The playbook
Local Citations: Checklist
Use this local citations checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect important listings with accurate details. Check an actual page or query record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.
Put the task in context
Start with the business's authoritative identity record. When a phone number or address changes, update important directories and industry listings, then record unresolved duplicates. A consistent incorrect value is still incorrect; accuracy takes priority over simply matching every entry.
Before you use the checklist
Name the exact item being checked and its purpose. Gather directory, listing URL, incorrect field, status. If one of those details is unknown, mark it as unknown and assign a way to resolve it. An invented value makes the checklist look complete while weakening every later decision.
Working checklist
| Check | Evidence to keep | Responsible role |
|---|---|---|
| Record the authoritative name address and contact details | A dated observation showing how directory was verified | SEO lead |
| Find important listings with incorrect information | A dated observation showing how listing URL was verified | content or development owner |
| Update changes and track unresolved duplicates | A dated observation showing how incorrect field was verified | analytics owner |
Check the failure path
- Look specifically for this failure: submitting to large numbers of irrelevant directories.
- Prioritize listings customers actually use and correct material errors. Record the actual correction, not just the intention to make it.
- Repeat the affected task after the correction and check status.
- Make sure the next owner can find the decision and supporting evidence.
Use three outcomes for each check
Mark an item as complete only when the expected behavior or information has been observed. Mark it as incomplete when a required condition is absent. Use not applicable when the condition genuinely does not belong to the chosen scope, and write a short reason. These states keep a review useful without forcing every process into an identical mold.
For example, if the check is “Record the authoritative name address and contact details,” a meeting about the subject is not the evidence itself. Retain the relevant directory and listing URL, the decision made from them, and the result of checking that decision. The record should allow someone who missed the meeting to understand what changed.
Decide what must be resolved first
An incomplete item that prevents keep business identity consistent across relevant listings and directories deserves attention before a cosmetic improvement. Assign an owner and a next action to that issue. Keep optional refinements visible, but do not let them obscure a failure in the core process.
Close the review
Recheck corrected items and note anything still uncertain. The checklist is finished when the next owner understands what was verified and what remains open. Follow important listings with accurate details using a consistent definition so later reviews can connect execution quality with useful results.
Use query and landing-page context when comparing results. A page serving a broad informational query has a different job from a page answering a purchase question. Review whether the next step remains useful to the person arriving.
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