90% of the experts believe accurate citations help in local search ranking!
– Yes, local citations can help increase foot traffic on your site, thereby increasing its local search rankings. If you’re wondering how citations affect local business, and how they help boost local SEO, here we have it explained.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term ‘citations,’ they are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on website directories relevant or somehow related to your business. Citations can be either linked or non-linked mentions of your local business.
Local citations have a stronger impact on local search rankings – If your business gets mentioned a lot online, chances are more for it to have higher rankings. Google and all major search engines use these citations for analyzing a website’s accuracy and quality. The one important factor search engines check for is NAP consistency. That is, your business name, address and phone number (NAP) should remain the same all across the web. Be it in your social media profiles, bookmarking sources, or citation directories; you must have 100% accurate business details.
When it comes to the sources for citations, there are many you could find online. This includes press releases, business profile pages, video pages, and much more. What’s important is you choose the right citations that can actually help improve your SEO rankings. Not all citations are created equal. Some may only require an email verification whereas some may ask for a phone call or postcode verification. The types of citations are as follows.
Structured Citations – These are business listings on high-quality website directories such as Yelp.com, Google My Business, etc. Structured citations are the best ones because they will have a consistent NAP that is also properly formatted and organized to help the search engines. These are more specific to your geographic location, business area and category.
Unstructured Citations – These are mentions of your local business on press releases, media websites, blogs, social media profiles, etc., that may not be in a structured order. Unstructured citations may have only a part of your business NAP but plays a favorable role in improving your local search ranking efforts.
If you want to know how important local citations are for local SEO, here we have their benefits explained.
Citations can help a lot with your website’s SEO, especially when you have a business with a physical location. Search engines such as Google uses local SEO for presenting relevant search results to the users looking for information in their demographic area. Getting listed in directories such as Google My Business, Yelp.com, etc., will increase your chances of getting ranked in the Google’s local 3 pack which is what every business owner wants for in SEO.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective SEO option for your local business, citations are the best. Unlike Google ad campaigns, business listings do not have any fees for getting listed online. There are hundreds of directories that allow you to submit business listings for free. Google itself has its own Google My Business directory that gives you a free listing with many special features such as photos upload, adding maps, website links, and even adding offers & special deals, to help with local SEO.
Geographic relevance is a top factor when it comes to local business citations. So, if the users are searching for a business similar to you in your demographic location, the chances are high that you appear in the search results. Business directories allows submission of your listings based on your specific categories, target audience, location and business size, and when your potential consumers use these directories for business search, you would definitely get a visibility boost.
All major business directories accept valid information such as website URL, multiple locations, social media profile links, phone number, coupon deals/offers, etc., and also allows users to post reviews and rating through the live listing page. All these can help enhance the reputation of your local business in the eyes of the customers. With high-quality citations, your potential customers will think that your business is authentic, and stays long in the particular industry. Not only customers, local listings are also capable of attracting investors and partners for your business.
If you’re looking to build citations for your local business in USA, UK or Australia, contact us. We list your business in top 200 local directories for better exposure and local search rankings.
