Anyone with a basic understanding of local marketing knows that citations are crucial to your SEO success. However, those who are just beginning to learn about local listings may not even know what a citation is. If you want to experience success with local listings, it’s time to brush up on the terminology and importance of local listings alignment. Read on to learn all that you need to know to get your local listings up to par so that you can experience success with local listings.
What is a citation?
A citation in the context of digital marketing is a mention of your business name and address on other webpages. There doesn’t have to be a link to your website for a mention to be considered a citation. They are a key component of the rankings algorithm on major search engines and having consistent citations can dramatically improve your search engine ranking. On the other hand, having inconsistent citations can greatly hurt your ranking.
Why are citations important?
Other than that citations (consistent, accurate citations, that is) play a critical role in search engine rankings they serve some other important purposes. When you’re in a niche that isn’t as competitive, having quality citations across all pages can be the difference between no visibility and being a top result when searched. Also, in the eyes of customers, when they see a business with consistent information online they are more likely to trust that business. Trust often converts into sales, so the importance of this is only as important as your desire to make sales.
Are there any other elements to consider when it comes to citations?
Why, yes, there are. Not only do you need to ensure the accuracy of your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) on your website, social media platforms, and local listings like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and UrbanSpoon, but you also need to add a whole plethora of other information to really boost the value to your business. These elements include genuine customer reviews, high quality photos, and general search engine optimization like meta, titles, and permalink structuring that enhance your landing page ranking.
