The client's Local → Citations tab tracks their listings on business directories and whether the name, address and phone (NAP) match everywhere. Use it when you take on a new local client, and whenever their phone number or address changes.
How to run a citation audit
- Open the client and go to Local → Citations.
- Click Run Citation Audit. The cost shows on the button.
- Wait while Zeus searches. When it's done, a line sums it up, for example "38 platforms checked · 21 found · 17 missing".
Zeus searches for the business on the standard directories for its industry: Google Business Profile, the big general directories, social profiles and trade directories like Angi, HomeAdvisor or BuildZoom. He searches by the business's official Google name and by its phone number. Other sites that mention the business are added as extra listings, but only when they show the business's whole name: a different business with a similar name, such as "Brushy Creek Plumbing Co" for Brush Creek Plumbing, isn't counted. The cards at the top count Listed, Missing, Missing Tier 1 and NAP Needs Review.
Each listing is saved as soon as it's found. If an audit stops partway (for example a directory search failed), everything found so far is kept. Click Run Citation Audit again within 6 hours to finish it: it carries on where it stopped ("continued from where the last run stopped") and doesn't search the same directories again. You're charged once, when the audit finishes.
How Zeus decides a listing is the client's
A listing only counts when the page itself shows it's this business:
- the business's whole name in the listing's title or its web address ("Brush Creek Plumbing | BBB Business Profile", ".../biz/brush-creek-plumbing-santa-rosa"). Small differences are fine: Inc / LLC, "&" or "and", "Services" or "Service";
- or the business's phone number on the listing;
- or the business's website on the listing.
It never counts when the page is clearly another business ("Sewer Line Survey" on Thumbtack for Brush Creek Plumbing), a search or category page ("The 10 Best Plumbers in Santa Rosa"), the business's own website, a website checker, an ad, a single post or a person's profile. Under each found listing a line says why it counts, for example "Why it's theirs: Business name in the listing title: …".
If an earlier audit saved a listing that turns out to be someone else's, the next audit marks it not this business: the directory shows Missing again (so you can build it), and a line keeps the old address and the reason ("Found earlier but not this business: … — Not this business — the listing is "Sewer Line Survey | Santa Rosa, CA""). An extra listing marked this way shows Not this business. Listings you recorded or confirmed yourself are never changed.
Listings are grouped into Tier 1 — Critical, Tier 2 — Important and Tier 3 — Nice to Have.
How to work through the list
- Verify NAP (n) checks every listing that needs review; Verify on a row checks one. A long list is checked in parts ("Checking listings… 12 done, 8 to go"), and each listing is saved as it's checked. If it stops, click Verify NAP again to carry on with the ones not checked yet. Each row then shows Verified ✓ or Needs Review.
- Listed records a listing the audit missed. Enter its URL, or leave it blank to just mark it listed.
- Build → opens the submission kit for the directory (see below). Fix → opens it for a listing whose details don't match.
- Ignore hides a platform that doesn't apply. Unignore brings it back.
- The bin icon deletes a citation you added by mistake.
Apple Maps and Bing Places show Check by hand, not Missing. The audit can't search those map apps, so use Search Apple Maps → or Search Bing Maps →, then record what you find. They don't count as missing.
How to build a missing listing with the submission kit
Click Build → on a missing directory to open its kit on the right. It has everything the directory asks for, taken from the client record (From the client record):
- Business name, address (in separate boxes where the directory asks that way), phone, website, email and hours.
- Primary and secondary categories, using the directory's own category names where we know them.
- Short and long descriptions cut to the directory's length limit at a sentence break. If a description was cut, click Tighten with Zeus and Zeus rewrites it to fit, in the client's voice. Each length is written once and reused, and it's free.
- Services, service areas, payment methods, social links, the logo and photos (Download all saves the photos).
- Year founded and license numbers, but only when they're on the client record.
Each field has a Copy button, and Copy all as text copies the whole kit. Anything the client record doesn't have is listed under Not on the client record: instead of being made up. Add it to the client and reopen the kit.
The main button (New listing, Claim listing or Claim and fix) opens the directory's add or claim page in a new tab. Verification: says how the directory checks the business (postcard, phone, email and so on) and Goes live: how long it usually takes.
Turn on Add a tracking tag to the website link to add a UTM tag, so visits from directories show in Google Analytics. This setting applies to all your clients.
If the audit already found a listing with different details, the kit says "A listing already exists with different details — claim it and correct it. Don't create a new one." It shows the listing's link and exactly what to change (for example the old phone number).
How to track a listing until it's live
Each citation moves through Not started → Submitted → Pending verification → Live, or Needs attention. Set the Status in the kit (paste the listing URL once you have it), or choose Live (mark as built). Reset clears it. The kit shows the dates and who made each change.
- Submitted and pending listings are re-checked automatically every few days. When the listing shows the client's name, address and phone, it turns Live by itself. If it shows different details, it turns Needs attention with what's different. It also turns Needs attention if it still isn't live 45 days after it was submitted.
