The complete guide to citations and how they can be used to improve your Local SEO

 

 

Navigate the intricate world of citations in local SEO and why your business should be building business citations. Explore how to build citations, why they matter, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

In this action-packed guide, we’ll explore the importance of citations in local SEO and why every business should be building them, regardless of whether you run a sole trader business, or you’re the marketing manager for a plc which employees thousands of staff.

From boosting Google rankings to establishing yourself as a reliable company, it’s all in here, we explain why it’s worth building business citations. And we’ll even throw in a few laughs, facts, and figures to make it a ride worth taking. So, hop on! And mind the gap in your knowledge – we’re about to fill it.

 

•      Why Citations Matter: More than just a name-drop, they’re the key to your local SEO success.
•     Building Citations: It’s about the quality, not the quantity

Avoiding the Black Hat: so, sure you could use an seo tool, helps speed up building business citations, however the problem is, if the business citations do not match, then these will mean that your business has inconsistent business citations.

 

Having inconsistent business citations, for example one citation, saying you are based on new road, and another saying you are based that Church Street, or simply mean that you have conflicting NAP details, which can mean that this actually damages your seo, and doesn’t actually improve. So the important thing to remember is, your businesses NAP details need to match.

 

 

How important are citations in Local SEO?

 

Are Citations the Bee’s Knees?

 

Citations make finding your business easier, like a good old signpost pointing to the pub. So what we mean by that is, sure, you can have your full address written on your company website, let’s say it’s written in the footer section. Yet if you also have let’s say 100 business citations, and these all confirm that address, then this can help to improve your businesses local seo.. Boosting Google rankings in local searches, you say? Yep, citations can do that. But don’t think it’s a walk in the park – because often spend multiple days building business citations, keeping up with the online Joneses requires a bit of elbow grease.

 

Letting potential customers know how to get in touch is crucial, otherwise, they might think you’ve gone missing like that sock in the laundry. So, you need to have your businesses NAP details on your company website, but you also need to build business citations as well.

 

Contents

 

•     What are citations?
•     How should citations look?
•     What’s the best way to build citations?
•     How effective are citations in boosting local SEO?

What are Citations?

 

Citations are your business’s online business card, so therefore business citations include your brand name, address, and phone number (NAP).

 

Mind Your NAP

 

 

How Should Citations Look?

Citations should always mention your businesses name, your businesses address and phone number,. The whole NAP is the crown jewels, but a partial citation can also be useful sometimes. It’s all about uniformity.

 

Citation Best Practices

 

Citations should be as crisp as your Sunday best. No abbreviations or careless spacing. And if you change your business name? Fear not! As long as you update your business citations, with your new address and the rest of your business citations remains consistent, Google won’t give you the cold shoulder.

 

What’s the Best Way to Build Citations?

The average local business ranking in the top 10 has about 75-86 citations, and our marketing agency would say that to build that number of business citations, will it take at least three working days to complete (source: BrightLocal). It’s not just about quantity, though; quality plays a significant role too.

 

Eyes on the Prize

Citation building isn’t a one-time gig. Keep an eye on the competition, for example, if they have a lot more business citations then you, then you simply have to build more. You also have to Update your listings, and never stop looking for new opportunities, unless you fancy a tumble down the search ranks.