
Tyloon.com
USBDN.com
USCity.net
ViewPoints.com
Wand.com
WherezIt.com
WhitePages.com (powered by Yext – although apparently you can contact Whitepages for help)
WhoFish.org
Yalwa.com
YellowBot.com
YellowBook.com
Yellowee.com
Yellowise.com
YellowOne.com
YelloYello.com
Yelp.com (verification required only for claiming listing)
Yippie.biz
YP.com (verification required only for claiming listing)
ZipHip.com
ZipLocal.com
Zomato.com
ZoomInfo.com
Data-aggregators
Acxiom (MyBusinessListingManager.MyAcxiom.com) (verification required; paid)
ExpressUpdate.com – AKA InfoGroup, AKA InfoUSA (verification required; see this post for more detail)
Factual.com (paid)
LocalEze.com (verification required; see this post for more detail)
Industry-specific sites
AllAboutCounseling.com
AllAboutVision.com (optometry)
AlphaLegal.com (law)
AmericanTradesman.com
AOA.org (optometry)
AssistedLivingFacilities.org
AssistedLivingInfo.com
AutoMD.com (auto mechanics)
Avvo.com (law)
BailBond.com
BuildersYellow.com
ChiroDirectory.com
CyberAtty.com (law)
DealerRater.com
DentistComparisons.com
DentistDig.com
Doctor.com
DoctorOogle.com
DoctorsDig.com
eLocalPlumbers.com
Eventective.com
EverydayHealth.com
EveryDentist.com
EyeOnJewels.com
Fixr.com (contractors)
Frommers.com
GatheringGuide.com
GetMowed.com (landscaping and lawn-care)
HealthGrades.com
HG.org (law)
HomeExpo.com
HomeOwnersCircle.com (home-improvement services)
HomeStars.com (home-improvement services)
HotelClub.com
HotelsCombined.com
Houzz.com (home-improvement services)
Justia.com (law)
LawyerCentral.com (law)
LocalGranite.com (granite suppliers)
LuxuriousLandscapes.com (landscaping)
MacRaesBlueBook.com (industrial)
MenuPages.com (restaurant)
MyWedding.com (bridal, florist, salon, etc.)
Networx.com (contractors)
OpenTable.com
OurParents.com (assisted living)
RateMDs.com
SeniorHomes.com (assisted living)
ServicesListed.com
ShopCity.com (shopping)
SpaFinder.com
SportsTavern.com
StorageFront.com
UrbanSpoon.com
VisionDirectory.com (optometry)
Vitals.com
WeddingWire.com (bridal, florist, salon, etc.)
Wellness.com (health industries)
YogaFinder.com
YogaTrail.com
Zagat.com
Zillow.com (real-estate, home-improvement services, landscaping)
“Events” sites
(you can get citations from these if you’re hosting a public event at your business; see my post on this for more detail)
Cityseekr.com
EventBrite.com
EventCrazy.com
Eventful.com
EventSetter.com
Patch.com
TicketBud.com
TicketLeap.com
Yelp.com/events
Sites geared toward specific ethnicities / identities
(For more detail on these sites, see the post where I originally published this list.)
AlbanianYellowPages.com
AsianBizOnline.com
BlackBusinessList.com
BlackOwnedBiz.com
CopperPages.com (Indian & Southeast Asian)
FilAmBizPages.com (Filipino)
FilAmPages.com (Filipino)
GreekAmericanBiz.com
IndianVillage.com (Native American)
IndoUSListing.com (Indonesian)
IranianHotline.com
iZania.com (Black & African American)
Jewocity.com
LatinaMarketplace.com
LebaneseinAmerica.com
MakBiz.net (Macedonian)
MuslimBusinessUSA.com
NAOTW.biz (Native American)
RUList.com (Russian)
RussianImpact.com
SaigonNet.net (Vietnamese)
US4Arabs.com
VeteranOwnedBusiness.com
VeteransDirectory.com
Yasabe.com (Spanish speakers)
YaSas.com (Greek)
UK citation sources
(For “Add listing” pages for the following sites, see my blog post on UK citation sources.)
