localsitesubmit: What It Is and How Local Listing SEO Works Today

If you searched for localsitesubmit, you are probably trying to answer one of three questions: What was Local Site Submit? Does the service still exist? And what should you use today to improve a business’s visibility across Google, maps, directories, and local search platforms?

The short answer is that Local Site Submit was a local business listing and directory submission platform created by Advice Interactive Group. In 2016, the company announced that Local Site Submit would be rebranded as Advice Local, expanding the platform beyond basic directory submissions into broader local presence management.

That history matters, but the more important question for a business owner or marketer is what to do now. Modern local SEO is no longer about submitting a business to as many directories as possible. Accurate entity data, Google Business Profile optimization, relevant citations, reviews, location-specific website content, and ongoing data maintenance all work together.

This guide explains where localsitesubmit fits into that evolution and provides a practical framework for building local visibility today.

Quick Facts About localsitesubmit

Question	Answer
What was Local Site Submit?	A local directory submission and business listing management service
Who created it?	Advice Interactive Group
When was it launched?	Advice Local states the platform was created in 2011
Does Local Site Submit still operate under that name?	The brand was renamed Advice Local in 2016
What did it primarily do?	Business listing distribution, directory submissions, citation monitoring and local presence management
What is the modern focus?	Accurate business data across search engines, directories, maps, apps and other discovery platforms
Is directory submission alone enough for local SEO?	No. Listings are one component of a broader local search strategy

Advice Local’s announcement states that the original platform was created in 2011 and rebranded in March 2016 as the company’s technology expanded beyond traditional directory listing management.

What Was Local Site Submit?

Local Site Submit emerged during an era when local SEO depended heavily on getting a business’s name, address, phone number and website published consistently across a large network of online directories.

The service was designed to reduce the repetitive work involved in creating those listings manually.

Older Local Site Submit materials described services that included directory submissions, Google Places optimization and the distribution of business information across local search platforms.

At the time, this solved a legitimate problem. Businesses often had inconsistent information scattered across directories, while owners rarely had the time to find, claim and update every listing themselves.

The Core Local Site Submit Model

A typical workflow revolved around several steps:

1. Collect a business’s core location data.
2. Identify relevant directories and data sources.
3. Create or update listings.
4. Standardize business information.
5. Monitor citations and listing accuracy.
6. Report on the business’s local search presence.

This model became the foundation for what is now more commonly called local listing management, location data management, or local presence management.

What Happened to localsitesubmit?

Local Site Submit did not simply disappear.

Advice Interactive Group announced in 2016 that Local Site Submit was becoming Advice Local. The company said the change reflected an expansion from traditional local presence management toward a broader digital presence platform.

That distinction is important for anyone searching for the old brand today.

If you are trying to find a current Local Site Submit login, service package or listing product, you should understand that the historical brand name is no longer the primary identity of the platform.

Today, Advice Local markets listing management, Google Business Profile tools, local ranking technology and business-data distribution services. Its current platform describes distributing location data to directories, aggregators, mapping applications and navigation solutions.

Why Business Listing Management Still Matters

Local directories have changed dramatically, but accurate business data remains important.

Search engines need to understand basic facts about a business:

• What is the business called?
• Where is it located?
• What areas does it serve?
• What does it offer?
• When is it open?
• How can customers contact it?
• Which website represents the business?
• Is the information trustworthy?

Google explicitly recommends maintaining complete and accurate Business Profile information. Its local ranking documentation identifies relevance, distance and prominence as the primary factors used to determine local results.

Listings cannot control distance, but they can support the clarity and consistency of the information search platforms use to understand the business.

Citations Help Establish a Clear Business Entity

A local citation is an online reference to a business.

It may contain:

• Business name
• Street address
• Phone number
• Website
• Opening hours
• Categories
• Description
• Photos
• Services
• Geographic information

A citation does not necessarily need to contain a backlink.

The objective is not simply to accumulate hundreds of mentions. The objective is to maintain a coherent digital representation of the business across sources that customers and search platforms actually use.

The Old Directory Submission Model vs. Modern Local SEO

The biggest mistake when researching localsitesubmit is assuming that the tactics that worked during the early directory-submission era should be copied exactly today.

They should not.

