Building Local Citations Helps Increase Business and Brand Visibility

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.

Structured citation

Just like the listings in the old school phone books, a structured citation is basically a business listing online. From online databases such as social media sites, Yelp, Yext, and the online Yellowpages, structured citations include not only your business name, but also your address and phone number (NAP). NAP consistency is one of Google’s main ranking factors.

Unstructured citation

The difference between structured citation and unstructured is that unstructured is a reference to your business. These references may happen in articles, descriptions, captions, reviews, and online forums. Unstructured citations effectiveness is built around relevance of the industry, local relevance, and domain authority.

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.