Local citations are among the most critical parts of a local SEO strategy.

Local citations are sometimes called NAP data (Name, Address and Phone Number). The importance of local citations has reduced slightly in recent years thanks to the increased sophistication of Google’s algorithm. However, they still have a vital role in influencing your website’s position on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

What is a local citation?

A local citation is “any online mention of partial or complete name, address and phone number of a business. Citations can occur on local business directories, websites and apps, and social platforms.”

As well as the NAP data, other information about your business may appear, such as:

  • website URL
  • email address
  • opening hours
  • service details
  • social media handles

Why are local citations helpful for businesses?

Local citations are essential for two main reasons:

  1. Can help your website to rank higher for local search queries
  2. Can help more people to discover your business online

How do local citations help with local SEO?

Local citations help search engines like Google verify the existence and trustworthiness of your business.

Google has increased confidence that your business exists and is operational if its exact details can be seen on many other trusted websites.

Moz, a company that provides SEO services and tools, undertakes a yearly Local Search Ranking Factors (LSRFs) survey, and the most recent one (2018) found that citation signals were the fifth most important ranking signal for local search queries, behind Google My Business signals, Link Signals, Review Signals and On-Page Signals.

Don’t get us wrong; gaining a lot of local citations from anywhere is unlikely to impact your rankings significantly. But getting local quotations from trusted sources relevant to your business can add value.

John Mueller, from Google, says: “Just because a company’s name is mentioned somewhere doesn’t mean it is good or bad for the company. I’d see these mentions more as advertising – if you think people will see it and explicitly search out your business, that’s great.”

How do local citations help people discover your business?

When people try to find businesses near them, they don’t always use Google to search for them. They usually turn to sites such as Yelp or Yellow Pages, which is why it is helpful to get listed on these sites.

The other reason to get listed on these sites is that they often dominate the search results for local queries. So, as Google often returns these types of results when people are searching for local businesses, you need your business to be listed there so that searchers can find it.

So, why are citations important for local SEO?

  • Directories rank highly in Google search – as we have said above, directories tend to rank near the top of the search results when people are searching for a local business. Research has shown that organic search results made up of lists of local companies are the most clicked on, so claiming a listing with your NAP information filled out on a wide variety of directory sites helps us get you closer to a first-page ranking.
  • Your business becomes easier to find – the easier your business is to find online, the more likely you will succeed. Each citation we build for you provides a direct link to your company for anyone interested in connecting with you.
  • Helps to grow your link profile – as we mentioned in our recent blog post about link building, building links is very important for SEO, but it can be complex and take a long time to do well. Creating local citations gives us an excellent opportunity to link to your website.

As you can see, local citations are a vital part of local SEO, but they are not the only thing we include in our local SEO strategies. We also cover proper local keyword research, excellent on-page SEO, optimising your Google My Business profile and more.

If you want help with your local SEO strategy, please get in touch with us to find out more.

Why are local citations so important for local SEO?

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Local citations are among the most critical parts of a local SEO strategy.

Local citations are sometimes called NAP data (Name, Address and Phone Number). The importance of local citations has reduced slightly in recent years thanks to the increased sophistication of Google’s algorithm. However, they still have a vital role in influencing your website’s position on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

What is a local citation?

A local citation is “any online mention of partial or complete name, address and phone number of a business. Citations can occur on local business directories, websites and apps, and social platforms.”

As well as the NAP data, other information about your business may appear, such as:

  • website URL
  • email address
  • opening hours
  • service details
  • social media handles

Why are local citations helpful for businesses?

Local citations are essential for two main reasons:

  1. Can help your website to rank higher for local search queries
  2. Can help more people to discover your business online

How do local citations help with local SEO?

Local citations help search engines like Google verify the existence and trustworthiness of your business.

Google has increased confidence that your business exists and is operational if its exact details can be seen on many other trusted websites.

Moz, a company that provides SEO services and tools, undertakes a yearly Local Search Ranking Factors (LSRFs) survey, and the most recent one (2018) found that citation signals were the fifth most important ranking signal for local search queries, behind Google My Business signals, Link Signals, Review Signals and On-Page Signals.

Don’t get us wrong; gaining a lot of local citations from anywhere is unlikely to impact your rankings significantly. But getting local quotations from trusted sources relevant to your business can add value.

John Mueller, from Google, says: “Just because a company’s name is mentioned somewhere doesn’t mean it is good or bad for the company. I’d see these mentions more as advertising – if you think people will see it and explicitly search out your business, that’s great.”

How do local citations help people discover your business?

When people try to find businesses near them, they don’t always use Google to search for them. They usually turn to sites such as Yelp or Yellow Pages, which is why it is helpful to get listed on these sites.

The other reason to get listed on these sites is that they often dominate the search results for local queries. So, as Google often returns these types of results when people are searching for local businesses, you need your business to be listed there so that searchers can find it.

So, why are citations important for local SEO?

  • Directories rank highly in Google search – as we have said above, directories tend to rank near the top of the search results when people are searching for a local business. Research has shown that organic search results made up of lists of local companies are the most clicked on, so claiming a listing with your NAP information filled out on a wide variety of directory sites helps us get you closer to a first-page ranking.
  • Your business becomes easier to find – the easier your business is to find online, the more likely you will succeed. Each citation we build for you provides a direct link to your company for anyone interested in connecting with you.
  • Helps to grow your link profile – as we mentioned in our recent blog post about link building, building links is very important for SEO, but it can be complex and take a long time to do well. Creating local citations gives us an excellent opportunity to link to your website.

As you can see, local citations are a vital part of local SEO, but they are not the only thing we include in our local SEO strategies. We also cover proper local keyword research, excellent on-page SEO, optimising your Google My Business profile and more.

If you want help with your local SEO strategy, please get in touch with us to find out more.