A curated list of Iowa-specific directories, chambers, and platforms that actually influence local rankings.
Citations — mentions of your business Name, Address, and Phone across the web — are the plumbing of Local SEO. They're not glamorous, but broken plumbing sinks rankings. Here's the list we work through for every new Des Moines client.
Core national platforms (do these first)
Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Facebook, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, Yellow Pages, Foursquare, Nextdoor, and Superpages. These feed dozens of downstream directories automatically.
Iowa and Des Moines-specific directories
Greater Des Moines Partnership, West Des Moines Chamber, Urbandale Chamber, Ankeny Chamber, Johnston Chamber, Iowa Business Directory, Des Moines Business Record listings, Catch Des Moines, and Uniquely Urbandale.
Industry-specific directories
This is where most competitors stop. If you're a contractor, get on Angi, HomeAdvisor, Houzz, and Porch. Healthcare? Healthgrades, Vitals, Zocdoc, and WebMD. Legal? Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, and Martindale. Restaurants? OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Zomato, and Grubhub.
Data aggregators (the multiplier)
Submit to Data Axle, Localeze/Neustar, and Foursquare's data feed. One submission propagates your NAP to hundreds of downstream sites over 60–90 days.
The consistency rule
Every listing needs the exact same NAP. Not 'Ste 200' on one and 'Suite 200' on another. Not '515.855.6499' here and '515-855-6499' there. Pick a format, document it, and enforce it. Audit quarterly with a tool like BrightLocal or Whitespark.