Traditional Approach	Modern Local SEO Approach
Submit to as many directories as possible	Prioritize authoritative and relevant platforms
Treat every citation as equally valuable	Focus on sources that matter to customers and search ecosystems
Create listings once	Monitor listings for ongoing changes
Optimize primarily for keywords	Optimize for accurate entities, categories, services and user intent
Measure number of submissions	Measure visibility, calls, leads, rankings and conversions
Use identical generic descriptions everywhere	Adapt information to platform capabilities while keeping core facts consistent
Consider Google one listing among many	Treat Google Business Profile as a central local visibility asset
Focus only on directories	Combine listings, reviews, website SEO, links and reputation signals

The modern strategy is less about raw submission volume and more about data quality, platform authority and customer discovery.

The Business Information You Should Standardize First

Before submitting anything to directories, create one authoritative record containing the business’s correct information.

This is your location-data source of truth.

Business Name

Use the genuine real-world business name.

Do not add cities, services, taglines or promotional keywords simply because you want to rank for them. Google instructs businesses to represent their names as they are consistently recognized in the real world.

For example:

Correct:
Smith Plumbing

Risky:
Smith Plumbing – Best 24 Hour Emergency Plumber Dallas

Unless the longer version is genuinely the company’s real-world name, keyword additions can create compliance problems.

Address

Use the actual business address where appropriate.

Service-area businesses should follow the rules of each platform rather than creating fake offices, virtual locations or fabricated branches to target additional cities.

Google specifically requires accurate addresses or service areas and places restrictions on virtual offices and other locations where the business does not genuinely operate.

Phone Number

Use a stable number that customers can reliably use to reach the business.

When tracking calls, preserve a consistent primary business number wherever platform rules or technical implementation make that advisable.

Website URL

Link customers to the most relevant authoritative page.

For a single-location company, this may be the homepage. For a multi-location business, an individual location landing page will often provide a better user experience.

Categories

Choose categories that describe what the business actually is.

Do not treat categories like a keyword-stuffing field. Google recommends using the fewest categories necessary to describe the business’s core operation.

Hours

Keep normal and special hours current.

Incorrect holiday hours are particularly damaging because they create a direct customer-experience failure: someone travels to the location and discovers that it is closed.

Which Listings Should You Prioritize?

Not every directory deserves equal attention.

A sensible hierarchy prevents teams from wasting hours maintaining websites that generate no meaningful visibility.

Tier 1: Primary Discovery Platforms

Start with platforms where customers actively search for businesses or receive local information.

Depending on your market, these may include major:

• Search engines
• Mapping platforms
• Navigation services
• Review platforms
• Social platforms
• Voice-assistant ecosystems

Google Business Profile should normally receive substantial attention because it directly controls business information displayed across Google Search and Maps. Google provides Business Profiles at no charge and allows eligible businesses to manage details such as their website, phone number, hours and location.

Tier 2: Industry-Specific Platforms

A directory becomes substantially more useful when its audience matches the business.

Examples include directories for:

• Lawyers
• Doctors
• Dentists
• Home-service contractors
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Real estate professionals
• Automotive companies
• Wedding vendors
• Financial professionals

A niche platform that sends qualified customers can be more valuable than dozens of generic directories.

Tier 3: Local and Regional Sources

Look for genuinely useful local resources such as:

• Chambers of commerce
• Local business associations
• Tourism websites
• Regional publications
• City business directories
• Neighborhood organizations
• Local sponsorship pages

These citations can reinforce geographic relevance while also placing the business in front of an actual local audience.

Tier 4: Secondary General Directories

Secondary directories can still be useful, particularly when they are well indexed or feed information into other services.

But they should rarely take priority over your primary profiles, customer reviews and website.

How to Build a Modern Local Listing Strategy

If you originally discovered localsitesubmit because you want to submit a business to directories, use the following workflow rather than chasing an arbitrary number of listings.

Step 1: Audit Existing Business Information

Search for the business using combinations of:

• Business name
• Old business names
• Address
• Previous addresses
• Phone number
• Old phone numbers
• Website
• Owner or practitioner names

Document inaccurate or duplicate listings.

Do this before creating new profiles. Otherwise, you may accidentally add another duplicate to an already fragmented local presence.

Step 2: Create a Master Location Record

Build a spreadsheet or database containing the approved information for each location.

Include:

• Official business name
• Address
• Main phone number
• Website URL
• Primary category
• Secondary categories
• Hours
• Holiday hours
• Description
• Services
• Service areas
• Latitude and longitude where needed
• Logo
• Exterior and interior photos
• Social profiles
• Opening date
• Accessibility details
• Payment methods where relevant

For multi-location brands, define which fields are controlled centrally and which can vary by location.

Step 3: Claim Your Most Important Profiles

Do not assume an existing listing is controlled by the business.

Claim or verify important profiles wherever the platform provides an ownership process.

Google notes that verification establishes that someone is authorized to represent the business.

