Top 11 Local Directory Citations That Require Phone Verification

Which local business directories require telephone verification in order to claim your local business listing?

Once you realize it’s time to start claiming citations, there are a number of potential pitfalls to avoid. One of the major pitfalls is the phone verification listing. Approximately 11 major IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) like local business listing sources use it. You or your client have to be ready to claim these listings via telephone if you want to fully claim these important citations.

It just so happens this short list includes a lot of the top citation sources (most of the great ones require phone verification), so targeting this list is definitely worth it.

Open up Excel, keep track of everything in one place, and say organized so your notes can help you achieve the goal (getting your local business listing ranked). Some citation sources will tell you it takes 2 days up to 2 months for your claimed listings to appear in their directories. These types of surprises can derail you from a seemingly simple task – save your spreadsheet and check back on the status in a couple weeks.

Most of your competition won’t take the time to do claim all their listings, so stay the course. Your work will be rewarded in time.

The current ‘known’ list of citations that require phone verification include:

• Google+ Local
• Bing Local
• Yelp
• Citysearch.com
• Yellowbook.com
• Yellowbot.com
• Citysquares
• mojopages
• superpages.com
• foursquare.com
• merchantcircle

For a comprehensive list of citations you should target after doing all the phone verification sources listed above, visit Phil Rozek’s blog. He lists a few hundred others you can claim after the big ones get knocked out.

• The Definitive List of Local Search Citations

Update 10/21/14: Another solid resource from an authority in our industry Myles Anderson:

Best Niche Citation Sites for 41 Business Categories

Did we miss any other major Internet Yellow Page (IYP) type directories that require phone verification? Share them with us below!

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Robb Bailey

Co-Founder & CEO at PageLadder, Inc.

Robb enjoys growing a mean mustache every Movember and putting hot sauce on anything edible. You'll find him doing Content Marketing at his Inbound Marketing Agency in San Diego.

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