How to Build Citations For a Business
Citations are one of the ranking factors that you have a little more control over. They also help potential customers find your business.
There are two main types of citations – structured and unstructured. Structured citations are found on directories such as Google, Facebook and Bing. Unstructured citations are found in blogs, reviews and articles about your business.
1. Cite the right sources
Citation building is one of the most important SEO activities that you can undertake, especially as a local business owner. It’s a ranking factor that you have more control over than any other, and it can dramatically improve your reach and visibility online.
When it comes to local citations, there are two main types: structured and unstructured. Structured citations are often found on directories like Yelp, and they typically include your NAP. Unstructured citations are mentions of your NAP in other formats, such as blog posts or articles.
The best way to build unstructured citations is to create high-quality content that is linked by other websites. This can be in the form of reviews, news articles, or blogs. If possible, include your NAP in these citations, as well as links to your website. Then, when those citations are referenced in other articles, the information will be consistent across all sources. This helps your Google search ranking and validates your information.
2. Cite the right time
Citations are a huge part of local SEO, especially when it comes to ranking for local search results. If your business's name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent across directories and online searches, Google will be able to verify your legitimacy and trustworthiness as a local business.
However, it's important to note that a local citation doesn't necessarily have to include a link back to your website. In fact, many local citations are non-linking and simply mention your NAP on a page, like a blog or review.
One of the best ways to find unstructured local citations is by searching for your competitors' listings on various websites that show them, such as their Facebook business pages and the Google My Business listing. Once you have a list of your competitor's citation sources, look for opportunities to get your own NAP listed there too. This will help your business gain more visibility in local search and boost its local rankings.
3. Cite the right way
One of the best places to start building citations for a business is in its industry. Many magazines, professional organizations, and conferences have places on their websites to list relevant businesses. These opportunities are very helpful to your SEO and can make a big difference in the amount of potential business you get.
Maintaining consistency across all local NAP citations will improve your local search rankings and help prospective customers to find your location and business information. This is why it’s so important that the NAP information you provide is accurate and up-to-date.
4. Cite the right place
There are a lot of directories that list business information and that's where businesses should start to build their local citations. But it's also important to look at competitors and see what other geo-based or industry-specific citation sites they're building citations on.
This can be unstructured citations like mentions in a newspaper article or more structured citations that are listed on business directories, such as Yelp. It's also worth looking at HARO, which connects journalists with sources for their news stories and a well-placed citation here can really boost a local business's profile online.
It's important to note that a business's NAP (name, address, phone number) should always appear in the same format across all of their citations. This helps to establish consistency and accuracy, which is a core way that Google determines relevancy and authority for search results. Finally, it's important to make sure that your citations are linked to the most relevant location page on your website. If you're citing your business in Minneapolis, it's best to link that citation to the Minneapolis page of your website rather than the homepage.
https://www.midtownmarketingseo.com/
Citations are one of the ranking factors that you have a little more control over. They also help potential customers find your business. There are two main types of citations – structured and unstructured. Structured citations are found on directories such as Google, Facebook and Bing. Unstructured citations are found in blogs, reviews and articles…