Keep ownership under an account controlled by the business whenever practical rather than allowing an employee, former agency or freelancer to become the sole owner.

Step 4: Fix High-Risk Inconsistencies

Prioritize errors that can confuse customers or search platforms.

Correct:

• Wrong addresses
• Disconnected phone numbers
• Incorrect websites
• Duplicate locations
• Closed locations appearing open
• Wrong opening hours
• Incorrect business categories
• Misspelled business names

Do not obsess over insignificant formatting differences.

For example, Street versus St. is generally less important than discovering that half your profiles contain a phone number the company stopped using three years ago.

Step 5: Optimize the Profiles Customers Actually See

A listing should do more than merely exist.

Complete relevant fields such as:

• Services
• Products
• Photos
• Business description
• Attributes
• Opening hours
• Appointment links
• Menu links
• Service areas

Good listing management is customer-experience optimization, not clerical data entry.

Step 6: Build Relevant Additional Citations

Once core profiles are complete, expand into niche and regional opportunities.

Ask one question before investing time in any platform:

Does this citation help customers, reinforce legitimate business information, or strengthen visibility in an ecosystem that matters?

If the answer is no, the listing probably deserves a lower priority.

Step 7: Monitor Your Data

Business information changes.

Directories may also receive updates from users, third-party databases and external feeds.

Create an ongoing process for checking:

• Address changes
• Phone changes
• Hours
• Categories
• Duplicate profiles
• Suggested edits
• New locations
• Permanently closed flags
• Ownership access

The larger the organization, the more important centralized governance becomes.

Google Business Profile Should Be a Priority

Directory submissions should not distract from your Google Business Profile.

Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to appear in relevant local search results. The company also recommends verification, accurate hours, reviews and photos as part of improving local visibility.

Complete Every Relevant Field

Review:

• Business name
• Primary category
• Secondary categories
• Address or service area
• Phone
• Website
• Hours
• Services
• Products where applicable
• Photos
• Attributes

Only provide information that accurately reflects the business.

Choose the Right Primary Category

Your primary category communicates what the business fundamentally is.

A dental clinic offering cosmetic dentistry, emergency dentistry and implants is still fundamentally a dental practice. Select the category that most accurately captures the central business model, then use additional categories and services where appropriate.

Use Real Photos

Upload images that help potential customers understand the business.

Useful examples include:

• Storefront
• Reception area
• Team
• Products
• Completed projects
• Vehicles
• Menu items
• Facilities

Real photographic evidence is more useful to a local customer than a library of generic stock graphics.

Earn Reviews Ethically

Reviews can influence both customer decisions and local visibility.

Google states that review count and positive ratings can contribute to prominence, one of its local ranking factors.

Build review generation into the customer journey rather than running occasional campaigns when ratings fall.

Listings Alone Will Not Make You Rank

This is one of the most important lessons that older directory-submission strategies often miss.

Creating 50, 100 or 500 citations does not guarantee top local rankings.

Google describes local ranking primarily through three concepts:

Relevance

How closely does the business match what the searcher needs?

Improve relevance through accurate categories, services, business information and useful website content.

Distance

How far is the business from the location associated with the search?

You cannot optimize your way out of geography.

A legitimate business should not fabricate locations simply to appear closer to searchers.

Prominence

How established and well known is the business?

Google says prominence can be informed by signals such as links, articles, directories and reviews.

That means your strategy should extend beyond citations.

What to Do After Your Listings Are Clean

Once the core directory work is complete, invest in the local SEO activities that create durable competitive advantages.

Build Strong Location Pages

Every important location should have a useful page designed for people in that market.

A high-quality location page may include:

• Unique location information
• Services offered
• Local phone number
• Address
• Hours
• Directions
• Parking information
• Staff
• Testimonials
• FAQs
• Photos
• Nearby landmarks
• Service-area information

Avoid creating hundreds of nearly identical city pages with only the city name replaced.

Publish Locally Relevant Content

Useful local content can address real customer needs.

Examples:

• Local regulations affecting a service
• Seasonal problems in the area
• Neighborhood service guides
• Local case studies
• Community involvement
• Location-specific FAQs
• Regional pricing considerations

The objective is not to insert geographic keywords into generic articles. It is to provide information that genuinely becomes more useful because it is local.

Earn Local Links

Look for legitimate relationships that can produce editorially meaningful links.

Potential opportunities include:

• Local associations
• Suppliers
• Sponsorships
• Community organizations
• Local media
• Universities
• Events
• Industry organizations
• Business partnerships

Do not confuse local link building with buying placements from low-quality directory networks.

