The quality of the platform on which local citations appear, the accuracy and consistency of the citation, and the amount of online local citations a business has together impact local search results and rankings. When a business has consistent citations and is accurately mentioned by prominent national and local online directories that search engines trust, it strengthens the reputation of the business.
Google and Bing both use citations as a factor in local search rankings, which makes local SEO citation building not only useful but also essential for Local SEO ranking.
When customers are in their research phase, they use local citations to find products and services. When citations provide accurate and complete information about a business, they can connect with the business using the phone, email or even by walking into the physical store. Consistent citations help increase the reputation and revenue of a business. It also increases the chance of more potential customers discovering a local brand and trusting it.
Get in front of your customers, and potential clients with Milestone's local citation building services.
A local citation is an online mention of your business, which includes the URL (website address), Name, Address and Phone Number. A combination of this information is together referred to as UNAP. Local SEO citations mostly appear on online directories, business listing directories and websites.
They can also be present on apps and social platforms. It is important to note that a citation may not necessarily include a link back to your website. Google can identify the mention of your website through the UNAP and thereby give credit for this mention. The more mentions your local business has on the web, the more value and trust it creates with search engines.
Most business citation directories are free listings. This means that the market is saturated with listing directories both free and paid and you could get lost in the noise. However, a Google Maps citation can help your business get found in the 3-pack map listing and over all increasing your business listing visibility.
Google Maps citations are beneficial to your local SEO marketing efforts because it boosts not only your local business authority, but also can provide an authoritative backlink to your website. When listed properly with targeted keywords it can increase your relevance and visibility.