Local citations can be found anywhere your business is mentioned online: in a business listing in the Yellow Pages online directory, on Google’s Knowledge Forum, on social media such as a business page on Instagram or Facebook, or in the directions of a map service.
Local citations can be found anywhere your business is mentioned online. In other words, anywhere you are mentioned, along with information about your business, such as your business website, contact details, etc.
First Things First: Local Citation Building
However, to find a local citation for your business online, you first need to take a step back. This is firstly called Citation Building. The task of building local citation is to get your company listed in as many directories and online platforms as possible with standardized and homogeneous data. Why should the data be standardized and homogeneous? Simply put, the more often your data forms a consistent part of the web, the more likely a search engine will recognize the reliability and accuracy of your company’s data and rank it higher in search results. This will help you get one of the coveted spots in Google Local Pack. The Local Pack is the VIP among the possible search results.
When potential customers search for your business, brand or product on Google or other platforms, they find your business location.
Of course, you can manually enter the data into the directory, but this is time-consuming, not to mention maintaining the data and regularly checking for existing duplicates (duplicate entries). For this we recommend the advance listing, which serves as an interface to all important and relevant platforms, search engines and map providers.
How Important Is Consistent Business Data For Local Citation Building?
As mentioned above, it is crucial to regularly maintain your business data and check that it is up-to-date and correct. This starts with the business name. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether your business is called “Vegetables Pamir” or “Pirner’s Vegetables” – the important thing is that you can be found.
Good to know!
But this plays an important role in search engine optimization because how can Google be sure that it’s the same business? This should be avoided so that Google rankings are not negatively affected. Of course, this applies to the company name and any relevant information about the company.
How to start?
Start now with a professional, unified corporate presence and equip your data with the most important directories and platforms. An experienced corporate presence in local search increases customer trust in your company and your product or brand. This means potential customers will find you faster and easier if they use the “near me” search.
It’s best to start with the larger platforms and search engines, such as Google, as that’s usually where you’ll have the most reach initially. Make sure that you can be found there and that the information displayed is up-to-date, correct and complete.
4 Steps To Local Citation Building
1. Research and review
Type the name and address of your business into Google and create a list of all your locations.
Create a list of all the websites where the location appears. Some will get more visitors, some less.
2. Correct errors
Correct spelling mistakes, and make sure you always use the exact spelling. When it comes to blogs or portals
Contact the site administrator if you are reporting on blogs or news portals. For posts on industry portals, registration is usually required. However, a simple registration is sufficient for these purposes.
3. Finding the suitable portals
Start a new search, this time using the industry keywords combined with the location (industry + city). Enter the various keywords of the industry, e.g. “cosmetics”, “beauty salon”, “skin care”, etc. Note which sector portals appear on the first two pages and compare them with the list in point 1.
4. Create new entries
Expand the list with all relevant portals yet to be included in the list. It is worth the effort. Each citation helps you rank better in local search results and creates a new point of contact for potential customers.
Simple Ways To Get More Local Citations
There are many ways to increase the number of local citation building. A big misconception is that citation building can only be generated through so-called business directories. However, this is only one of many possibilities.
However, business directories are still the number one way to get local citations. Of course, The best known are Yellow Pages, business directories, eBusiness Pages, Yelp and Dmoz. It is important to create each local citation manually. The more information you can enter, the better. As mentioned above, make sure you enter the information in precisely the same way for each citation.
Your email address
To log in, use your email address, e.g., “info [at] yoursite.com”. Unfortunately, most libraries send various promotional emails after registration. This way, you can ensure that your company email address does not receive spam.
Check your entries
Please ask for your company to be added to the list. As with Google Places listings, you will receive a PIN in the post to ensure that you act on behalf of your business.
Links don’t hurt
A link is optional for a citation to help your local SEO efforts, but it can be helpful. However, if a link is only possible if you install it from your own website, it’s better to do something other than install it.
Although business directories are a relatively easy source of links, you should not limit yourself to them. Use other sources, e.g.
· Press releases
· Guest articles
· Profile pages
· Forum listings
This expert advice also applies to competitors. Your competitors may already be working in this direction, and you can use this to your advantage:
· Search for “competitor name” AND “competitor zip code”
· Look at the first five to ten pages of search results.
· Check on which websites a citation from your competitor can be found.
· Check whether you or your company is also represented on one of these sites.
Repeat this process with other competitors, and you will identify additional sources where you can build local citations for your business.
Relevance for SEO
Local citation buildings are an essential part of both local SEO and off-page SEO. They are particularly important for local businesses that operate in a specific geographic area, such as a city, county, state or even country.
However, local business listing can also be useful for online businesses. They can help determine a topic’s relevance so that search engines can better understand the content of a webpage or subpage.
Local Citations: Get an offer!
Are you interested to talk to a professional local citation building service provider? An experienced local citation builder would be happy to make you a suitable offer and advise you on the optimal solution for your specific situation with the best possible help.