Did you have the knowledge that local citation building is one of the top-ranking factors that generate local results for Google as per Moz? Engaging in proactive ways of controlling your local citations will give your business an added edge in making your company more visible on local results as well as on the Internet. This comprehensive guide will teach you the basic principles of local citations. You’ll also learn their importance, various types of local citations and how to manage them, and finally how to create them.
What Is A Local Citation?
A local citation refers to the mention of your business on the Internet. For instance, if the source mentions one or more of the following elements of your business:
- Business Name
- Name of the business and phone number
- Name of the business, phone number, and address
- Name of the business, phone number, address as well as the URL of the website
- Address and business name
- Website URL and business name
The mention of your business can help increase the visibility of your business. To benefit from the full potential of local citations your local citations need to include three essential details: your company’s name, address, and phone numbers (NAP). The presence of this information can help Google along with other major search engines verify the information of your business which will help boost your local visibility results.
Certain citations may contain your site’s URL typically known as NAPW (W means websites) as well as UNAP (U is for URL) URL citations. In this case you’d be able to get both the citation as well as an backlink.
Complete Citation Versus Partial Citation
A full citation will include the NAP information of your company This isn’t talking about a nap on the sofa! An incomplete citation on the contrary doesn’t contain every one of the NAP information. For instance, the source only mentions the name of your business or your name, along with your website’s URL. Although partial citations don’t necessarily bad, it’s essential to be aware of any mentions of your company and include complete NAP information whenever possible to allow search engines to verify your company’s information.
Why Are Local SEO Citations Important?
After we’ve gone over all the fundamentals, we can dive into the significance of local SEO Citations. The presence of your business’ NAP details in national and local citations allows search engines to validate the details of your business. The more citations that you have in high-quality directories across the Internet the better. it helps in establishing legitimacy and establishing your company on local search results.
In addition to reviews and good backlinks, citations also help build prominence and, in essence it’s the level of quality you have for your company. Additionally, the citations impact the position of your business in Google’s local search results however, they also impact your business’s ranking on Google’s local search results.
According to Moz, the citation signals such as NAP consistency and the number of citations make up the top ranking factors for Google’s local results. Other search engines such as Bing additionally use the signals of citations to determine their rank algorithms. In addition, the more citations you get in directories that are of high quality which means the more well-known your company will be to search engines.
For instance, (ignoring other factors) If your company had 100 citations from quality local and national directories, but your competition had only 15 citations your company will rank higher in local results on Google.
Alongside making your company appear as a legitimate entity, and creating credibility, citations build confidence among search engines as well as potential customers. Here’s how:
- You can create a citation for a high-authority, well-known directory such as Yelp.
- Your listing features your business’ information (e.g. NAP information web address, NAP details, etc.) and customer feedback (e.g. reviews).
- The search engine robots crawl through Yelp’s website to verify the information of your business against other sites on the Internet which include your company NAP details.
- Customers who are interested in products and services that are related to your business search results. Click the result of a search for Yelp and locate your company.
- Your company’s Yelp profile includes a variety of favorable reviews by customers and information about your business, which helps build trust with potential customers who visit your company’s Yelp profile.
Local citations are a simple to process that is essential to incorporate into the regional SEO method (if there’s no way to do this). Before you take the plunge and begin building citations, it’s essential to understand the various citation websites and which ones you should place your business’ information on, and which ones you should stay clear of.
Types Of Citation Sites
Citation websites come in many varieties, from high-authority directories to directories that are specific to industries, and even though having a large number of citations is a good thing but you should ensure that the directories you choose to list your business on are in alignment with the goals of your company. To make it easy it is possible to categorize directories of citations into major 5 types:
- Data aggregators
- Search engines
- Horizontal directories
- Directories that are specific to the industry
- Local directories for businesses
Data Aggregators
Data aggregators are basically data distributors. They compile business information from public records as well as other sources on the Internet and then feed it directly to directories and search engines. Data aggregators then depend on companies and paid intermediaries for data (e.g. BrightLocal, Moz Local, Yext, etc.) to verify and claim information about a business. The three major data aggregators are Foursquare (recently joined together with Factual), InfoGroup (soon to become Data Axle), and Neustar Localeze.
Although somewhat old-fashioned, Moz created a graphic which depicts the fractious nature that is the search local market within the United States.
If you go straight at the origin (data aggregaters) or by using a paid data facilitator such as BrightLocal to keep track of and monitor how accurate your local listings are you can eliminate this confusion entirely. This can also help make sure that your company’s details are correctly listed in the various directories that are available on the Internet.
Let’s dive into the various citation websites which receive data by data aggregates.
