What is the Importance of Local SEO Citations?
Local citations are important parts of a successful local SEO strategy. You often see citations mentioned as NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number). While they do not pull as much weight as they did in the past, thanks to the search engine algorithms becoming more sophisticated, they do still play an important role in influencing your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Before explaining the importance of local SEO citations, you need an understanding of what they are. Citations is when your business information is mentioned on another website. It should include your business name, address, and phone number. Some also offer additional information, such as your website address, social media pages, operating hours, service details, and email address.
Citations are important for local SEO and are the fifth most important ranking factor for local pack visibility, along with being the fourth most important signal for local organic search results. When you spread your NAP data across the web, it indirectly impacts your SEO efforts.
Directory and review sites rank well in SERPs. The first place you will look to build a citation is a directory listing or review site. These are popular resources for local customers, ranking close to the top of search results when a user carries out a local search on the internet.
Local business owners can benefit greatly from this visibility option, growing your presence in SERPs without competing with larger company names.
Studies have shown that organic search results comprises of lists of businesses that are most clicked on by local users. When you claim a listing with your NAP information on directory sites or review sites, you are only one click away from a first page ranking.
Local businesses need to ensure that they are easy to find on the internet, helping them succeed in the long run. Every citation you build provides a pathway to your company. Directory listings make it easier for potential customers to find your business. This is due to the fact that many local consumers will use a directory or review site to find a local businesses that provides them with the products or services they are looking for.
Directory sites and other citation listing websites enable users to review local businesses. If you want to boost your online presence, then this is a great place to start. It offers a chance to reach a wider audience with positive mentions across the web, showing your business as trustworthy and credible. The more mentions you have, the more popular your business becomes. The other benefit is that reviews are also ranking factors, which offer you the added benefit to improve your visibility in SERPs.
Citations offer a number of SEO benefits, so it's worthwhile building as many as you can. Your industry does determine how many citations you need to achieve a SEO advantage. Some sectors require more citations than others. On average, businesses ranking on the first page of local search results have up to eighty citations. This rises to one hundred and fifty citations for hotels and around one hundred for doctors and dentists.
While creating a directory listing featuring your NAP is great for local SEO, it's not quite enough. You need to ensure these pages are indexed in order to achieve SEO success. You can encourage indexing by creating a page on your site that links to your citations.
Local SEO citations are an important part of any successful local search engine optimisation campaign. The more mentions your business has where your name, address, and phone number is displayed, the better.
Complete the form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly to discuss your enquiry.