When it comes to marketing a local business online, local citations play an important role in improving SEO and boosting visibility in local search results<\/a>. This is especially true in mobile search results. Most likely, this isn\u2019t anything you haven\u2019t read about before, but in today this is even more significant.<\/p>\n As search engine algorithms continue to evolve and get smarter, we have to get smarter and more focused on where we build citations for local businesses. We\u2019ll discuss this point more as we get further down in the post.<\/p>\n Search engines use citations (among many other SEO factors) to gauge a business\u2019 online reputation. So the more quality citations a business has online<\/a>, the higher the business\u2019 placement will be in local search engine result pages.<\/p>\n The prevailing mindset over the past decade has been that having more citations is always better, but this is no longer valid. In fact, low-quality citations, particularly those that link to your website, can negatively impact Google\u2019s trust in the business. Rather than trying to improve a business\u2019 online reputation through sheer volume, Advice Local focuses on identifying and targeting specific high-quality directories. We only submit local businesses to directories that meet the strictest of qualifications, which we determine based on 23 different metrics, including domain authority.<\/p>\n Another important characteristic of valuable sources is that they distribute their data across other directories and networks, thus acting as a data amplifier for local business citations. At Advice Local, we call this our Data Amplifier Network.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a sampling of citation sources\u00a0that pass all our criteria and we submit to through our local presence management solution:<\/p>\n It\u2019s pretty simple to get cited, especially on directory sites. Many are free and will let the local business simply answer a few questions, verify they have permission, and upload a logo. As mentioned earlier, this doesn\u2019t mean the business should want to be listed on every site possible. The process of optimizing a business listing<\/a> on these sites requires time, attention and understanding.<\/p>\n For example, ensuring the business citation is 100% accurate is extremely important. And once a business is listed on a directory, ensuring the listing remains accurate and maintains a consistent NAP can be tedious. Oftentimes, businesses are listed on directories without even being aware of it. Having duplicate citations confuses customers, impacts trust among search engines, such as Google, and hurts the business more than it helps. Bad data is a real problem for local businesses. Here\u2019s more about how bad data happens and how to fix it.<\/a><\/p>\n There are several companies that offer local listing management services<\/a>, such as we do at Advice Local. When choosing a local listing management company to partner with, it\u2019s important to closely evaluate their business practices, the methods they use to submit listings and the places to which they submit. Yext, for example, submits to some low-quality directories. They also use a technique that can create duplicate listings and override existing optimized listings with ones that are not optimized. When the business cancels Yext\u2019s services, some of the new listings disappear and existing ones revert back to featuring bad data. You don\u2019t have to take our word for it – check out this study conducted by Whitespark<\/a>.<\/p>\n By now, you can see there\u2019s a lot more to local citations than just getting listed! We didn\u2019t even cover earned links, which refer to citations created naturally through mentions on the web, producing high-quality content that others want to link to and guest blogging.<\/p>\n Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n Are you ready to take action? I recommend you start with generating an online visibility report<\/a>. This will show you how many listings a business has online currently, highlight bad data issues and recommend a few next steps.<\/p>\n![\"Advice](\"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Locator-Map.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\nWhy Citations Are Important for Local Businesses<\/h2>\n
Recommended Citation Sources\u00a0for Local Businesses<\/h2>\n
![\"Advice](\"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/images\/data-accelerator-network.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHow to Get Cited<\/h2>\n