Citations are a very important factor when it comes to Local SEO. They help search engines know that your business is legitimate and located at the address listed. Inconsistent citations are considered a major red flag for Google and can cause you to be removed from their search results altogether. By building high quality citations you can improve your online visibility and generate more phone, web, and foot traffic to your business.
Local Business Citations are mentions of your company’s name, address, and phone number on the Internet in directories and other locations where your business is mentioned. This can include structured listings that follow a specific format, such as Google Business Profiles, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business, as well as unstructured listings, such as reviews in news articles or blogs.
The most common citation sources are online directories and review sites. Many of these websites allow you to claim your business listing so that you can control the accuracy of your business information. Others may offer paid submission services to get your business in their directory, which can help with search engine optimization (SEO).
While citations are important for any business, they are particularly vital for small businesses with local customers and service areas. According to a study by BrightLocal, local citations are one of the most influential factors in local search rankings, and maintaining accurate business data is critical.
Accurate local citations can generate more web and foot traffic to your business, which can ultimately lead to more sales and revenue. However, inaccurate citations can cause your business to appear questionable and non-customer oriented.
In addition to being an essential part of local search engine optimization, local citations are also important for increasing brand awareness and establishing trust with potential customers. They show potential customers that your business is reputable enough to be mentioned on the Internet, and they can help you build a positive reputation in the community.
What are the best local citations?
The best local citations are ones that come from a variety of sources. Some are free to obtain, such as listing your business on your local chamber of commerce website or a reputable online directory. Other citations require more work, such as listing your business on industry-specific directories or niche websites.
There are a lot of different ways to build local citations, from manually submitting them to using data aggregators that can save you time and effort by distributing your business NAP to thousands of websites. The most important thing is to make sure your NAP information is consistent across all of your local citations. This will ensure that search engines like Google can find your business and rank it for its relevant keywords. It will also prevent your business from being penalized for duplicate or inaccurate listings. For this reason, we recommend that you always manually build your local citations rather than use an automated service. This will give you the most control over your local citations and ensure that they are accurate.