4 Ways Local Citations Can Help Boost SEO for Businesses

We live in a competitive business world. Don’t we? Businesses have to do everything in order to stand out. If you want to enjoy an edge over your competitors, you should concentrate more on your local search engine optimization. However if you aren’t focusing on local citation building, then you are missing out on a lot.

One of the many factors that affect local SEO for businesses is citations. A local citation is also known as business listing or online directory listing. It is when your business is mentioned online with details such as name, address, phone number. Search engines like Google use the information they find within citations to help list your businesses in local search results.

Whether it is a local coffee shop or a food chain, citations play an important role in the local SEO. It has a direct effect on the online authority of your business. Here are a few ways local citations can help in boosting SEO for businesses.

• Organic Rankings

Local citations have an impact on your businesses’ online organic rankings. This is because search engines trust the key business listing sites and online directories and find them to be credible. Getting listed on highly rated citation websites can earn you brownie points. If your business information is accurate and consistent on all local citation sites, search engines will give more prominence to it in SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).

• More Reach and Traffic

Not only do online directories make a significant proportion of online search engine results for local businesses, but they also have more click rates. A local SERP click study showed that majority of the first page clicks go to USA citation websites. With more click rates, there is an increase in the local business’ visibility and website traffic. This clearly shows how effective local citation in directories is to SEO for reaching more potential customers.

• More Backlinks

Getting backlinks from trusted local citation sites play a predominant role in search engine results. Backlinks make a huge impact on a website’s prominence in search engine results which improves the website’s SEO ranking. This also increases your website traffic. The more backlinks you receive, the merrier your SEO analytics will be.

• Third Party Reviews

Positive reputation and positive mentions on the web result in more prominence for your business online which is one of the core pillars of ranking. Reviews from customers and clients can also build trust for potential customers and clients. Local citation sites also work as review sites by allowing customers to share their local business experience and rate them. This added business listing feature is a bonus to your local SEO.

Overall, local citations show validity that the business is actually something of value. It shows that you are part of a community and validates to Google that you are real. It also strengthens consistency and shows Google that you are consistent online and that you are a solid business.

Are you convinced that you should be concentrating on local citations? Get a free quote from our local citation service experts now.