- A listing that goes live after you submitted it counts as built by you, so it shows in the client portal's citations built. "Built a business listing on …" is added to work done once, never twice for the same listing.
- Build progress at the top counts live, pending and to-build listings. Build next lists the directories still to build, most important first.
How to build several at once
Tick the directories you want (Select column), then click Step through, or use Build all … in order in Build progress. The kit walks you through them one at a time: open the directory, copy the fields, then Mark submitted & next. Skip moves on without saving. Mark submitted in the bar sets every ticked directory to Submitted at once. Clear unticks them.
How to record a citation you built yourself
Click Add Citation. Choose We built it (with the Built on date) or Already existed, then enter the platform name, its URL and the listing URL. Notes are optional, such as the login email used. Click Add. On existing rows, use Mark as built or Not built by us.
Only citations marked as built by you count in the client portal's citations built. If the portal's citations section is on, the client also sees listings in progress (submitted or pending). A new audit never overwrites a listing you recorded with its URL.
Examples
- New roofing client: run the audit, then tick every Tier 1 directory that's missing and use Step through to submit them in one sitting. Mark each one submitted as you go; the re-checks flip them to Live over the next few weeks.
- The client changed their phone number: update it on the client, run the audit, then click Verify NAP. Every listing still showing the old number turns Needs Review. Use Fix → on each to see exactly what to change.
- You built a Nextdoor page before using ContentForge: click Add Citation, choose We built it with the date, and paste the listing URL so it counts in the client's portal.
Limits and what it can't do
- Search only finds listings Google has indexed, so some small directory pages won't turn up. Add those by hand.
- Apple Maps and Bing Places can't be searched; check them by hand.
- ContentForge doesn't submit listings for you. The kit gives you everything to copy, and you submit on the directory's own site.
- A listing turns Needs attention if it isn't live 45 days after it was submitted.
- Verify NAP can run 20 times a minute and 300 times a day per agency.
- Client portal people can see citations built and in progress (if the portal shows that section), but can't run audits or change listings.
How citations feed Zeus
Missing Tier 1 citations and NAP mismatches feed Zeus's findings on the client's Zeus tab. A listing you've submitted counts as in progress everywhere: it isn't counted as missing or as built, and Zeus won't recommend building it. If one gets stuck (not live 45 days after you submitted it) or goes live with different details, Zeus raises it as its own finding, labeled Listing Stuck. Client reports and the monthly email show listings in progress separately, the audit report marks them (in progress), and Local → Competitors' Citations table shows them as In progress.
Credits
- Run Citation Audit costs the citation audit price, charged once when the audit finishes. An audit that stops partway costs nothing until it's finished, and continuing it isn't charged again.
- Zeus's monthly scan refreshes citations free.
- Verify NAP, Verify, the submission kit, Tighten with Zeus, the automatic re-checks and adding citations by hand are free.
You can also start a citation audit from a connected AI assistant. See Connect an AI assistant.
Who can use it
Agency team members with the Clients tool (Owners and Admins always have it; Members unless it's switched off for them). Members limited to some clients only see those clients. See SEO tools overview.
Troubleshooting
- "N directories couldn't be searched right now (the search service had an error on its side). Everything found so far is saved — run the audit again to finish (no extra charge).": the search service failed for those directories. Run the audit again later; it only searches the directories that are left.
- "The audit stopped partway. Everything found so far is saved — run it again to finish (you're charged once, when it finishes).": a directory search failed. Click Run Citation Audit again within 6 hours to continue. After 6 hours it starts a fresh audit.
- "Citation audit needs 1 credit — you have 0. Buy credits to continue.": buy a credit pack in Billing & credits, or wait for the monthly refill.
- "Could not check your credits right now. Please try again.": try again in a moment. Nothing was charged.
- "The check took too long" or "Couldn't check the listings right now (the page reader didn't start). Please try again in a minute." while verifying: wait a minute and click Verify NAP again. Listings already checked are kept ("… listings were checked and saved; Verify again carries on").
- "You're going too fast — try again in 1 minute.": you hit the Verify NAP limit. Wait and try again.
- "No citations to verify": every listing that needed review has been checked, or there's nothing found yet. Run the audit first.
- "Enter the platform name" or "The listing URL must start with http:// or https://" when adding a citation: fill in the platform name, and paste the full listing address.
- "The client record has no description to tighten": add a business description on the client's Details, then reopen the kit.
- "Zeus couldn't tighten it right now": try again in a minute, or shorten the description by hand.
- A listing that isn't the client's shows as found: click Ignore on it (or the bin to delete it), then Listed with the right URL if the client is on that directory. The next audit also clears listings that clearly aren't the client's by itself.
- A listing you know exists shows Missing: the directory page probably isn't indexed by Google yet. Click Listed and paste its URL.
- "Tool access required": an Owner or Admin needs to switch the Clients tool on for you in Settings → Team Members.