Strengthen Your Reputation

Reviews should be treated as an operating system, not an SEO trick.

Create processes for:

1. Asking satisfied customers for feedback.
2. Making the review process simple.
3. Responding professionally.
4. Identifying recurring complaints.
5. Fixing underlying service problems.

The strongest local brands earn better reputations because the business itself improves.

Common Local Listing Mistakes

1. Submitting Before Auditing

Creating listings without checking existing data often produces duplicates.

Audit first.

2. Using Tracking Numbers Carelessly

Call tracking can be valuable, but poorly implemented number changes may fragment business data.

Maintain a clearly defined canonical phone number and understand how each platform handles additional numbers.

3. Keyword-Stuffing Business Names

Adding services and cities to a business name may look like an easy ranking shortcut.

Google’s guidelines require businesses to represent themselves using their genuine real-world names.

4. Creating Fake Locations

Virtual offices, mailboxes or fabricated branches can create serious profile problems.

Build visibility from genuine operational locations instead.

5. Treating Every Directory Equally

A platform used by thousands of your prospective customers deserves more attention than an obscure directory that exists solely to host listings.

Allocate effort accordingly.

6. Ignoring Ownership

A perfectly optimized listing is still a business risk if nobody knows who controls the account.

Maintain an ownership register containing:

• Platform
• Login owner
• Recovery email
• Administrator
• Verification status

Use secure password-management practices rather than storing passwords directly in an unsecured spreadsheet.

7. Forgetting Closed Locations

Old branches can continue appearing in directories long after they close.

Develop an offboarding checklist whenever a location relocates, merges or permanently closes.

8. Measuring Submission Counts Instead of Business Results

“150 directories submitted” sounds impressive but tells you very little.

A better question is whether local search produces measurable customer activity.

Metrics That Actually Matter

Track indicators tied to visibility and revenue.

Visibility Metrics

Monitor:

• Local rankings
• Map visibility
• Branded search presence
• Non-branded local search presence
• Profile impressions where available
• Citation accuracy

Engagement Metrics

Measure:

• Website visits
• Direction requests
• Calls
• Appointment clicks
• Menu views
• Messages
• Other profile interactions

Conversion Metrics

Ultimately, measure:

• Qualified leads
• Bookings
• Store visits
• Sales
• Revenue
• Cost per acquisition

A listing strategy that produces fewer directory placements but more customers is the better strategy.

Manual Submission vs. Listing Management Software

Businesses researching localsitesubmit often reach a second decision: should listings be managed manually or through software?

Both approaches can work.

Factor	Manual Management	Listing Management Platform
Cost	Lower software cost	Usually requires subscription or service fees
Time	High	Lower for large networks
Control	Very high	Depends on platform
Scalability	Difficult	Strong
Multi-location management	Labor intensive	Usually much easier
Monitoring	Manual checks required	Often centralized
Best fit	Small businesses with few locations	Agencies, franchises and multi-location brands

Manual Management Makes Sense When:

• You have one location.
• Your business information rarely changes.
• You need only a small group of major listings.
• You have staff available to manage accounts.
• Budget is more constrained than time.

Software Makes Sense When:

• You manage many locations.
• Business information changes frequently.
• You need centralized reporting.
• Multiple teams need controlled access.
• Listing accuracy must be monitored at scale.
• Manual updates would create unacceptable operational overhead.

Advice Local currently positions its platform around distributing and managing business data across directories, data aggregators, mapping applications and other location-based services.

A Practical Local Listing Checklist

Use this checklist before considering a local presence project complete:

• Confirm the legal and customer-facing business name.

• Confirm the correct physical address or service-area configuration.

• Confirm the primary phone number.

• Confirm the canonical website URL.

• Select accurate primary and secondary categories.

• Standardize regular opening hours.

• Add special and holiday hours.

• Claim or verify major profiles.

• Remove or merge duplicates where possible.

• Correct old addresses and phone numbers.

• Add useful business descriptions.

• Upload authentic photos.

• Add services and products where supported.

• Build industry-specific citations.

• Build relevant local citations.

• Establish a review-generation workflow.

• Create or improve location pages.

• Track local rankings and leads.

• Audit listings after major business changes.

• Maintain platform ownership records.

Advanced Strategy for Multi-Location Businesses

For a 50-location or 500-location brand, local SEO becomes a data-governance problem.

One-off manual optimizations are not enough.

Centralize Location Data

Maintain one authoritative database that feeds:

• Website location pages
• Store locators
• Listings
• Mapping platforms
• Internal systems
• Marketing campaigns

The objective is to avoid competing spreadsheets maintained by different departments.