192.com
AccessPlace.com
ApprovedBusiness.co.uk
BizWiki.co.uk
Britaine.co.uk
Brownbook. net
BTLinks.com
Business.Unbiased.co.uk
BusinessNetwork.co.uk
City-Listings.co.uk
CityVisitor.co.uk
CityLocal.co.uk
CompaniesintheUK.co.uk
Cylex-UK.co.uk
Directory.TheSun.co.uk
FindtheBest.co.uk
ForLocations.co.uk
Foursquare.com
FreeIndex.co.uk
Fyple.co.uk
HotFrog.co.uk
Listz.co.uk
LocalDataCompany.com
LocalDataSearch.com
LocalLife.co.uk
LocalSecrets.com
Manta.com
MarketLocation.com
MisterWhat.co.uk
MiQuando.com
My118Information.co.uk
MyLocalServices.co.uk
Near.co.uk
Opendi.co.uk
Qype.co.uk
Scoot.co.uk
SmileLocal.com
TheBestof.co.uk
TheBusinessPages.co.uk
TheDiscDirectory.co.uk
ThomsonLocal.com
Tipped.co.uk
TouchLocal.com
UFindUs.com
UK.WowCity.com
UK-Local-Search.co.uk
UK-Locate.co.uk
UKSmallBusinessDirectory.co.uk
VivaStreet.co.uk
Wampit.com
WheresBest.co.uk
WhoseView.co.uk
Yalwa.co.uk
Yell.com
Yelp.co.uk (verification required only for claiming listing)
Canada citation sources
411.ca
BBB.org
Brownbook.net
Canada.WorldWeb.com
CanadianBusinessDirectory.ca
CanadaPages.ca
CanPages.ca (submit at contactus.yp.ca/canpages)
CityDirect.info
CTIDirectory.com
Cylex.ca
DakiTaki.com
eLocal.ca
eSourceCanada.com
FindHere.ca
FindUsFast.ca
FoundLocally.com
FourSquare.com
GoldBook.ca
HotFrog.ca
iBegin.com
IC.GC.ca
LookupCanadian.com
N49.com
Opendi.ca
OurBis.com
ProfileCanada.com
ScottsInfo.ca
SeekItLocal.com
ShopinCanada.com
WebLocal.ca
Yellowee.com
YellowPages.ca (verification required only for claiming listing)
Yelp.ca (verification required only for claiming listing)
Australia citation sources
AGFG.com.au (dining & tourist businesses)
AussieWeb.com.au
AustralianGuide.net
Brownbook.net
Cylex.com.au
Eatability.com.au
EnterpriseSearch.com.au
Fyple.biz
HotFrog.com.au
Local.com.au
LocalBD.com.au
LocalBusinessGuide.com.au
LocalStore.com.au
Manta.com
NationalDirectory.com.au
POIdb.com
StartLocal.com.au
Superpages.com.au
TrueLocal.com.au
WhitePages.com.au
Yalwa.com.au
YellowPages.com.au (verification required only for claiming listing)
Yelp.com.au (verification required only for claiming listing)
YourCity.com.au
—
How can I improve the list?
Here’s a short wish-list of things I’d really love your input on:
- Citation sources you know of that aren’t on the list
- Ways you think I should organize/present the current list
- Any tips or “words to the wise” regarding any site on the list
- Any thoughts you have about the relative importance of any of the sites—like how you’ve seen them influence your Google local rankings or someone else’s. In other words, which ones would you suggest highlighting in red?
- Whatever you think would make this a better list
Credits
Thanks to Kirk Pomerleau, Bruce Mishkin, and Holly Pedit for their contributions to this list early on.
Special thanks to Nyagoslav Zhekov of Whitespark (formerly of NGS Marketing) for a long list of insights that helped make this list better.
Other people who’ve contributed include Andrew Webber of SEO Maverick, Zachary Palmer of Divot Agency, Chris Sheehy of SidewalkBranding.co, Stephen Brown of Brown & Rice, P.A., Hayden Williams, Michael Gottesman of Biz Tech Coaching, Rod Marchant-Smith of Peninsula Air Conditioning, Marc Poulin, and Alan Bleiweiss.
Please email me with any suggestions, advice, or questions you’d like to share!
Phil
P.S. Want help with your citations? I suggest Whitespark’s citation-building service. But if you want help with citations and the rest of your local visibility, check out my services.