Ensuring that you appear in local searches is a significant part of the ranking process when developing a search engine optimization strategy. The more your name appears in different places, the more likely you’ll be found by people searching for what you have to offer. Local citations play a prominent role in ensuring that your business ranks high enough to be seen for more local searches.
What Is a Local Citation?
A local citation is any mention of a local business’s name, address, and phone number. You can find these mentions in various places, including business directories, websites and apps, and social media platforms. The primary purpose of local citations is to help users discover more local businesses and help businesses improve their local search rankings to gain more visibility. Having essential citations can ensure your business appears in Google’s local results much easier and quicker. It’s critical to note that you should ensure that your citations are accurate.
How To Make Sure Your Citations Are Accurate
The first way you can check the quality of your local citations is through a manual process. This process is complicated because citations can appear in various places. Instead of wasting your time going through every instance of a local citation, try to focus on the larger and more important ones. Sites such as Facebook, Apple Maps, and Yellow Pages are all great places to ensure your citations are accurate.
The other way you can check your citations is through an online tool. Specific sites such as Bright Local and Moz SEO have excellent tools that allow you to see and edit local citations for your business. They can show you various listings with your business, including significant data aggregators that greatly influence rankings.
Why Accurate Citations Matter
As previously mentioned, local citations are essential for growing your local rankings. Having your business listed in trusted online directories sends signals to Google to prove that your business exists. The number of listings, the accuracy of your listings, and the quality of directories can affect how Google perceives your online presence.
Since most of these large directories already rank in the top search results, adding your business information to them can help you to start ranking in the top spots, too. If you can’t beat them, join them.
Lastly, with strong local citations, you can increase the amount of referral traffic coming to your site. Many people are partial to specific directories. For example, many people trust Angie’s List for home improvement work. Having a solid citation on sites like Angie’s List can help you gain more referral traffic. The more high-quality directories you use, the more referral traffic you will likely receive.
The Takeaway
The key takeaway is that citations can help your local SEO strategy tremendously. They can help you improve your local rankings and get your company seen by more people in your service area. By maintaining accurate listings on directories and other locations, you can significantly improve your SEO strategy and increase your rankings for more local searches.