Having precise, consistent information across the internet is crucial to being discovered online. Here is where local SEO citations come in handy.
Since local search marketing is somewhat of our specialty, I have let you in on some of our industry’s best-kept secrets by sharing my most effective citation-building strategies.
In this post, I cover the following:
1. Introduction to Citation Building
When it comes to citation building, you can’t overstate the obvious. One time I had a client look at me when we were building out their citations and say, “we have been in business since 1972; does that not matter?” Unfortunately, in the eyes of Google and the search engines, it doesn’t. Simply put, if it isn’t out there on the internet, it doesn’t exist, no matter how long you have been in business.
Therefore when it comes to local search and local SEO citation building, you have to state the obvious. By this, I mean you need to say where your business is located, your business’s hours and phone number, etc.
I will cover how to tell search engines this obvious information later on in this post.
Why Should You Take The Time To Build Local Citations?
The number one reason that you should invest the time and energy into building out your local citations is that, while your clients and their needs are your number one priority, people are searching for local businesses like yours online now more than ever.
Don’t just take my word for it. These statistics speak for themselves:
- 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours. (Source: Nectafy)
- 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. (Source: GoGulf)
- 88% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a related store within a week.” (Source: Think With Google)
- 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. (Source: SEO Tribunal)
- Search result information will send 70% of consumers to a physical store. (Source: Joel House Search Media)
- 92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results. (Source: SEO Expert)
- 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information. (Source: Think with Google)
What Does All This Have to Do With Building Citations?
Well, citations help you build prominence. Prominence is kind of important; Google’s local search document states that it’s one of the top factors it uses to determine local ranking.
Prominence refers to how well-known your small business is across the internet. One way Google and the other search engines do this is to look at the amount of information they can find about your local business online.
This information often includes articles, links, and anything search engines can find about your small business in directories or citation information. Google, Bing, and Duck Duck Go all use this information to list your small business in local searches.
Bright Local says industry experts estimate that citations account for approximately 7% of the search ranking for both the local pack and local organic search.
2. What Are Citations for Local SEO?
Simply put, citations are references of your company on other websites in local search marketing. For example, a citation is if your company is listed on YellowPages.com. The same applies to a blog post or online newspaper article about your small business.
Citations are vital for local businesses because they convey signals to search engines that tell them they can trust your company.
Local small businesses that want and need to be found for local searches must prioritize citation development because search engines like Google and Bing utilize this information to list your business in search results.
Now, you and I both know that you want people to be able to find you. Therefore you must ensure search engines have all the data they need to include your business in local search results and reach the many prospective clients searching for you.
The question now becomes, how do you do this? This is where citation building comes into play as part of your local SEO strategy.
3. What Is Citation Building?
Citation building is the process of delivering consistent, accurate, and relevant information about your company to listing directories so that search engines and customers know when, how, and where to locate your local company.
Citation building may also be compared to link building.
When web crawlers discover links to your company’s website, they know it is reliable. Citations are the same way. If web crawlers see your small business included in significant listing directories, they know they can trust you.
4. Why Do You Need to Build Citations?
Consider citation building to be the process of increasing your business’s internet reputation.
Citations, as previously said, are vital for search engines since they inform search engines that it is safe to trust your company.
Citations also benefit prospects since they check listing directories for local companies. For example, suppose you are looking for someone to perform a major service repair for you, like a roof, water heater change out, or extensive auto repair. In that case, you will go to Google and look through the top directories on their journey to determine who to contact about said repair.
To be found by these prospects, your small business has to be listed in the right directories.
The search engines also use these same citations to ensure that they display correct information about your company when customers search for it.
Therefore, this information must be consistent throughout directories so that searchers can locate the correct information about your company.
But herein lies the problem, when search engines find a citation for your company, they will use that information to determine what information they display about your company in the search results pages (SERPs). It doesn’t matter to them whether the information is accurate or inaccurate.
If you’ve ever moved location or changed phone numbers, that contradictory information may remain in previous citations.
Perhaps you have always had the same location and phone number, but little details (like a missing or misplaced apostrophe in your business’s name) might make your citations inaccurate.
Another reason citations are powerful is that your business is likely already listed in several directories, even if you haven’t listed it yet.
However, there is a considerable probability that the information is wrong, which may mislead prospects or cause them to lose faith in your small business.
Research has shown that unmanaged listings may change your company's information hundreds of times in a year.
For example, if you run a local automotive repair and oil change shop, a customer may search for "oil change" + location. If the search engine returns two results for your shop's location, but each result has different business hours listed, the prospect will most likely go on to the next competition in the search results.
