# Local SEO Beyond Your Google Profile > Strengthen the local signals outside your Google Business Profile: your website, directory listings, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, and local links. Canonical: https://vassalmarketing.com/information/local-seo/ **Maintained by Vassal Marketing** ยท Last updated on September 26, 2026 Reviewed at least quarterly and whenever a platform or rule it cites changes. General information, not legal or professional advice. Check rules that affect your business with a qualified professional. Your Google profile is only one piece. Keep your business details consistent on your website and every listing customers use, and earn real local mentions. ## Why this matters Customers find local businesses through Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, industry directories, and word of mouth. When your name, address, and phone number match everywhere, customers and search engines can trust them. Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence. You cannot change where the searcher is. You can make your details accurate everywhere and give people real reasons to mention you. ## Recommended practices ### Send local signals from your website Show your business name, address or service area, and phone number in the same form on every page, usually in the footer. Add a clear contact page, real service areas, and LocalBusiness structured data that matches what visitors see. ### Keep NAP consistent across listings NAP means name, address, and phone number. Use one exact version everywhere. Example: if the sign says "Oak Street Plumbing LLC", do not list "Oak St Plumbing" on one site and a former phone number on another. Fix or merge duplicate listings. ### Claim Bing Places and Apple Business Bing Places for Business is free and feeds Bing search and Bing Maps; it can import details from your Google profile. Apple's free Apple Business platform (formerly Apple Business Connect) manages your Apple Maps place card: hours, photos, and action buttons. ### Choose directories customers actually use Claim your Yelp page and the directories that matter in your trade, such as a licensing board, trade association, or booking platform. Accuracy on a few trusted sites beats hundreds of low-quality listings. ### Earn local links and mentions Local sponsorships, chamber of commerce membership, supplier dealer pages, community events, and local news can all mention and link to you. Only pursue ones that reflect something real the business does. ## What to do next 1. Write down the one exact business name, address or service area, phone number, and website to use everywhere. 2. Search for your business on Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, and your industry's main directories. 3. Claim each listing you find and correct any details that do not match. 4. Merge or remove duplicate listings and old addresses or phone numbers. 5. List three local organizations where the business is genuinely involved and ask to be listed. ## Avoid these shortcuts - Stuffing extra keywords into the business name on any listing - Creating fake offices or virtual addresses to reach more cities - Publishing city pages that only swap the town name - Paying for bulk listings on directories no customer uses ## Questions business owners ask ### Do citations still matter? A citation is any listing of your business name, address, and phone number on another site. Accurate listings on sites customers use help people and reduce conflicting details. The number of listings matters less than their accuracy. ### Is my Google Business Profile covered here? Only in passing. Profile setup, categories, and review handling are covered in the Google Business Profile guides linked below. This guide covers the local signals outside that profile. ### Should we create a page for every nearby city? Only when you truly serve that area and can say something specific about it. Near-duplicate city pages confuse visitors and can break Google's spam policies. See the Location and service-area SEO guide. ## Primary guidance - [Google: Tips to improve local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091) - [Bing Webmaster Blog: The new Bing Places for Business](https://blogs.bing.com/search/2025/10/Introducing-the-New-Bing-Places-for-Business-Built-for-Business-Owners,-Powered-by-Research/) - [Apple Newsroom: Introducing Apple Business](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/introducing-apple-business-a-new-all-in-one-platform-for-businesses-of-all-sizes/) Search visibility, rankings, calls, leads, and revenue are not guaranteed. ## Go deeper - [Google Business Profile: keep profile details accurate](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/google-business-profile/profile-accuracy.md) - [Google Business Profile: reviews and responses](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/google-business-profile/reviews-and-responses.md) - [Reviews and reputation guides](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/reviews-reputation.md) - [Location and service-area pages on your website](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/location-service-area-seo.md) ## Related information collection [Go deeper on Google Business Profile management](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/google-business-profile.md). ## Related SEO guides - [Location and Service-Area SEO Without Doorway Pages](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/location-service-area-seo.md): Build website location and city pages that reflect where you really work, without copy-paste doorway pages. - [Authority, Links, Reviews, and Reputation](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/authority-reputation.md): Earn real mentions, relevant links, honest reviews, and recognizable expertise, and avoid paid link schemes that can backfire. - [Service Pages That Explain and Differentiate](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/service-pages.md): Build service pages around real offers: what's included, how the work happens, proof, price context, and how to book. [Explore all SEO guides](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/seo.md).