When it comes to local SEO, optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) and website are crucial, but there are other best practices that you shouldn't overlook, such as local citation building.
Local business citations play an important role in maximizing your online visibility and improving your local search rankings. Not only that, but building local citations on relevant sites with strong user bases can help ensure your business gets found by customers across as many platforms as possible.
What Are Local Citations?
At their core, local citations are online mentions of your business's key details, especially its name, address, and phone number (NAP). These are the most important parts of any citation because they provide search engines with verifiable information about your business. Local citations also often include additional details, such as your business hours, website URL, and services provided.
Search engines, like Google, use these citations to cross-reference information, further validating your business's legitimacy and trustworthiness and helping their local search ranking algorithms determine its relevance to searches with local intent. The more your business information appears across various platforms, the more likely you are to rank well in relevant local search results.
Think of local citations as a digital business card. Anytime your business details appear on a website, directory, or platform, you're essentially building trust with both search engines and potential customers. For local brick-and-mortar or service-area businesses, this is especially valuable because it makes your business easier to find in a sea of competition.
How To Build Local Citations Through Local Citation Submissions
Local citation submission is the process of manually submitting your business information to online directories, review sites, and other platforms. This ensures that your business is listed accurately and consistently across the web, making it easier for search engines and potential customers to find your business.
Local citation submissions are generally made to popular, high-traffic listing sites and sometimes smaller, more industry-specific or geo-specific platforms, depending on your business niche and location.
Local citation submissions serve two key purposes: they help search engines verify your business information, and they expand your online presence, allowing you to appear in more places when customers search for specific services or products in your area.
Building local citations is a simple yet effective way to increase your business's exposure in organic search results and on sites that local consumers trust. While Google may be the most popular search engine, making Google Business Profile the most important local business listing site, many customers also look to other platforms for recommendations, and having your business listed on these platforms improves your chances of getting noticed.
How Do Local Citations Help with Local SEO?
Although optimizing your GBP profile carries the most weight for local SEO, local citation building can still have a significant impact on your online visibility.
Local citations help increase the chances of your business appearing in local search results, especially when you build local citations on relevant, authoritative websites.
Google and other search engines factor in local business citations as part of their ranking algorithms, using them to confirm the prominence and relevance of your business in a specific location. This can help improve rankings for your GBP, website, and other assets.
That being said, not all citations are created equal. To get the most out of local citation building, you should focus on submitting your business details to authoritative, high-traffic platforms.
Citation spamming, or the practice of listing your business on hundreds of low-quality sites, can do more harm than good. Instead, focus on quality rather than quantity. Search engines reward businesses that are consistently listed on trustworthy, locally-relevant and industry-relevant sites.
It's also important to ensure that the information you submit is accurate and consistent across all platforms. Even minor discrepancies, such as a different phone number or a slightly altered business name, can confuse search engines and weaken your local citation-building efforts. For local citations to truly benefit your local SEO strategy, every citation should contain as close to the exact same information as possible.
Local Citation Building Tips: Where To Build Local Citations for Maximum Impact
Start with the Big Players
First and foremost, make sure your business is listed on the most prominent and reputable local listing sites, such as Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, and Apple Maps.
Focus on Industry-Specific Platforms Next
Depending on your business type, there may be niche directories that cater specifically to your industry. For example, restaurants and hotels can benefit from building local citations on travel-oriented sites like Tripadvisor, while healthcare providers should consider platforms like Healthgrades.
Don't Forget About Geo-Specific Listings
In addition to major and industry-specific directories, geo-specific websites can also help boost local visibility. Consider local business listings, city directories, and local Chamber of Commerce sites. These trusted platforms not only help with local SEO, but also connect you with more consumers in your area.
Look at Competitors
A great way to find additional citation opportunities is to research where your competitors are listed. You can do this by simply searching for a top competitor's business name and taking note of the organic results for different listing sites they appear in. This can reveal smaller, more niche directories and review sites that you might not have considered but that could drive valuable local traffic.
Be Selective
Rather than trying to build citations everywhere, prioritize sites that are known to have high authority and user traffic. Building citations on too many low-quality platforms could dilute your SEO efforts. As you build local citations, make sure to track your progress and monitor how it affects your local search rankings.
Ensure Consistency
As mentioned earlier, the consistency of your NAP info and other business info in local citation submissions is critical. Make sure every listing is double-checked for accuracy before going live and fix any errors you come across in existing listings promptly.
How To Manage Local Business Citations
Building local business citations isn't a one-and-done task. It's also important to periodically audit your citations to ensure they're still accurate. Conducting regular citation audits can help you catch inconsistencies that could be hurting your local SEO efforts.
If you've changed your business address, phone number, or any other key details, these changes need to be reflected across all platforms where your business is listed.
It's also possible for other people to list your business information on certain sites, and they might do so with errors. Regular audits help mitigate potential issues that can arise from other people listing your business info.
There are various tools that help you automate the process of monitoring and updating your citations. However, even if you use these tools, manual checks should still be part of your routine to ensure all information is current. Overall, proper management and ongoing updates to citations ensure long-term benefits!
Final Thoughts
Local citation building is a key component of any well-rounded local SEO strategy. While it may not have the same immediate impact as optimizing your Google Business Profile or website, it plays an important role in expanding your online presence and helping your business get found in more local search results.
By focusing on building citations on authoritative, high-traffic platforms and ensuring consistency across all listings, you can improve your local search rankings and drive more nearby customers to your business!
