WHAT ARE LOCAL SEO CITATIONS?

Local SEO is a significant tool that businesses can now use to their advantage. Local SEO is different from any other forms of SEO due to the fact that it generates customer searches towards businesses that are local and in their area. A local SEO citation is any online mention of a local business’ name, address, or phone number. These citations play a role in improving local search engine rankings and expand a business’ visibility online to local customers that are interested. 

In this blog, we will dive into what SEO citations really are, types of citations, why they are important, and more. Even if you are new to the SEO world, using these strategies to your best efforts can only improve your online presence in the future. 

WHAT EXACTLY ARE LOCAL SEO CITATIONS?

A local SEO citation is any online mention of name, address, and phone number or NAP, for a local business. Local SEO citations can be found around many platforms from websites to social media. Every citation a business receives, the more their digital presence is boosted on search engines. Your NAP is essentially the backbone of your entire business. Without a name, what are you? Without an address, can you really help local customers? Without a phone number, how will they call you? 

Citations can also include your hours, description, and even reviews. The more you include, the more legitimate your business will appear to customers. Citations overall help your business be shown and easy to find. 

TYPES OF LOCAL SEO CITATIONS

As with everything in the world, nothing is created equal. So what does that mean for citations? It simply means that not every citation is the exact same. However, there are two designated types of citations: Structured and Unstructured. Let’s dive deeper into what these are and what they mean for you. 

  • Structured Citations
    • Structured citations are the most common type of citation. They are considered structured when your information is listed in a structured format, hence the name. Examples of structured citations on a website include Yelp, Facebook, and Google My Business. 
  • Unstructured Citations
    • This form of citation is a lot less formatted. These occur when your business is mentioned on a different form, such as a blog, news website, or another form of content. 

Both structured and unstructured citations are immensely helpful for your business entirely, because no matter what, they improve visibility online. 

WHY ARE LOCAL SEO CITATIONS IMPORTANT?

In the long run of it all, local SEO citations are truly a lot more than a mentioning of your business. They impact your search engine results/ranking, your online visibility, and more. Here are a few reasons why local SEO citations are important for a business:

  • The Influence on Local Search Engine Rankings
    • All search engines use citations to easily validate that a business is legit and actually exists. That is important, right? Of course. The more citations and up to date information that a business has, the more credible they are seen as. Trust is one of the most important aspects of having a business; you always want your customers to trust you. 
  • The Impact on Customer Discovery and Contact
    • Citations can also greatly impact your chances of new customers to discover you. When your business name, address, and phone number is easily accessible, there is a greater chance that these customers will use that information to contact you or even visit your location. 
  • Credibility and Authority in an Online Space
    • When customers are seeing your business name, address, and phone number mentioned all over credible sites and even in the local news and blogs, they are much more inclined to view your business as worth their time. 

As we have learned so far in this blog, local SEO citations are important. Let’s move on to how to build them and make sure they are credible to potential customers. 

HOW TO BUILD AND MANAGE LOCAL SEO CITATIONS

After learning the importance of local SEO citations, next on the agenda is learning how to build and manage them. This is an important step, given the significance of local SEO for a business. 

  • Ensuring Consistency in Citation Information
    • This is usually a saying with everything…consistency is key. Your business name, address, and phone number should always be identical across every platform that you include it on. That even goes for abbreviations such as Inc. and Incorporated. For SEO purposes, that small difference can make or break your SEO efforts. Inconsistent information in SEO citation can lead your business straight into lower search engine rankings, and why would you want that? 
  • Targeting High-Quality Local Business Directories
    • When it comes to listings, having your business listed in the most credible place is the way to go to ensure business success and trust. For example, making sure that your listing is on Google My Business and Yelp, most importantly. This is not saying that lower-ranking listings aren’t as important, they are truly less credible than their big competitors. 
  • Managing Online Reviews
    • Online reviews impact a business’ reputation. Responding to both positive and negative feedback shows that you care about customer experience, as well as sending signals to search engines about how credible your business is. 
  • Regularly Monitoring and Updating Your Citations
    • Businesses are always changing. So what does that mean for your SEO efforts? Thats right, they should always be changing too. As we have found out, even the smallest difference in citations can make a drastic difference in how your business ranks. Continuous monitoring of your citations ensures that the information customers are receiving is accurate. 

Everything having to do with SEO is ongoing. It is never a one-time task. SEO requires your utmost attention, detail, and efforts to truly succeed in the always-changing online world. Every business strives to be the best, so every business should work on efforts to do so. 

COMMON MISTAKES IN LOCAL SEO CITATIONS

If you are new to SEO, especially new to using SEO citations, it can be extremely difficult. Thankfully, we have provided you with a list of some common mistakes that people have made, so you can avoid them. 

  • Inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) Information
    • As mentioned before, inconsistency in your information can be detrimental for your business in terms of gaining and retaining customers in your local area. If this information is inconsistent, it confuses search engines, so your business will not be shown to the local customers that you desire. Not only that, it can mislead potential customers. 
  • Ignoring Local and Industry-Specific Directories
    • If you are wanting to get into local SEO, finding those local directories is essential. As a business owner, you should not just rely on the major search engines and directories such as Google. The local ones of course cover less ground, but it sends out your business and its information to the right people. 
  • Neglecting Online Reviews (Positive or Negative)
    • Online reviews work together with your local SEO efforts, believe it or not. The impact of reviews, negative or positive, have a significant impact on your reputation and even your search rankings. If you ignore them, that can show customers that you don’t read them, so why would THEY leave a review? Always reply to those reviews, even if they are negative. 
  • Not Regularly Updating Citations
    • If content and information is not regularly updated, your business can end up being ranked lower. That occurs because the more it is updated, the more it proves to search engines that your business is in fact in business. 
  • Quantity Over Quality Approach
    • Having a large number of citations may seem like an eye-catching trait to have, but overall it’s not necessary. The thing that matters the most is the quality of these citations that you do have. The right information, and relevance for your business is key. 

Having a thorough local SEO strategy is very important for the success of your business, locally. SEO citations are the main reason that your visibility can be shown to customers in your area, improving your rankings, and in the end, driving traffic to your website. The main key takeaway from this blog includes making sure that your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is the same throughout every platform. 

Without consistency, your SEO strategies will most likely not be successful in the way that you dream. The world of SEO demands attention. SEO strategies cannot thrive without regular updates and understanding. That is where VIE Media can help. Contact us today to learn more about how our SEO services can help you increase your online presence, improve local search rankings, and in turn, drive more traffic to your website.