Citations in 2026

[Oliver Keates]

Hey All

I would value your views on citation building in 2026 and where we see local search going?

thanks

 

[keyserholiday]

Citations are still valuable and won't diminish their value. You need to create the core citations: Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook, Yahoo, and Yelp. They are the difference between triggering your knowledge panel (KP) for your brand name. The days of buying 100's of citations have been over for several years. Google trusts the core citations. The other citations don't generate any traffic, and Google ignores them. A vast majority of them don't get indexed.

 

[fisicx]

Citations are like the old discredited directory listings. Most of the directories were junk and Google ignored then unless you got listed on thousands of directories in which case Google would penalise. But get listed in some high quality, moderated, niche and local directories and they were worth the effort.

It's the same with citations.

The general rule is: the easier a link is to obtain the lower the value. But work hard on your reputation, become authoritative and Google will reward you

 

[keyserholiday]

Citations are like the old discredited directory listings. Most of the directories were junk and Google ignored then unless you got listed on thousands of directories in which case Google would penalise. But get listed in some high quality, moderated, niche and local directories and they were worth the effort.

It's the same with citations.

The general rule is: the easier a link is to obtain the lower the value. But work hard on your reputation, become authoritative and Google will reward you

Links and citations are different. You can get listed on Yelp for free and that’s perfectly fine with Google. Yelp pushes data to Apple Maps, Bing, and Yahoo. It’s free to create a FB account. All of the important social media accounts are free and you can add them to your GBP profile.

 

[fisicx]

Links and citations are different. You can get listed on Yelp for free and that’s perfectly fine with Google. Yelp pushes data to Apple Maps, Bing, and Yahoo. It’s free to create a FB account. All of the important social media accounts are free and you can add them to your GBP profile.

I agree. But you can also get 'citations' from a whole bunch of iffy sources that don't have the same value.

https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?query=seo citations

Worthless junk.

 

[ElizabethRule]

I would value your views on citation building in 2026 and where we see local search going?

New businesses should absolutely create high value citations. Established businesses do not need to worry about creating new citations on an ongoing basis, but keeping existing citations updated if NAP information ever changes is important. Although NAP consistency across citations might not be the most important ranking factor, high ranking citation sites should be consistent for user experience.

 

[Glass]

Citations are still valuable and won't diminish their value. You need to create the core citations: Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook, Yahoo, and Yelp.

I’ve tried multiple times to put my business on Apple Maps but they say that I can’t since it’s a service area business (electrical contractor) without a commercial address, I use my home address.

Any ideas what to do?


Reason
Home Business
Your location isn't accessible to the public.
Note
Business Connect only accepts businesses with a store front or at a commercial location.

 

[keyserholiday]

I’ve tried multiple times to put my business on Apple Maps but they say that I can’t since it’s a service area business (electrical contractor) without a commercial address, I use my home address.

Any ideas what to do?


Reason
Home Business
Your location isn't accessible to the public.
Note
Business Connect only accepts businesses with a store front or at a commercial location.

Show your address on Apple Maps. It's not a TOS violation.

 

[Glass]

Show your address on Apple Maps. It's not a TOS violation.

I did. But they won’t put my business listing up for the reason that I quoted above. I’ve tried a few times over the years

 

[keyserholiday]

I did. But they won’t put my business listing up for the reason that I quoted above. I’ve tried a few times over the years

Are you showing your address on Yelp? Yelp pushes data out to Apple Maps. They will create a profile for you.

 

[Glass]

Are you showing your address on Yelp? Yelp pushes data out to Apple Maps. They will create a profile for you.

Yes, my address is showing on my business’s Yelp listing, I just checked it now to confirm and I know that it’s always been up there in the past.

Now that I’m looking at emails, I believe my business was originally listed on Apple Maps (probably through Yelp like you mentioned) and was taken down in 2019 when I tried to make edits to the category or something else.

I went back-and-forth with them and the last email I received said:

Thank you for your interest in listing your business in Apple Maps.

We have verified that the required details are correct, however, although we appreciate your submission, we are unable to honor your request because Maps Connect only accepts businesses with a retail storefront or commercial location that Maps users can visit during business hours and reasonably expect to receive on-site services from staff.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience that this policy may cause you.

Should your business ever transition to meet our listing requirements, please reply to this email with a photo that shows the outside of your business, including the business sign and surrounding area. You may also include a photo of the building directory that shows your business listing and address. Building directories are typically found at the entrance of an office building and list all businesses operating inside it.

Should you have any additional questions, please let us know by replying to this email.

 

[Ben_apt]

Yes, my address is showing on my business’s Yelp listing, I just checked it now to confirm and I know that it’s always been up there in the past.

Now that I’m looking at emails, I believe my business was originally listed on Apple Maps (probably through Yelp like you mentioned) and was taken down in 2019 when I tried to make edits to the category or something else.

I went back-and-forth with them and the last email I received said:

Thank you for your interest in listing your business in Apple Maps.

We have verified that the required details are correct, however, although we appreciate your submission, we are unable to honor your request because Maps Connect only accepts businesses with a retail storefront or commercial location that Maps users can visit during business hours and reasonably expect to receive on-site services from staff.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience that this policy may cause you.

Should your business ever transition to meet our listing requirements, please reply to this email with a photo that shows the outside of your business, including the business sign and surrounding area. You may also include a photo of the building directory that shows your business listing and address. Building directories are typically found at the entrance of an office building and list all businesses operating inside it.

Should you have any additional questions, please let us know by replying to this email.

I've had this countless times. A client's Yelp listing shows their address. Apple create a listing using that info - but if you try to claim or edit the Apple Maps listing it triggers some backend checks and they say it's not allowed. Some have then been marked as permanently closed or removed.

In this case I make sure Yelp is accurate, let Apple create a listing, then don't claim it. Better that it's there, live and accurate, but I don't have any access than it's removed.

 

[Glass]

I've had this countless times. A client's Yelp listing shows their address. Apple create a listing using that info - but if you try to claim or edit the Apple Maps listing it triggers some backend checks and they say it's not allowed. Some have then been marked as permanently closed or removed.

In this case I make sure Yelp is accurate, let Apple create a listing, then don't claim it. Better that it's there, live and accurate, but I don't have any access than it's removed.

This seems to be exactly the way it is.

My listing appears to be completely removed. Do you know if there’s any way to revert it back (and then I won’t try to claim it again)?

 

[Ben_apt]

This seems to be exactly the way it is.

My listing appears to be completely removed. Do you know if there’s any way to revert it back (and then I won’t try to claim it again)?

Really not sure. Possibly only triggered by a new Yelp listing, but removing your Yelp listing then adding again seems overkill and unnecessary IMO