## **🏠 Understanding the SAB Citation Problem**

If you manage a **Service Area Business (SAB)** — a business that serves customers at their location rather than a physical storefront — your Google Business Profile (GBP) is set to hide your address from the public. However, some third-party citation directories and data aggregators do not support address suppression. When a citation is submitted to one of these incompatible directories, your internal **dummy address** (the placeholder address used for NAP consistency) can be published publicly instead of being hidden.

This creates two problems: your private address is exposed, and the credits spent submitting to those incompatible aggregators may not have delivered value. This article explains how to identify affected citations, request corrections, and ask for credit reimbursement.

## **🔍 Step 1 — Identify Which Citations Were Affected**

Before contacting support, gather the details of each affected citation so your request can be processed quickly.

1. Review your citation results within the platform and note every directory where your dummy address appears publicly instead of being suppressed.
2. For each affected listing, record: **the directory name**, **the URL of the live listing**, and **the date the citation was submitted**.

Having this information ready will significantly speed up the correction and reimbursement process.

## **⚙️ Step 2 — Understand Which Aggregators Are Incompatible**

Not all citation networks support SAB address suppression. Directories that are incompatible will always display a physical address field and have no mechanism to leave it blank or hidden. Common signs of an incompatible aggregator include:

- The listing shows a full street address even though your GBP has the address hidden.
- The directory does not offer a **Service Area Business** or **no storefront** option during listing creation.
- The published address matches your internal dummy address exactly.

Credits spent on these incompatible aggregators are eligible for reimbursement because the submission could not be completed in a way that meets SAB privacy requirements.

## **📋 Step 3 — Request Address Correction and Credit Reimbursement**

Search Atlas handles SAB citation corrections and credit reimbursements through the support team. To submit your request, please have the following ready:

- The list of affected citations compiled in Step 1, including directory names, live listing URLs, and submission dates.
- A clear statement that you are requesting both address correction and credit reimbursement for incompatible aggregators.
- Your project name or any other identifying information that will help our team locate the relevant citations quickly.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.