Getting listed on local citation sites is a key factor in increasing your online visibility and credibility. Accurate and consistent local citations help search engines like Google better understand your business information, and are therefore more likely to display it in relevant local search results. This makes it more likely that potential customers will choose your business over competitors with less robust online presences.
A local citation is any mention of your company name, phone number (preferably a local number), complete address and website URL on a website or directory that is ranked in the local search engine results. This helps search engines to determine your business’s location and can increase your visibility in the local map pack or organic results.
To get the best out of your local citations, you should be aiming for high-quality citation sources that are relevant to your niche. This will ensure that your citations are effective and will not be penalized by the search engines for spamming.
Citation sourcing is one of the most time-consuming aspects of local SEO. Thankfully, there are tools available to make the process of building and maintaining your citations easier. These tools can save you a lot of time by automating the process of searching for citations. However, these tools are not as reliable as manually searching for and compiling your own citations.
In order to build a list of quality local citations, you can use tools such as WhiteSpark’s Local Citation Finder. This tool allows you to perform keyword-based local modified searches that return a list of known citation directories. The free version of this tool only provides limited data, but it can be a useful starting point for your citation research.
Once you have a list of citations, you should check each one to ensure that the NAP details are correct. This includes your company name, phone number (preferably +1), and full address. Inaccurate NAPs can damage your online credibility, so you should check for accuracy on a regular basis. You should also avoid using multiple phone numbers for your business, as this can confuse both search engines and prospective clients.
Another way to improve your local citations is to include reviews on your listings. This will allow prospective customers to see that other people have had positive experiences with your business. In addition, it can also help you to stand out from your competition. Local Citations Canada and Citation Vault both offer review embedding, which can enable you to display your Google reviews on more than 300 citation sites. This can enhance your local credibility and make it more likely that potential customers will choose your company over a competitor with lower customer ratings.