Whitespark + Claude — Citation Building and Review Generation

Local SEO Data identifies citation gaps. BrightLocal offers automated bulk submission. Whitespark offers something different: manual, high-quality citation building and the Local Citation Finder that discovers niche opportunities automated tools miss.

For businesses in specific verticals or local markets where quality matters more than volume, Whitespark’s manual approach and specialized discovery tools fill gaps that automation can’t.

Whitespark’s Role in Local SEO Skills

Whitespark provides three capabilities that complement the broader citation workflow:

Local Citation Finder: Discovers citation opportunities that competitors have but you don’t — including industry-specific and local-market directories that standard citation tools don’t check.

Citation building service: Manual submission by human operators. Higher quality than automated submission, particularly for directories with complex submission processes or verification requirements.

Reputation Builder: Review request campaigns via email and SMS. Systematic review generation with platform targeting and compliance management.

The positioning: Local SEO Data audits, Whitespark discovers and builds with quality focus, BrightLocal automates at scale. Different tools for different needs.

Finding Citation Opportunities with Local Citation Finder

The Local Citation Finder identifies citations your competitors have built that aren’t on standard citation checklists:

Prompt: "Use Whitespark to find local citation opportunities for Valley Plumbing
in Phoenix that we haven't built yet."

Skills fired: dispatch → local-citations + whitespark-tool

Output:
CITATION OPPORTUNITY DISCOVERY: Valley Plumbing, Phoenix

Standard directories (you have most of these):
✓ Google Business Profile
✓ Yelp
✓ Facebook
✓ BBB
⚠ Yellow Pages — listing needs update

Local directories (Phoenix-specific):
✗ Phoenix Business Journal directory — Not listed
✗ Arizona Commerce Authority — Not listed
✗ Visit Phoenix partner directory — Not listed
✗ Phoenix Chamber member directory — Not listed (not a member)
✗ Arizona Daily Sun business listings — Not listed

Industry directories (Plumbing-specific):
✗ Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association — Not listed
✗ Arizona Registrar of Contractors public search — Verify listing
✗ HomeAdvisor Pro — Profile incomplete
✗ Angi Pro — Not claimed

Niche opportunities (competitor analysis revealed):
✗ NextDoor business page — Competitors active here
✗ Alignable local network — Competitors have presence
✗ Phoenix Home & Garden advertiser directory — Competitors listed

PRIORITY ACTIONS:

Immediate (high-value, easy):
1. Claim NextDoor business page
2. Complete HomeAdvisor Pro profile
3. Join Alignable Phoenix network

This quarter (membership/verification required):
1. Phoenix Chamber of Commerce membership
2. PHCC Arizona chapter membership
3. Arizona Commerce Authority registration

Longer-term (content/relationship required):
1. Phoenix Business Journal directory (may require advertising)
2. Visit Phoenix partner program (tourism-adjacent)

The Local Citation Finder surfaces opportunities that wouldn’t appear in standard citation audits because they’re market-specific or industry-specific.

Reputation Builder for Review Generation

Whitespark’s Reputation Builder manages systematic review request campaigns:

Campaign structure: Create email and SMS templates requesting reviews from customers. Schedule sends based on service completion timing.

Platform targeting: Direct customers to specific review platforms. Google first (highest SEO value), then Yelp, Facebook, or industry-specific platforms as needed.

Compliance management: Review request campaigns must comply with platform policies. Reputation Builder handles timing and frequency to avoid policy violations.

Integration with review-management skill: The review-management skill develops strategy; Reputation Builder executes the generation campaigns.

Prompt: "Set up a Whitespark Reputation Builder campaign for Valley Plumbing.
Target Google reviews first, then Yelp. Send requests 2 days after service."

Skills fired: dispatch → review-management + whitespark-tool

Output:
REPUTATION BUILDER CAMPAIGN SETUP

Campaign: Valley Plumbing Review Generation

Timing:
- Initial request: 2 days after service completion
- Reminder (if no action): 5 days after initial
- Maximum requests per customer: 2

Platform sequence:
1. Google (primary) — 70% of requests
2. Yelp (secondary) — 30% of requests
Note: Customers who already have reviewed on Google go to Yelp

Email template:
Subject: How did we do, [First Name]?

[Personalized message thanking for business, asking for honest feedback,
direct link to review platform...]

SMS template (optional):
"Hi [First Name], thanks for choosing Valley Plumbing! We'd appreciate
your feedback: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out."

Compliance settings:
- Respect opt-outs immediately
- No incentives mentioned
- No review gating (ask all customers, not just happy ones)

Expected results (based on industry benchmarks):
- Email open rate: 35-45%
- Click-through rate: 15-25%
- Review completion rate: 8-15%
- Estimated new reviews/month: 8-12 (from 80 service calls)

Whitespark vs. BrightLocal: Which to Use When

Use Whitespark when:

Quality matters more than speed (professional services, healthcare, legal)
Need the Local Citation Finder for niche opportunity discovery
Prefer manual submission for complex directories
Running Reputation Builder review campaigns
Budget supports premium citation building

Use BrightLocal when:

Speed and scale matter (launching new locations, bulk cleanup)
Standard directories cover most of your needs
Managing multiple clients (agency features)
Automated submission is sufficient for your directory types
Budget requires efficiency at scale

Complementary usage: Use Whitespark’s Local Citation Finder to discover opportunities, then decide whether to build via Whitespark’s manual service or BrightLocal’s automated system based on directory complexity and quality requirements.

Setup and Connection

Whitespark account: Sign up at whitespark.ca. Different products (Citation Finder, building service, Reputation Builder) have separate pricing.
API access: Whitespark offers API access for Citation Finder and Reputation Builder data
MCP server configuration: Add Whitespark to Claude Code:

Server URL: https://api.whitespark.ca/mcp
Authentication: API key

Verify connection:

Verify Whitespark connection and run a test citation finder query
for [Business Name] in [City]

Discovery workflow:

Use Whitespark Local Citation Finder to discover citation opportunities
for [Business Name] that competitors have but we don't.

Once connected, the local-citations skill can leverage Whitespark for discovery and the review-management skill can coordinate with Reputation Builder for generation campaigns.