Many factors contribute to the success of local SEOs. A crucial area many marketers fail to acknowledge is the use of local citations. A citation doesn't necessarily have to be a long list of information. A proper citation should contain essential information about your company or business.
Some key content of a proper citation is the name, the address, and the phone number of the organization. In this article, we'll share some critical information about citation building. We’ll also discuss the importance of accurate and consistent local citation for local SEO success. Read along while we get down to it.
Local citations
Many people get it twisted because they don't know what a proper citation should be. As we mentioned earlier, an appropriate citation should contain three key pieces of information: the organization's name, phone number, and address. Sometimes, folks go as far as including a link to the organization's official website – that’s still fine.
However, a citation mustn't necessarily contain all the information listed above. A complete citation contains all the data above, while a partial citation doesn't. Also, the format or order of appearance of the information in the citation's arrangement isn't essential.
The only thing you should be particular about is picking a citation format and sticking with it. More importantly, the information contained in your local citation must be accurate and consistent. This goes a long way in promoting the success of your local SEO.
The importance of accurate and consistent local citation for local SEO success
Increased reach
The main reason why you included the citation in the first place was to draw more clients to your organization. An accurate and consistent local citation increases the awareness your business needs online. A high number of your citations online equally increases the chances of your business visibility.
Of course, you'll experience an increase in the number of people who will contact you. If the information contained in your citation isn't accurate, you'll mislead prospective clients. Worse still, you may get a bad review – we’re sure you don’t want that.
Increased Google ranking
When choosing the order of business ranking for local searches, Google considers some key factors. An important thing always considered is citations. Google ranks businesses that have their citations appearing more frequently on the internet. Businesses that have fewer citations go with the lower ranking.
This is because Google has built a reputation for credibility over the years. When you search Google for any piece of information, you rest assured that you'll get reliable information. The more accurate and consistent Google finds your citations to be, the higher your ranking and visibility on search results.
Local listing verification
In addition to the high ranking, Google accords businesses with more citations; they also use its citations for verification. They use citations to verify the details companies provide on local listings. This is mainly so because some listings contain outdated information.
This is why we emphasize the importance of consistency in the local citations provided. Once Google verifies the credibility of the information provided, it feels safer to show such information during searches.
Mentions from authority sites
A major factor that boosts the presence of local SEOs on the internet is mentions by authority sites. An authority site won't have the confidence needed to mention your business if the information you provided isn't consistent or reliable.
In addition, several directory citation websites add alongside their listings website URL fields. They go ahead to show these URLs as "dofollow links." If your site is here, it becomes easier for search engines to identify your domain authority using these backlinks. This helps to boost your SEO.
Conclusion
There’s no way your business will get the desired internet visibility if you don’t know what it takes for a successful local SEO. Among other things, an accurate and consistent local citation is key. It gives Google and authority sites the confidence needed to reference your site.
You must stay consistent when you choose a format for your local NAP (Name, Address, and Phone) citation. These help increase your business's chance of being found during searches on search engines such as Google.