The local citations service helps your business get listed on reputable websites that Google trusts, making it easier for people to find you. It also improves your local SEO ranking and drives more traffic to your website, which can help your bottom line.
Choosing the best local citations service is important for any business owner who wants to see better search results. There are many different services on the market, and it’s best to do your research before choosing one. Here are some things to look for in a local citations service:
Accuracy & Consistency
When it comes to building your citations, accuracy and consistency are key. Make sure that all of the citations you submit to have the same business name, address, and phone number (NAP). This will ensure that people can easily find your business when they are looking for the products or services you provide.
Structured Citations
Structured citations are listings that include your business’s NAP information along with other relevant details. These kinds of citations are typically found on third party sites, like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and BBB. These sites already have large databases of accurate and relevant information, which makes them highly dependable for search engines.
A structured citation will always mention your NAP, but it may also include other related information such as operating hours or products or services you offer. This kind of citation is more valuable to businesses that have a niche product or service, and will be more useful in driving traffic to their website.
Social Media – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest
The most powerful part of any local citations strategy is the use of social media. Having your NAP information listed on every major social network, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, can be an incredible boost to your business’s SEO and local marketing efforts.
Getting your business’s NAP information across multiple platforms can be tedious, but with some help from data aggregators or outsourced services, you can manage this process.
Some of the major aggregators in the United States include Acxiom, Factual, Neustar Localeze, and Data Axle (formerly Infogroup). You can either work with an aggregator or choose to submit to directories manually.
There are also a few companies that offer citation submission and management solutions. These services help you manage and track the citations you’ve created. They can be helpful if you’re not sure which sites to submit to or if you have a lot of citations that need to be updated.
BrightLocal is a popular choice for businesses that want to get more citations and track their progress. It also allows you to claim and verify your citations, which gives you control over the attribution of those citations.
The company also offers an easy-to-use citation builder that makes it simple to add and update your citations online. The platform works with over a hundred sites, and its reports give you valuable insights into the citations your business has built and how they are performing.