# Citation Consistency Operating System

Use this operating system when public business facts keep drifting across listings, profiles, directories, and location surfaces.

## Source Hierarchy

Decide which source wins when facts conflict.

Recommended hierarchy:

1. primary business facts document
2. website contact and location system
3. Google Business Profile
4. top-tier directories and review platforms
5. long-tail listings and citations

Without a clear hierarchy, well-meaning cleanup work often creates more inconsistency.

## Facts to Control

Track:

- business name
- phone number
- address or service-area presentation
- hours
- website URL
- business category language
- appointment or contact method

Add notes for any allowed variations so your team does not “fix” something that is intentional.

## Drift Detection Loop

Run a monthly drift sweep:

- compare top listings to the source-of-truth sheet
- check whether new agencies, tools, or platforms created duplicate entries
- flag old numbers, tracking numbers, or address remnants
- review location pages for service-area language drift

The aim is not perfection everywhere. It is fast detection of high-risk inconsistencies.

## Duplicate Handling

For duplicate entries, decide whether to:

- merge
- suppress
- update and keep
- document as uneditable legacy noise

Treat duplicate handling as a queue, not a one-time panic project.

## Escalation Paths

Escalate when:

- a platform repeatedly rejects corrections
- ownership of a profile is unclear
- legal or compliance constraints affect naming
- location transitions create temporary fact ambiguity

Use one escalation owner so cleanup does not stall in email limbo.

## Multi-Location Rules

If the business has multiple locations or service territories:

- separate shared facts from location-specific facts
- standardize naming logic
- keep hours and phone ownership explicit
- document which surfaces should mention territory versus physical address

This prevents one location’s cleanup from breaking another location’s trust layer.

## Documentation Standards

Maintain:

- source-of-truth sheet
- update log
- unresolved issue queue
- ownership map

Consistency is easier when future teammates can see what changed and why.

## Quarterly Audit

Once per quarter:

- review top directories manually
- audit service-area pages and contact surfaces
- compare business facts to recent reviews and user-submitted mentions
- log recurring drift sources so the root cause gets fixed

Quarterly audit time is where you make the system better, not just the listings.

## Failure Modes

- changing facts in one place and assuming the rest will sync
- letting tools or vendors create unsupervised listings
- no owner for local fact governance
- fixing duplicates without logging the decision

## 90-Day Stabilization Sequence

Days 1-30:

- define the source hierarchy
- clean the top 10 trust surfaces

Days 31-60:

- repair duplicates and recurring drift
- document ownership and escalation rules

Days 61-90:

- audit quarterly
- make the sweep repeatable