If you’re a business owner who isn’t aware of the power of local citations, then, here you will learn about local citations and how they can help you grow your business.
What are local citations?
A local citation is any mention of your business on the internet, along with your business’s name, address, and phone number. Getting listed in top, high-quality directories helps new customers find your business when they’re searching for products or services like the ones you offer.
Local citations help improve your local SEO by increasing your business’s visibility and improving your search engine ranking for local keywords. They’re also one of the top factors that Google uses to determine the quality and trustworthiness of a local business.
Is local citation important for businesses?
Local citations are an important part of local SEO because they help search engines verify a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). They also help boost a business’s ranking in search results.
The more local citations you have, the more trustworthy search engines will think your business is.
Local citations tell search engines where your business is located. They also help improve your chances of being found in the “local pack,” a group of three businesses that appear at the top of the search results for a local query.
If you want to rank higher in Google Maps and other local search results, you need to make sure your business is listed in as many relevant local directories as possible. You can also include links to your social media profiles and any offline marketing materials you have.
Types of Local Citations
There are many types of local citations, but the most common are online directories, business listings, and social media profiles. Online directories are websites that list businesses in specific categories, often with the goal of helping people find local businesses.
Business listings are simply listings of businesses in directories or other online resources. Social media profiles are online profiles for businesses that can be found on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
There are mainly two types of local citations structured and unstructured.
What are Structured citations?
Structured citations are found in online directories and include NAP information. These are totally designed primarily for the publication of local business listings, but they nonetheless serve as a reference to your company. These are the places where your business is listed on relevant business directories and other websites. These are the most reputable and trusted websites that already have a lot of business information in them, so Google already trusts them.
Here is an example of a structured citation for a better understanding
What are Unstructured citations?
Unstructured citations are found on websites and include mentions of your business. These aren’t designed primarily for the publication of local business listings, but they nonetheless serve as a reference to your company. These can be found in blog posts, articles, social profiles, and even social media posts.
Here is an example of an unstructured citation for a better understanding
Search engines may use them when determining the authority and relevancy of your website.
While both types of local citations are important, structured citations are especially important because they help Google and other search engines verify your business’s NAP information.
So, if you’re not already doing so, be sure to claim your business listings and make sure your NAP information is accurate and up-to-date.
Our local citation building team will create consistent NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) citations across the web, which can help improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages.
What are the fundamentals of local citations?
Here is a list of some important fundamentals that you might consider when building local citations for your business:
- Consistency: It is important to ensure that your business information is consistent across all of your local citations, including your name, address, phone number, and website URL. Inconsistent information can confuse search engines and make it more difficult for potential customers to find you.
- Relevance: When building local citations, it is important to target relevant sources that are likely to be seen by your target audience. This might include industry-specific directories, local business associations, and online directories that are popular in your area.
- Quality: Not all local citations are created equal. It is important to focus on high-quality sources that are well-respected and trusted by search engines and consumers.
- Quantity: While quality is more important than quantity when it comes to local citations, it is still important to build a good number of citations to improve your website’s visibility and authority in local search.
- Accuracy: It is essential to ensure that your business information is accurate on all of your local citations. Incorrect information can lead to confusion and potentially harm your local SEO efforts.
- Tracking and measurement: It is important to track and measure the success of your local citation-building efforts to ensure that you are getting a good return on your investment. This might include tracking changes in your search engine rankings, website traffic, and conversions.
By focusing on these and other important topics, you can build high-quality local citations that will help improve your website’s visibility and authority in local search.
This is because search engines use this information to understand more about your business and match it with searcher intent.
If you’re looking to improve your local search ranking, make sure your business information is consistent across all platforms.
If your NAP information isn’t consistent, it can confuse search engines and make it harder for you to rank well in local search results.
How to get local citations for your business
There are a few different ways to get local citations. The easiest way is to submit your business information to online directories manually. This can be time-consuming, but it’s worth it to make sure your information is accurate and up-to-date.
There are a few key elements to include in a local citation: your business name, address, and phone number (NAP). You can also include your website address, business hours, and payment methods. Adding as much information as possible will help consumers find your business and determine if it is the right fit for their needs.
Creating accurate and consistent local citations is an important part of any local SEO strategy. Search engines use this information to verify the location of your business and to determine its relevance to searchers. Adding your business to as many high-quality directories and websites as possible is key to building up your local citation profile.
Here are some examples of accurate and consistent NAP local citations
This ensures that when customers are searching for businesses like yours, they’ll be able to find you easily and quickly. Plus, local citations help improve your business’s visibility and search engine ranking, ultimately bringing you more customers.
There are a few things to keep in mind when adding your business to directories and websites. First, make sure that the directory or website is high quality and relevant to your business.
There’s no point in adding your business to a directory that no one will ever see or that doesn’t make sense for your business. Second, be sure to complete your profile on the directory or website fully and accurately. Include important details like your business name, address, and phone number.
Check Your Business Listing Status
You can use a tool like Moz Local to check your business’s listing status on the major search engines.
Just enter your business name, address, and city into the tool, and it will show you where your business is listed, as well as any errors that need to be fixed.
If you find that your business is not listed or that there are errors in your listing, you can submit your business to the major search engines using Moz Local. Or you can contact us, we provide local citation services and our expert team will clean up your local citation errors for you at an affordable price.
How to boost your local citations
If you want to improve your local citation, you can start by ensuring that your business is listed in as many online directories as possible. You can also submit your business to local directories, such as the chamber of commerce or the Better Business Bureau. In addition, you can encourage customers to leave online reviews of your business, which can help to improve your visibility and search engine ranking.
Popular Local Citations Sites
- yelp.com
- manta.com
- foursquare.com
- mapquest.com
- whodoyou.com
- merchantcircle.com
- hotfrog.com
- ezlocal.com
- cylex.com
- cybo.com
- brownbook.net
- 2findlocal.com
- opendi.us
- citysquares.com
- Tuugo.us