Search Engines
Search engines such as Google, Apple, and Bing represent your most important websites for citations. They have an excellent score on domain authority (AS) which is why you should ensure that your business is included in the three.
For Google, for example, you’ll need to create an account on Google My Business; for Apple, you would set up a Google My Business Account For Apple it is necessary to connect your business to Apple Maps as well as for Bing you’ll need to create an account on Bing Places Account. Data aggregators are able to transfer your company’s information to these websites, however, it is essential to confirm and claim these accounts and update any missing data in the event that you don’t make them available manually.
Horizontal Directories
Horizontal directories are directories that cover a broad range of areas that are available at the national and local levels. These include directories like Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, etc. You can categorize horizontal directories into three categories:
- Directories of high-authority
- Directories for medium-authority
- Directories for low-authority
HIGH-AUTHORITY DIRECTORIES
Simply put High-authority horizontal directories are those with high domain authority (e.g. 70 – 100). This includes websites like Yelp, Facebook, Better Business Bureau 70-100, and others.
MEDIUM-AUTHORITY DIRECTORIES
Medium-authority horizontal directories are middle-of-the-line in terms of domain authority (e.g. 40-69). Some examples include Thumbtack, DexKnows, and EZlocal. These directories are a little less popular and have fewer visits than the top-authority directories. However should any of these directories are aligned with your business, or you have noticed referral traffic coming from these directories, ensure that you have been verified, claimed, and optimized your directories.
LOW-AUTHORITY DIRECTORIES
Then, horizontal directories with low authority are those with low scores of domain authority (e.g. 0-39). These directories are also lesser-known and get less traffic than directories with medium authority. Because they score low in authority It is generally recommended to stay clear of these directories and concentrate your efforts to build citations on medium and high-authority directories that are horizontal as in local and industry-specific business directories. If your company is listed in one directory ensure that you have claimed and confirmed each listing.
Industry-Specific Directories
Directories for niches or industry-specific industries are directories that match your particular industry. These directories are often excellent leads that are pre-qualified especially in highly competitive fields like the medical and legal sectors.
Local Business Directories
Not least, are local business directories or those that cater to your specific market? Making citations for local directories for businesses is a fantastic method to be in front of potential clients in your region, particularly when you know the places your potential customers go to look up information on your company’s offerings or products. Similar to the approach described in this article on the search for local business directories in order to create backlinks, you could use the same strategy to build the citations!
How To Manage Local Citations
It’s not too far However before you get started creating local citations (or optimizing existing citations) Keep these guidelines in your head.
Be aware of where your business is listed. I cannot stress this enough. If you aren’t sure where your business is listed, it’s likely you’re not sure whether there are duplicate citations, or if the citations you have are consistent and precise NAP information.
If you’re able to, you should use an external data facilitator paid for by you to assist you in managing your references. Excel spreadsheets are fantastic however, your citations could change often, without your knowledge. Utilizing a professional data facilitator to maintain and track precise citations is a worthwhile investment and can save you time over the long term. Some suggested data facilitators are BrightLocal, Moz Local, and Yext.
Make sure you use consistent and accurate NAP information across all citations. The presence of this information assists search engines in validating the information of your business and can increase your visibility in local results. They also aid in helping build confidence with potential customers. If, for instance, the phone number is incorrectly listed in a business directory, and someone who is interested in calling contact your company it could be a mistake and be missing out on an opportunity. It’s fine if there are some differences in your NAP information between directories; If you’re not certain of a change, check what changes Google allows and will not affect your NAP uniformity.
Include additional information regarding your business. In the previous article If a directory offers you the possibility of providing additional information about your company then do it!
Make sure you verify and claim all the citations. Data aggregators can find your business data on the Internet and could transfer your information to various directories without your knowledge This is why it’s crucial to validate and claim all your business’ references. This can help you establish trust and establish the legitimacy of your business.
How To Build Local Citations
If you’ve learned the fundamentals of local citations and the reasons they’re essential for local SEO, it’s time to begin building! There are a variety of sources that have put together directories’ lists:
Utilize these directories for identifying medium and high-authority horizontal directories, specific directories for industries, and directories within your area of. Once you’ve found your ideal citations, decide if you’d like to work with an intermediary for data that you pay for, or if you’d prefer to contact the data aggregators directly for distribution of your company’s NAP information and other details. Follow steps 3 through 5 above to construct your citations and make sure they’re consistent and accurate across every listing.
Notice Paying data facilitators are not able to provide your information to certain local and industry-specific directories So you will need to manually send your NAP information to these directories.
Engaging in proactive ways of creating and managing your local SEO citations is an essential element of the success of a Local SEO strategy. Utilize this guide to create your own local citation-building plan or review your current plan to get the most benefit and give your company an advantage when it comes to local results.
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