Citation Builder v2.1 — Audit, Submit & Sync 45+ Directories

Audit citations across 45+ directories with AI-powered extraction (Firecrawl fallback), cross-validation engine (weighted canonical NAP detection), Claude AI health scoring + correction suggestions, industry-specific niche directories (16+ across 6 industries).

BYOK (Bring Your Own Key): you provide your own API credentials.

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Before You Start

This actor requires your own API credentials to fetch real data.

Where to get your key: For Data Axle aggregator submission (full mode only). Uses /v3/places/claims endpoint to create/claim listings that feed YP, SuperPages, DexKnows + 100+ downstream directories.

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Quick Start

Run with real data

{
  "mode": "audit",
  "businessName": "John's Plumbing & HVAC",
  "streetAddress": "123 Main Street",
  "city": "Dallas",
  "state": "TX",
  "zipCode": "75001",
  "phone": "(214) 555-1234",
  "categories": [
    "Plumber",
    "HVAC Contractor"
  ],
  "facebookUrl": "https://example.com",
  "linkedinUrl": "https://example.com",
  "twitterUrl": "https://example.com",
  "instagramUrl": "https://example.com",
  "verifyAfterSubmit": false,
  "dryRun": false,
  "maxConcurrent": 3,
  "dataAxleApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "yextApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "brightLocalApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "anthropicApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "firecrawlApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "captchaSolverApiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
  "enableAiAnalysis": true,
  "enableCrossValidation": true,
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Required	Description
mode	string	"audit"	No	audit = check 45+ directories for existing citations and NAP consistency. submit = audit + auto-fill free directories + copy-paste data for login-required ones. full = audit + submit + push to Data Axle/Yext/BrightLocal APIs.
businessName	string	-	No	Your official business name (must match exactly across all citations)
streetAddress	string	-	No	Your business street address
city	string	-	No	City name
state	string	-	No	2-letter state code
zipCode	string	-	No	5-digit ZIP code
phone	string	-	No	Primary business phone (will be formatted consistently)
website	string	-	No	Your business website (optional but recommended)
email	string	-	No	Contact email address (optional)
description	string	-	No	Brief description of your business (150-300 characters recommended)
categories	array	-	No	Business categories, used for Yext taxonomy mapping and industry directory detection (e.g., 'Plumber', 'HVAC Contractor', 'Dentist', 'Attorney')
industry	string	-	No	Your industry, which unlocks niche directories. Examples: 'home services' adds HomeAdvisor/Porch/Thumbtack/Houzz; 'legal' adds Avvo/FindLaw/Justia; 'healthcare' adds Healthgrades/Zocdoc/Vitals; 'real estate' adds Zillow/Realtor.com; 'restaurant' adds OpenTable/Zomato; 'auto' adds CarGurus/RepairPal.
facebookUrl	string	-	No	Your Facebook business page URL
linkedinUrl	string	-	No	Your LinkedIn company page URL
twitterUrl	string	-	No	Your Twitter/X profile URL
instagramUrl	string	-	No	Your Instagram profile URL
verifyAfterSubmit	boolean	false	No	After submitting to directories, re-audit them to confirm the listing went live. Most directories take 24-72h to index, so immediate verification may show 'not yet live'.
dryRun	boolean	false	No	Legacy compatibility: setting this to true maps to mode='audit'. Use the 'mode' field instead.
directories	array	-	No	Only audit/submit these directories (leave empty for all 45+)
skipDirectories	array	-	No	Skip these directories (e.g., 'BBB' if you're not a member)
maxConcurrent	integer	3	No	Number of directories to process simultaneously
dataAxleApiKey	string	-	Yes*	For Data Axle aggregator submission (full mode only). Uses /v3/places/claims endpoint to create/claim listings that feed YP, SuperPages, DexKnows + 100+ downstream directories.
yextApiKey	string	-	Yes*	For Yext Knowledge API entity creation (full mode only). Your categories are auto-mapped to Yext taxonomy IDs. Syncs to 200+ directories via PowerListings.
brightLocalApiKey	string	-	Yes*	For BrightLocal Citation Builder campaign (full mode only). Creates a managed campaign; BrightLocal's team handles submissions within 5-7 business days.
anthropicApiKey	string	-	Yes*	Powers AI analysis: health scoring, correction suggestions, prioritized actions, estimated ranking impact. Uses Claude Sonnet for intelligent citation recommendations.
firecrawlApiKey	string	-	Yes*	AI-powered extraction fallback. When CSS selectors fail (common on React SPAs like Healthgrades, Zocdoc, etc.), Firecrawl's AI extracts NAP data directly from page content.
captchaSolverProvider	string	-	No	Which CAPTCHA solving service to use. All three support reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, and Turnstile. CapSolver also supports image CAPTCHAs. Requires captchaSolverApiKey.
captchaSolverApiKey	string	-	Yes*	API key for your chosen CAPTCHA solver (CapSolver, 2Captcha, or Anti-Captcha). Without this, CAPTCHAs are screenshotted for manual completion.
enableAiAnalysis	boolean	true	No	Run Claude AI analysis on results for health scoring, correction suggestions, and impact estimates. Requires anthropicApiKey.
enableCrossValidation	boolean	true	No	Use weighted voting across directories to determine your canonical (most likely correct) NAP. Detects name/address/phone variations.
googlePlaceId	string	-	No	Your GBP Place ID. If provided, GBP is treated as source of truth (always correct) and all other citations are compared against it.
businesses	array	-	No	Array of businesses to audit in sequence. Each object needs: businessName, streetAddress, city, state, zipCode, phone. Optional: website, email, categories, industry.
webhookUrl	string	-	No	Optional URL to receive results via POST request when actor completes
proxy	object	-	No	Proxy settings for web requests

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Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event billing:

Event	Description	Price
Citation Audited	NAP checked on one directory (search + extract + compare)	$0.05
Citation Submitted	Form auto-filled and submitted to a free directory	$0.25
Aggregator API Push	Business data pushed to Data Axle, Yext, or BrightLocal API	$0.50

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Troubleshooting

"API key is required"

• Add your API key in the input

"API error 403" or "Unauthorized"

Your API key is invalid, expired, or doesn't have access to this specific API endpoint. Double-check your key and account permissions.

"API error 429" or "Rate limit"

Too many requests. Wait a minute and try again, or reduce the number of items per run.

No results or empty dataset

Check the run log for error messages. Common causes:

• Invalid input format (check the examples above)
• API key without proper permissions
• The target data doesn't exist or is too small to track

How do I test without an API key?

Run the actor without any API keys, or set "demoMode": true. It returns realistic sample audit results labeled with demo: true and a _notice field so you can inspect the exact output shape before connecting your own keys. Demo runs make no external API calls and charge no task events. To run a live audit, provide at least one API key (anthropicApiKey, dataAxleApiKey, yextApiKey, or brightLocalApiKey).

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Built by John Rippy | Actor Arsenal