5. Types of Local SEO Citations
As we mentioned before, there are different ways for your business to be mentioned online, and there are different types of citations. But before we get into that, let’s talk about what information is typically found in a local citation for a small business.
Structured and Unstructured Citations
For most citations, you will find at least your company’s name and phone number.
If your small business is listed in the local directories, this is typically the least amount of information you’ll find. Most structured citations contain your business’s name, address, phone number, or NAP.
When you claim your business pages and send out citation information, you must add a consistent, accurate NAP.
I’ll get into the importance of consistency for your NAP later, but know that having it be consistent across the web is of the utmost importance.
Otherwise, you could find duplicate business listings or listings with inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent information.
This will cause a loss of searchers’ trust because they aren’t sure when your business is open, which number to call, or which address is correct.
Two Main Types of Citations
There are two main types of citations:
- Structured
- Unstructured
Structured Citation
You may see a structured citation in a listing directory or on a website, where you can often change or edit the information yourself. For example, setting up a Yelp page, you will need to include your company name, address, phone number, hours, etc.
Unstructured Citations
At the very least, unstructured citations are references to your business’s name.
These will also contain your address and/or phone number. Unstructured citations can be found on websites that aren’t listed in directories. For example, if a blogger or online newspaper story mentions your company, the article will almost certainly include an unstructured citation.
Where to Find or Create Local SEO Citations for Your Small Business?
Just as there are different types of citations, there are also different types of websites where citations can be found.
According to Moz, here are the top data providers in the local search ecosystem:
Search Engines
- Bing
- Apple
Primary Data Aggregators
- Factual (Now part of Foursquare)
- Data Axle
- Neustar Localeze
Major Directories and Important Platforms
- Yelp
- YP
- Superpages
- DexKnows
- BrownBook
- Judy’s Book
- Waze
- Uber
- Nextdoor
- ezLocal
- CitySquares
- Cylex
- Hotfrog
- USInfo
- ShowMe Local
- TomTom
- Here
- Opendi
- Yalwa
- iGlobal
- Manta
- Tupalo
- US City
- N49
- Pages24
- Find Open
- Whereto
- Navmii
6. How to Build Local SEO Citations
If you want to build your want to tackle your citations yourself, the first step is to clean up your current citations before you start creating new ones.
To find out where your company is listed, search for your company’s name and phone number in quote marks, like this: “business name” “(xxx) xxx-xxxx.” Once you have found those citations, you’ll need to attempt to claim any business pages and edit the information so you can ensure its accuracy.
If your company’s phone number has ever changed, or if you have multiple phone numbers (typically these are from call tracking services), you will need to search for your business’s name (or your business’s name + previous phone numbers) and work your way through the search results to identify and clean up those listings as well.
Additionally, you will want to be mindful of keeping your address consistent with your citations.
Optimize Listings
I already discussed claiming pages on sites like Yelp and Google Business Profile, but you should also optimize these listings. Don't just include the bare necessities.
Include enough information for searchers to understand what your company does. Include a description and a few photos of your company.
Remember that many of these directories and sites allow users to review your small business, so keep an eye on their reviews. You should try to respond to all reviews but pay close attention to the unfavorable ones and respond appropriately.
Building New Citations
Now it's time to start working on the new citations.
When creating new citations, you should always start with the data aggregators I mentioned. Aside from that, you should look for industry-specific or location-specific directories. You can also look at your competition to see which citation sources mention their companies.
Word of Caution
Before you go trying to put your company's NAP on every directory out there, keep in mind that some will be more beneficial than others.
Furthermore, while you want prospects to be able to find you in whichever directory they use to search, you most likely don't have the time to write citations for every single directory out there.
Remember to prioritize quality over the number when it comes to citations. Instead of focusing on a large number of citations, ensure that your company is included on the major websites we've highlighted.
Stick to the most popular places where searchers can find you.
Citation Building Checklist
- Check your address with USPS and use it as you build out your citations.
- Save your citation information in a spreadsheet, Google Sheets, Word doc, or Google Doc to reduce mistakes and simplify the process. Then you can copy/paste your updated listings into the directories.
- Google your business name to locate any existing citations.
- Before you begin adding new citations, clean up existing ones.
- When adding new citations, be selective. Use the recommended sites and data aggregators.
- Optimize your business’s listings with photos, videos, up-to-date business information, and categories.
- Keep track of your citations, as they are not a one-and-done thing.
7. Final Thoughts
Remember that citation building is only one part of a larger local search marketing strategy.
Fixing your citations and getting listed on the major directories will help people to be able to find your business online.
If all this seems a bit overwhelming, please reach out today. We love helping small businesses clean up and optimize their local citations and ultimately grow their businesses.
