Citation Builder: Audit, Submit and Sync 45+ Directories

Audit your business's citations across 45+ directories, find NAP (name, address, phone) mismatches, auto-fill free directory forms, and optionally push your listing to Data Axle, Yext or BrightLocal. Adds niche directories for 16+ industries, a cross-validated canonical NAP, and optional Claude AI health scoring.

No API key is needed for an audit. Keys are only used for the optional extras: full mode pushes (Data Axle, Yext, BrightLocal), AI analysis (Anthropic) and AI extraction (Firecrawl).

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How directories are read

Each directory is opened in a normal Firefox browser, the way a person would visit it: no stealth add-ons, no fingerprint spoofing, no proxy rotation, and no CAPTCHA or security-check solving.

• Before opening any page, the actor checks that site's robots.txt. Pages a site closes to automated access are skipped and reported as not_permitted. Google search is one of them, so Google Business Profile is reported this way.
• A directory that answers with a block or security check is reported as blocked.
• A directory with no public search page is reported as not_checked, unless you give its listing URL in providedUrls (or facebookUrl, linkedinUrl, instagramUrl).
• Forms with a CAPTCHA are never submitted. You get captcha_detected plus copy-paste data to submit by hand.

blocked, not_permitted, not_checked and error directories are listed in the recommendations so you can check them by hand. They are never charged and never count toward the health score.

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Quick Start

Run a live audit

{
  "mode": "audit",
  "businessName": "Gary Danko",
  "streetAddress": "800 N Point St",
  "city": "San Francisco",
  "state": "CA",
  "zipCode": "94109",
  "phone": "(415) 749-2060",
  "website": "https://www.garydanko.com",
  "categories": ["Restaurant"]
}

Sample output

Set "demoMode": true, or run with no business details, to get one labeled sample audit that shows the output format. It carries demo: true and a _notice field, makes no external calls, and charges no task events.

Batch mode

Put several businesses in businesses and each one gets its own full audit row, one after another.

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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	-	Yes, for a live audit	Your official business name
streetAddress	string	-	Yes, for a live audit	Your business street address
city	string	-	Yes, for a live audit	City name
state	string	-	Yes, for a live audit	2-letter state code
zipCode	string	-	Yes, for a live audit	5-digit ZIP code
phone	string	-	Yes, for a live audit	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, linkedinUrl, instagramUrl	string	-	No	Your page on that site, read directly as its listing (if its robots.txt allows it)
providedUrls	object	-	No	Listing URLs you already know, keyed by directory name, read directly instead of searching
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 at the same time (1 to 5)
dataAxleApiKey	string	-	Full mode only	Data Axle aggregator submission. Uses /v3/places/claims to create/claim listings that feed YP, SuperPages, DexKnows + 100+ downstream directories.
yextApiKey	string	-	Full mode only	Yext Knowledge API entity creation. Your categories are auto-mapped to Yext taxonomy IDs.
brightLocalApiKey	string	-	Full mode only	BrightLocal Citation Builder campaign. BrightLocal's team handles submissions within 5-7 business days.
anthropicApiKey	string	-	No	Powers AI analysis: health scoring, correction suggestions, prioritized actions, estimated ranking impact.
firecrawlApiKey	string	-	No	AI extraction fallback for listing pages that loaded but whose layout the CSS selectors could not read.
enableAiAnalysis	boolean	true	No	Run Claude AI analysis on results. Requires anthropicApiKey.
enableCrossValidation	boolean	true	No	Use weighted voting across directories to determine your canonical (most likely correct) NAP.
businesses	array	-	No	Businesses to audit in sequence. Each object needs: businessName, streetAddress, city, state, zipCode, phone. Optional: website, email, categories, industry.
demoMode	boolean	false	No	Return labeled sample audit results instead of a live audit
webhookUrl	string	-	No	Optional URL to receive results via POST request when actor completes

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Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event billing:

Event	When it is charged	Price
Actor start	Once when the run starts, one event per GB of memory (minimum one). At the default 2 GB of memory a run starts at $0.20	$0.10 per GB
Citation Audited	NAP checked on one directory (search + extract + compare)	$0.05
Citation Submitted	Per directory submission	$0.15
Aggregator API Push	Business data pushed to Data Axle, Yext, or BrightLocal API	$0.50

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Troubleshooting

Many directories show blocked or not_permitted

Those sites either closed the page to automated access in robots.txt or answered with a security check. This actor does not get around either, so they were skipped and not charged. They are listed in the recommendations to check by hand.

"Missing required fields"

A live audit needs businessName, streetAddress, city, state, zipCode and phone. A run that stops here charges no task events.

How do I test without spending anything?

Set "demoMode": true, or run with no business details. You get a labeled sample audit and no task events are charged.

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Built by John Rippy | Actor Arsenal