The short answer
Decide on one exact version of your practice name, address, phone number and website, put it on your own site first, and use it everywhere. Claim the listings patients actually use (Google, Apple Maps, Bing, the main health directories, your professional association and a few local sites), fix or close duplicates, and keep a simple sheet of every listing so updates after a move or phone change take an afternoon instead of months. Accuracy matters more than volume. Directory citations are different from links inside Google AI Overviews; for that citation type see earning citations in Google AI Overviews.
What citations are and why they matter
A local citation is any listing or mention of your practice that shows its name, address and phone number, often called NAP, usually with a website link and hours. Map apps, search engines, health directories, association member lists and local business groups are the common places.
Google's local ranking help page says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence draws partly on information from across the web, such as how many websites link to your business and your reviews. Google does not publish a citation count or weight, so treat citations as a way to be accurate and easy to find everywhere patients look, not as a ranking trick. The practical payoff is simple: a patient who finds you on any app gets the right phone number and address.
Types of listings
Most practices only need a focused set, in roughly this order:
- •Maps and search platforms: your Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect for Apple Maps, and Bing Places. These power the map results on most phones and computers.
- •Health directories: sites patients use to compare providers, such as Healthgrades and booking sites. Our directories guide covers how to claim and complete them.
- •Professional and insurance listings: member directories of the dental or medical associations you belong to, specialty society directories, and the provider search pages of insurance plans you accept.
- •Local sites: your chamber of commerce, neighborhood business groups, local sponsorship pages and community organizations you actually work with.
- •General review and directory sites: Yelp, Facebook and similar sites. Claim them so the details are right, even if you do not use them for marketing.
Audit what already exists
Your practice is probably listed in more places than you think, often with old details. Search for your practice name with your city, your phone number on its own, any previous phone numbers and any previous addresses. Do the same for each dentist or doctor by name, since many directories list individual practitioners. For each listing you find, note:
- •Whether the name matches your real-world name exactly.
- •Whether the address, suite number and phone number are current.
- •Whether the website link goes to your current site and the right office page.
- •Whether hours, services and providers are correct.
- •Whether the practice has claimed the listing, and who has the login.
Fix the high-traffic listings first. A wrong phone number on a map app costs more calls than a wrong one on a small directory.
Claim and add listings
Start with your own website, because it is the source of truth that every other listing should match. Show the name, address, phone and hours as text on the contact or location page, and describe them with local business structured data that matches what visitors see. Then work outward:
- Google Business Profile: claim and verify it, and follow Google's guidelines for representing your business: your real-world name with no added keywords or locations, a precise address, one profile per location, and separate practitioner profiles only where Google allows them. Our profile setup guide walks through it.
- Apple Maps and Bing: claim the practice in Apple Business Connect and Bing Places with exactly the same details.
- Health and professional directories: claim existing profiles before creating new ones, so you do not make duplicates.
- Review and local sites: claim them and correct the details. On Yelp, keep the listing accurate but do not ask patients for reviews: Yelp asks businesses not to solicit them.
Skip sites that exist only to sell links or listings and that no patient would ever use. They add work to every future update and do little for anyone.
Keep the details consistent
Write down the exact version of each detail once and copy it from there every time: the full name as it appears on your signage, the address formatted the same way (including how you write the suite), one main phone number and the website address. Small formatting differences such as "St" and "Street" are normal and not worth worrying about. Different names, old numbers and wrong suites are the ones to fix.
Pro tip
If you use a tracking number on some listings, make sure it rings your office and is under your control, and keep your main number visible on your own site and profile. Our call tracking guide covers how to do this without confusing patients.
Fix duplicates and errors
Listings drift over time: sites copy each other's old data, a former associate's profile stays up, or a second listing appears after a move. Common problems and fixes:
- •Duplicates: ask the site to merge them or mark the extra one as closed or a duplicate through its own report option.
- •Old locations: mark them as moved or permanently closed rather than leaving them live.
- •Departed providers: update or remove them from the practice listing so patients are not told the wrong person works there.
- •Unclaimed listings with wrong details: claim them, or use the site's suggest-an-edit option if claiming is not available.
Changes on some sites take days or weeks to show, and some sites refresh from other sources, so recheck a month later. Citation cleanup is one part of broader local SEO work.
Keep a listing sheet
A simple sheet makes future updates fast. One row per listing, with these columns:
- •Site name and listing URL.
- •Type (maps, health directory, association, insurance, local, review site).
- •Claimed or not, and which practice email owns it. Keep passwords in a password manager, not in the sheet.
- •Date last checked and anything that needed fixing.
Check the top listings every quarter and the full sheet once a year, and always after a move, a phone change, a new provider or a name change. Give one person on the team ownership of the sheet so it does not depend on memory. To see whether the work is paying off, watch calls and direction requests in your profile's Performance report and ask new patients how they found you.
Sources
This guide is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a local citation?
A citation is any listing or mention of your practice that shows its name, address and phone number, usually with a website link and hours. Map apps, search engine listings, directories, association member lists and local business groups all count.
Do citations still matter for local search?
They matter mainly for accuracy and trust. Google's local ranking help page says prominence is based in part on information from across the web, such as how many websites link to your business. Accurate listings also help patients who find you outside Google, and they stop old phone numbers and addresses from sending people to the wrong place.
How many citations does a practice need?
There is no published number. Start with the listings that real patients use: Google, Apple Maps, Bing, the main health directories, your professional association and a few strong local sites. A short list of accurate, claimed profiles is better than a long list of thin or duplicate ones.
What should we do when we move or change our phone number?
Update your website and Google Business Profile first, then work through your listing sheet in priority order. Mark duplicates or old locations as closed or ask the site to merge them, rather than leaving them live, and check a month later that the changes stuck.
Should we pay for a listing service?
It is optional. A service can save time if you have many locations, but it does not replace a claimed profile on the sites that matter. Before paying, ask which sites it updates, what happens to listings if you cancel, and whether you keep ownership of every profile.