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April 12, 2018
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Learn MoreYou may have heard about local citations, and there is always an ongoing debate about their importance for SEO.
In this article, we’ll discuss what local citations are, why they’re important and how to use them to drive traffic to your website.
What are Local Citations?
Local citations are essentially a mention of your business online. Now, not all citations are created equal, so it’s important to get value for your efforts when trying to boost your SEO rankings.
The best kind of citations is known as NAP citation because it includes your business name, address and phone number. Naturally, this makes it easier for people to find you, but there is also an added SEO benefit to ensuring your citations are complete.
It should be noted, however, that citations can appear all over the internet, and you don’t always have control over them. They can appear on business directories, websites, social media platforms and even apps.
The Two Types of Local Citations
Mentions of your business can appear anywhere, but these local citations can essentially be broken up into two main types.
Let’s explore them a little further.
1. Structured Citations
Structured citations are those packed with details about your business.
As we mentioned, these are also known as NAP citations, but they can include far more than just your name, address and phone number.
The most common place to use structured citations is in online directories or industry websites. The beauty of these sites is that every business listing looks the same, so users can clearly see your relevant details.
Depending on the type of directory, you may be able to include a range of other structured data too, such as website address or opening hours.
Many smaller directories feed data into big directories, so it’s worth submitting your details to any reputable directories you can find.
2. Unstructured Citations
Unlike structured citations, unstructured ones are less descriptive. It might just be a mention of your business name, for example, in a blog or article.
Forum posts are another place you might find unstructured citations of your business.
While these are useful, they don’t carry the same weight as quality structured local citations.
How do They Help with SEO Rankings?
Data from HubSpot suggests that 46% of Google searches are looking for local information.
When you consider the number of Google searches taking place every day, you can see why local SEO is important.
The key benefit to local citations is to give credibility to your website, and therefore your business. As we know, achieving great SEO is a very broad pursuit, because Google’s algorithms take into account so many different factors.
However, one of those is being able to confirm and verify that your business is active, reputable and does what you claim. As such, having local citations on several key business directories and local search services helps to boost your SEO rankings.
The power of local citations doesn’t just lie in conventional SEO though. Realistically, the more places people can access your information, the better.
Often when you search for businesses near you, the results aren’t individual business websites, but rather online directories. By establishing a presence on those sites, you give yourself a better chance of being found.
So, for a complete SEO and visibility boost, make sure your website is getting plenty of local citations in the directories that matter.
Next step: Need help with improving your SEO rankings? Contact us now!
