Debug: upstream API calls (click to expand)
How does this work?
We find your citations by checking the public backlinks pointing to your website and matching the source domains against our curated list of ~250 well-known business directories. We do the same for any competitor domains you add, then surface the ones that link to a competitor but not to you.
What this catches: any directory that links back to the listed business's website (Yelp, Yellow Pages, TripAdvisor, industry-specific sites, regional directories, and ~230 others).
What this misses: a few major platforms don't link back to your website from your listing (such as Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, and Bing Places). Those won't appear in this tool no matter how complete your listings are. We recommend claiming them directly in their respective dashboards.
How it works
The Listing Checker finds business-directory citations from the public backlink graph and a hand-picked list of 856 well-known directory hosts. Unlike paid tools, it needs no link to the directories themselves. We work out where you are listed from the links pointing back to your site.
The two-step pipeline.
- Fetch your backlinks: every public backlink we know of that points at your domain. The Free plan scans up to 500 backlinks.
- Match against the directory list: we compare each backlink's source domain with our list of 856 business directories. Matches appear in the Citations Found view with the directory's name, category (general, reviews, maps, social, industry, or regional), and region tag.
Optional: competitor gap analysis. Add up to 1 competitor domains and we run the same scan on each. Directories that link to a competitor but not to you appear in the Citation Gaps view, sorted by how many competitors are listed there. Those are the best places to add a listing next.
Why a curated list. Because we filter real backlinks through the list, a made-up directory can never produce a false positive. No real backlink points at a directory that does not exist. The only way we can be wrong is by missing a real citation because its directory is not on the list. So we lean toward recall: any directory that looks relevant goes in. The list grew from 251 entries at launch to 856 today.
Plan caps.
- Competitors per submission: 1 on the Free plan.
- Backlinks scanned per target: 500.
- Daily backlinks budget: 500, shared with the Backlink Checker and Backlink Gap Analyzer.
Known limitations.
- Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places. The three biggest local-search platforms do not link from your listing to your website, so a backlink-based check cannot see them. Claim those from each platform's own dashboard.
- Index lag. A citation you added last week may not be in our backlink index yet. Expect days to weeks before a new listing shows here.
- List coverage. The 856 directories lean toward established global and regional sites. Very small niche sites may be missing. We add them on request.
- The backlink cap. If your site has 10,000 or more backlinks, the plan-capped scan will not see every one. Platinum covers the most, but on a huge backlink profile some smaller directories may sit past the cap.
What the columns mean
- Directory
- The directory's name, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, or Trustpilot. The domain in brackets is its root host.
- Category
- The type of site. General means Yelp, Yellow Pages, or BBB. Reviews means Trustpilot or Sitejabber. Maps means MapQuest or Waze. Social means LinkedIn or Facebook. Press means PRWeb or Business Wire. The rest are industry groups such as home services, food, travel, legal, medical, real estate, and software. Use it to filter the table to one niche.
- Region
- Whether the directory is global, regional (such as EU or APAC), or country-specific (US, UK, and so on). Google gives more weight to citations that match your area than to generic global ones.
- Source URLs (Citations Found view)
- How many backlinks from this directory point at your site. Click the number to see the exact URLs. One directory often sends several backlinks (your main listing, a category page, a review snippet), and all of them count here.
- Listed Competitors (Citation Gaps view)
- Which of your competitors are listed on this directory when you are not. The more competitors listed, the more this directory matters in your niche. The default sort puts the highest count first.
Frequently asked questions
What is a citation in SEO?
In local SEO, a citation is a mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on a third-party site, usually a business directory. Examples are a Yelp listing, a Yellow Pages entry, or an industry directory like Houzz or TripAdvisor. Citations help Google confirm your business is real and consistent across the web. That feeds into local-pack rankings for "near me" searches. A listing with a clickable link to your site also counts as a backlink for general SEO.
How do you find every directory my site is listed on?
We look at the public backlinks pointing to your domain and match each source domain against a hand-picked list of 856 well-known business directories. The list includes Yelp, Yellow Pages, Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, Foursquare, regional directories, and industry sites. Any directory on the list that links to your site shows up in the Citations Found view. Add competitor domains and we also show directories that link to a competitor but not to you, in the Citation Gaps view.
Are citations still good for SEO?
Yes for local SEO, less so for general SEO. For local-pack rankings, such as "plumber near me" or "best pizza in Brooklyn", matching listings are a known ranking signal. Google cross-checks your business name, address, and phone across many sources, so matching listings on the major directories matter. For general organic SEO, citations on high-authority directories pass real link value. Cheap bulk paid-directory listings stopped working and may carry penalty risk.
What about Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, and Bing Places?
These three are probably the most important listings for local SEO, but they never appear in this tool. Unlike Yelp or Yellow Pages, they do not link from your listing back to your website, so a backlink-based check cannot see them. Claim each one directly: Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, and Bing Places for Business. Then come back here for the directory layer that backlinks can trace.
What is the difference between this and a paid citation tool?
Paid citation tools such as Yext, Moz Local, and Semrush Listing Management do two things. They scan the major directories, then submit or sync your listing to each one for a monthly fee. This tool only scans, and only through backlinks. Ours is free with no signup and gives you a true picture of where you stand, but it does not fix anything for you. To fix a gap, claim or submit your listing on each directory we show.
Are paid directory listings worth it?
Sometimes. Industry directories with real audiences, such as Avvo for lawyers, Houzz for contractors, and Healthgrades for doctors, can send real referral traffic and count as proper citations. Generic "submit to 500 directories for $50" services are a waste. Those directories have no real traffic, and spammy link patterns can hurt rankings. This tool only shows directories from our list of established sites, so anything you see here is worth a look.
What is a local citation specifically?
A local citation is a citation on a directory or site that is relevant to your area, your industry, or both. Examples are a Yelp page for your city's restaurant scene, a state bar lawyer directory, or a regional chamber of commerce member list. A generic global directory is the opposite: it says nothing about local relevance. Local citations matter more for local-pack rankings than generic ones. This tool tags every directory by region (global, regional, or country-specific) so you can see which of your citations are local.
How do I build more citations?
Work through the Citation Gaps view in order: directories that link to a competitor but not to you. For each one, visit the directory and look for a "submit your business" or "claim listing" option. Keep your business name, address, phone, and website URL identical on every submission. Inconsistent details hurt local SEO more than missing listings do. Skip any directory that charges a fee unless it is relevant to your industry.