Create Data Governance Rules

Define who can change:

• Business names
• Addresses
• Categories
• Hours
• URLs
• Phone numbers
• Store status

A location manager may reasonably update holiday hours, while corporate operations may need to approve a permanent address change.

Establish Change Workflows

Whenever a location changes, decide which systems need updates.

A relocation may require changes to:

1. Internal location database
2. Website
3. Google Business Profile
4. Major mapping platforms
5. Directory network
6. Advertising platforms
7. Review profiles
8. Analytics
9. Structured data

This is where modern listing management becomes operational infrastructure rather than a simple SEO task.

How Often Should You Audit Local Listings?

There is no universal schedule.

The right frequency depends on how often your business data changes and how costly inaccuracies would be.

Single-Location Business

Perform a thorough audit at least periodically and immediately after major changes such as:

• Moving
• Rebranding
• Changing phone numbers
• Changing hours
• Launching a new website

Multi-Location Brand

Monitoring should be considerably more systematic.

Locations open, close and change hours frequently, while external platforms can introduce conflicting information.

High-volume brands should treat local data quality as an ongoing process rather than an annual cleanup project.

Is Citation Consistency Still Important?

Yes, but the concept is frequently oversimplified.

Consistency does not mean every punctuation mark must be identical everywhere.

The real goal is entity clarity.

Search platforms and customers should be able to understand that each profile refers to the same genuine business.

Focus on significant factual consistency:

• Correct name
• Correct location
• Correct phone
• Correct website
• Correct status
• Correct categories
• Correct hours

Do not spend hours changing Suite 200 to Ste. 200 while customers are still being sent to an old address.

Is localsitesubmit Still Relevant?

The localsitesubmit keyword remains relevant primarily because people continue to encounter the historical brand in older articles, forum discussions, software references and local SEO resources.

The underlying business problem it addressed is also still relevant: companies need accurate location information wherever customers search.

What has changed is the scope of the solution.

Modern local presence management extends far beyond submitting a name, address and phone number to directories. A competitive program now combines:

• Google Business Profile optimization
• Accurate listings
• Maps visibility
• Customer reviews
• Strong location pages
• Local content
• Relevant links
• Reputation management
• Performance measurement
• Data governance

That broader approach is much closer to how local search works today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is localsitesubmit?

localsitesubmit refers to Local Site Submit, a former local directory submission and listing management platform created by Advice Interactive Group. The company announced in 2016 that Local Site Submit would be rebranded as Advice Local.

Is Local Site Submit still available?

The Local Site Submit brand was transitioned to Advice Local. Advice Local currently provides business listing management and other local presence tools.

What did Local Site Submit do?

The historical service focused on helping businesses distribute and manage information across online directories and local search platforms. Older company materials also referenced manual directory submission and Google Places optimization.

Do local directory submissions still help SEO?

Relevant, accurate listings remain useful, particularly across authoritative search, mapping, review and industry platforms. However, directory submissions should be part of a larger local SEO strategy rather than treated as a standalone ranking solution.

How many business directories should I submit to?

There is no useful universal number.

Prioritize platforms that customers use, authoritative local ecosystems, industry directories and credible regional sources. Quality and accuracy matter more than reaching an arbitrary submission count.

Does consistent NAP information improve local SEO?

Consistent core business information helps customers and platforms correctly identify a business. Prioritize accuracy in your business name, address, phone number, website, hours and status rather than obsessing over minor formatting differences.

Can I pay Google for better local rankings?

No. Google states that businesses cannot request or pay for better organic local ranking. Local results are primarily determined using relevance, distance and prominence.

Should I use software or submit listings manually?

A single-location business can often manage major profiles manually. Agencies, franchises and multi-location brands typically benefit more from centralized listing management because they must maintain data across many locations and platforms.

Final Takeaway

The story of localsitesubmit reflects the evolution of local SEO itself.

Local Site Submit began as a solution to the difficult task of distributing business information across directories and was later rebranded as Advice Local as the industry expanded into broader local presence management.

The lesson for businesses today is simple: do not judge your local SEO program by how many directories accept your submission.

Build one accurate source of business data. Control your major profiles. Optimize Google Business Profile. Fix meaningful inconsistencies. Earn genuine reviews. Develop useful location pages. Build relevant local authority. Then monitor everything as the business changes.

That is the modern version of what people searching for localsitesubmit ultimately need: not more directory submissions, but a reliable system for making the business accurate, visible and persuasive everywhere local customers look.