What is Citations SEO

When you are trying to increase the visibility of your local business on the internet, you must have heard the term citations in SEO. However, what are SEO citations, and why would they be important to your site?

We are going to deconstruct everything you need to know about SEO citations, their effect on your local positioning, and how you can get them under control in this guide.

What Are Citations in SEO?

An SEO citation is any reference to the Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) of your business on the internet.

These entries also allow Google and other search engines to ensure that your business is not a fake or a business that is elsewhere than where you claim it to be. Local SEO relies on citations most of all, and companies that aim to have an edge in the Local Pack (the map section of Google search results) specifically.

Example of a citation:

Joe’s Auto Repair

123 Main Street, Houston, TX 77001

(713) 555-1234

This reference may be found on an advertisement on the business directory, a local blog or even on a chamber of commerce webpage.

Why Are Citations Important for Local SEO?

Citations assist the search engine such as Google to believe that you have a business and you are operating in a certain area.

Here is the way they help in your Local SEO:

Boost Local Rankings

Google has citations as one of its ranking signals. When you have uniform NAP information worldwide, it reinforces your business on the search results of the local setting.

Build Online Authority

By having your company featured on reputable sites such as Yelp, Facebook and Yellow Pages you may gain more domain authority and trust.

Increase Customer Trust

Knowing that your business information is always present when the potential customers visit various websites, they will likely trust your business.

Types of SEO Citations

You should be aware of two major types of citation:

Structured Citations

These constitute directories and listings on platforms that are regularly structured. These usually contain the NAP of your business, its web site, business hours and occasionally description.

Examples:

  • Google Business Profile
  • Yelp
  • Apple Maps
  • Bing Places
  • Unstructured Citations

These are published in the form of blog posts, newspaper articles, or social media where the business information has been cited but not in a directory form.

Examples:

  • The review of your restaurant by a local blogger.
  • A news outlet about your business introduction.
  • The mention of your services on Facebook.

Both of these citations are beneficial toward your Local SEO, but structured citations are easier to manage and control.

Citations in SEO

Where Can You Build Citations?

Hundreds of websites exist where a citation can be built, although in this case,

The following categories are most essential to consider:

  • Core Business Directories
  • Google Business Profile
  • Yelp
  • Facebook
  • Bing Places
  • Apple Maps

Niche Directories

They are directories that are specific to the industry. For example:
  • Lawyers: Avvo, FindLaw
  • Physicians: Healthgrades, Zocdoc
  • Restaurants: TripAdvisor, OpenTable
Local Directories
  • Chamber of Commerce
  • Local newspapers
  • Business directories in the city (such as NYC.gov in the case of New York)
Data Aggregators

These services publicize your NAP to hundreds of other sites:

  • Neustar Localeze
  • Foursquare
  • Data Axle (Infogroup)
  • Factual

How to Create Effective Citations

Make Use of Consistent NAP Data

Check your Name, Address and Phone Number on all listings and ensure that they are all the same. Search engines are prone to get lost even with minor variations (such as the difference between St. and Street).

Include Website URL

You should have as much as possible a link back to your website. This does not only assist in SEO, but also encourages direct traffic.

Add Business Categories and Descriptions

Be sure to fill out your profiles with categories of business, photos, hours and description optimized with a keyword.

Keep Citations Updated

In case you change your place of residence or telephone number, update your citations as soon as possible. Obsolete data can have a detrimental effect on your standings.

Common Citation Mistakes to Avoid

Inconsistent NAP

When your name, address or phone number is different on different platforms, this can be counterproductive to your local SEO.

Ignoring Reviews

Customers also leave their reviews on many citation sites. Failure to consider these platforms means that there is a loss of the engagement opportunities.

Using Duplicate Listings

Google may be confused by having multiple entries for the same location and lower your credibility.

Not Claiming Your Listings

Other users can change your listings in case you do not claim and verify them, and this could be wrong.

Tools for Managing Citations

It is an overwhelming task to manage dozens of citations manually. Fortunately, there are aids that can be used to simplify the process:

Bright Local

Fine in citation construction and auditing. It also provides local search engine reporting.

Yext

Publishes and distributes your business data to a large platform of directories.

Moz Local

Helps handle and clean up citations, review management and monitoring.

Whitespark

The most reliable tool in the search of citation opportunities and tracking NAP consistency.