Local citations are an important part of search engine optimization, and they’re often overlooked. In this guide, we’ll show you how to build local citations so you can rank more effectively on Google, Bing and Yahoo. We’ll also share some useful tips for optimizing your citations in order to boost your rankings even further.

Why Citations Matter

Local citations are an important tool for local SEO. Local search is the process of finding and ranking local businesses in Google Maps, and it’s one of the most important factors in your local rankings.

Google uses a variety of data sources to determine whether or not you should be ranked in its results: your website domain authority; the quality of links pointing to your site; reviews (both online and offline); social media signals like Facebook likes or Google+ shares; etc. You can find more information about this here: https://moz.com/blog/what-is-local-search

But one thing that may have been overlooked is that Google also looks at where you appear across other websites such as Yelp, Facebook Places, Dexknows or Yellowpages – all called “citations.” Why are citations so important? Because they’re signals that prove you exist locally!

What is a Local Citation?

Local citations are the online listings that show up in search results when you type in a local business’ name. These listings can be found on local directories, such as Yelp and Yellow Pages, or on review sites like Facebook and Google Reviews.

For example: if you search for “Best Pizza in New York”, your results will include businesses like Eataly, Roberta’s and Keste Pizzeria (to name just a few). These restaurants have built up their reputation through positive reviews from customers who have visited them before.

Why is NAP Consistency so Important?

The Google-approved way to display your NAP is to use the same details across all of your citations.

Why? What’s the big deal about having consistent NAPs?

Consistency is important because it tells Google that your business is the same business. This helps them understand your business better and therefore rank you higher in their search results, which means more traffic for you!

Being consistent also helps people understand where they can find you on the web. If someone searches for ‘Best Cat Store in New York City’, they want to know where exactly are these cat stores located so they can visit one near by or even order online.

Top 60 Citation Sites (Free)

You can find a comprehensive list of the top 60 citation sites here. Some of these are free and some are paid, but they all have their own unique features that make them worth checking out.

If you don’t have any citations on Google, then it may be time to start building a reputation for your business online. The first step is by getting social media profiles for your business set up on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as well as setting up an account with Google My Business (if you haven’t already). Once those are done then it’s time to get working on creating citations!

If you already have some citations but want more authority, then this guide will help with that too! In this post we cover everything from how often should I update my listings? Do all places need local area codes? Should I optimize every listing individually or just do one bulk edit? And much more…

Top Five Things to Do With Your Citations

After you have verified your business information and citations, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• Make sure the business name, address and phone number are consistent across all the sites. This will ensure that Google will know who you are when it comes time to update their search results based on these local places.
• Make sure your website is listed on any of these sites as well so people can find out more about your company if they want to do more research about what products or services you offer.
• If there are multiple places where your business is listed with different information, make sure that all of those locations match up correctly with what’s on the internet (this includes addresses).

How Do I Check My Citation Listings?

There are a few ways to check your citation listings. If you’re using Moz Local or Bright Local, you can use their tools to make sure that everything is correct and up-to-date. You should also check for broken links. You don’t want people clicking on something that won’t work for them!

Check for duplicate listings by searching for yourself on Google Maps or searching another directory like Yelp or Foursquare. If any of these sites have more than one listing, then there might be duplicate information in your citation profile.

Incomplete citations are another common issue—particularly if they aren’t updated regularly. These incomplete citations could lead customers astray and make it difficult for them find what they’re looking for when coming in through search engines like Google or Bing (the two most popular search engines). Check all the fields of each listing; this includes address information (street name), city/state/zip code, phone number(s) as well as hours of operation if applicable (e.g., “open Sundays”).

How Do I Get Yext?

Yext is an SaaS platform that can help you manage your local citations. Yext allows you to update, add or remove business listings in almost every major directory. It’s easy to use and has a simple interface, so it’s ideal for businesses that need help handling their citations.

The company also offers a free package for small businesses with fewer than 50 locations, as well as automated solutions for medium-sized companies with more than 100 locations. For large corporations, pricing ranges from $1 per location up to $5 per location depending on the level of customization needed.

Yext’s basic service includes listing management across national databases such as Google Maps and Apple Maps; however, Yext will charge extra fees for other services like claim management and distribution reporting (which allow you track how effective each campaign was).

Local citations are an important way to improve your local SEO.

Local citations are an important part of local SEO because they help to build your brand and reputation.

If you want to be successful in the local market, then it is vital that you have a well-established presence on Google.

The best way to do this is by creating a strong domain authority for your business website.

Local citations are important for local SEO because they help to build your brand and reputation. If you want to be successful in the local market, then it is vital that you have a well-established presence on Google.

Conclusion

So, did we convince you that citations are important? If so, let’s get started. First, we recommend creating a list of the top 30 sites that you want to target. Then, start contacting them one-by-one until they add your business information to their listings. This will take some time (but not as much as it used to), so don’t be discouraged if this process doesn’t happen overnight!