Local citations are all online mentions of a business's name, address, and phone number (NAP). These citations can be found on business directories, websites, and apps like Yelp or Yellow Pages.
In German, a local citation is any online mention of the partial or full name, address, and phone number of a local business – also known as NAP data. Citations can appear on local business directories, websites, apps, and social media platforms.
Citations help local businesses discover and can also impact local search engine rankings. In particular, high-quality basic citations can help you rank accurately on Google's local search interfaces. Local businesses can actively manage their citations to ensure data accuracy.
Citations help search engines verify the existence, legitimacy, and trustworthiness of your business. If the same details appear on many relevant and trustworthy websites, Google is likely to have more confidence that your business exists, is operational, and that what you say about it is true.
According to some surveys, citations are the fifth most important ranking signal for local search queries. Some of these surveys were conducted in 2018. Since citations have almost certainly declined in importance over time, it's quite possible they are less important today.
Here's what John Mueller from Google says about citations:
"Just because a company's name is mentioned somewhere doesn't necessarily mean it's good or bad for the company. I would consider these mentions more as advertising – if you think people will see it and explicitly search for your company, then that's great."
There are literally hundreds of local citation sources you could check. In fact, with a comprehensive manual review of your citations, you could theoretically check all the important citation pages by hand.
In reality, however, there are only a few major data providers you'd likely want to check. These include big players like Facebook and Apple Maps. We've compiled a short list of places where you can find quotes.
To make things easier, Moz offers a local listing tool for your business. You can check your local business listings on the web for both inclusion and accuracy with the Moz Locals Check Listing tool. These listings include the most important data precursors that have the greatest impact on web results.
If you want to create local quotes for your business, you need to follow these simple steps:
Many online business directories rely on business owners submitting their NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) directly to the website for listing. Business owners and marketers simply don't have the time to enter their NAP on thousands of websites. Fortunately, there's an easy way to bypass this: data preparation.
The data processing companies collect information, including company NAPs, and distribute it to hundreds of websites to save time and effort.
According to CitationsCheck, the four most important data preparation companies are currently Foursquare, Localeze, Factual and Infogroup.
To use your quotes for local SEO To improve your business listing, simply search for your company on these websites to see if it's already featured. If you see your business listed, claim it. If it's not yet on the website and you've ensured there are no duplicates, add your business listing and its correct NAPs to the website.
The next step is to submit your NAP data to key websites such as Yellow Pages, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Places. Before submitting your NAP data to these websites, ensure they are relevant to your business and worth the time and effort. This can be done by visiting the websites themselves and reviewing the types of businesses listed in the directories.
After listing your business on core websites, you should also add your information to directories specifically suited to your business. For example, if you are a hotel, your information should be listed on TripAdvisor.
They should also appear on hyperlocal directories such as the local chamber of commerce or other websites of local business associations.
Unstructured local SEO citations appear in the form of blog posts, reviews, and articles about your business. Building unstructured local citations is a bit more challenging than building structured local citations, as someone needs to have an interest in your business to write about it. But don't worry, it's far from impossible.
One way to track unstructured citations is to use Google to find supplier pages. Many companies have supplier pages that link to the companies they supply or the companies that supply them. Simply create a list of suppliers and perform a site search to see if they already mention your company on their website.
Another resource is HARO (Help A Reporter Out). HARO connects journalists with sources for news stories. It's a free tool that works by sending you daily email alerts from journalists. You answer the journalists' questions or provide a quote, and they typically cite you and your company in their upcoming article.
Local quotes help your business gain online visibility, improve search engine rankings, and increase consumer discovery. Whether you use unstructured or structured local quote building, it's crucial to ensure your business name, address, and phone number are accurate and consistent across all platforms.
There are several types of mentions for local SEO that could work for your business. Let's take a look:
A structured mention occurs when your company's name, address, and phone number are listed in relevant industry directories or third-party websites like Yelp or Yellow Pages. These third-party websites already have vast databases of reliable information, which is why search engines like Google trust them.
It's helpful to have local listings in directories relevant to your industry. For more general directories like the Yellow Pages, you'll want to ensure your business is listed in the appropriate category.
This makes it easier for Google to understand the service your business provides and connect you with your intended audience. If you're unsure which directories to target, our list of 50 local directories can help.
Unstructured mentions also include important information about your business, but unlike structured mentions, the information is not grouped. This type of mention is typically found on websites or apps that are not specifically designed as directories or business directories.
Common forms of unstructured local mentions include online news articles, reviews, or blog posts that mention your business.
There is data that supports the idea that unstructured mentions, such as online reviews, can be beneficial for businesses. According to a survey by Brightlocal, 77% of consumers in 2021 "always" or "regularly" read online reviews when searching for local businesses. This is an increase compared to 63% in 2020.
For both structured and unstructured citations, you must do your best to keep them accurate and consistent. This means not having one phone number in one location and a completely different number in another.
This is not only considered bad for local SEO, but it also undermines consumer trust. Surprisingly, one study found that 80% of consumers immediately lose trust in local businesses if the contact details or the business name are not correct or consistent when they appear online.
It's easy to understand why this is the case. If companies don't have their online presence under control, one might assume they've closed down or are simply unreliable.
However, there's no need to focus too much on consistency. If one directory lists you as "Beanies Coffee Shop" and another as "Beanies," it's unlikely to be a major issue. If all other details match (address, phone number, website, etc.), Google can make the necessary connections.
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