If you’re a business owner who isn’t currently harnessing the power of citations, then you’ll want to learn more about these simple SEO-boosting assets. 

What are local citations?

Local citations are listings of a business’s information online. As a local business owner, building these citations should be one of the starting points for expanding your visibility and authority online.

The information included in a local citation is primarily the business name, address, and phone number—also known as NAP data. A link to your website can also often be included, and this link naturally has SEO benefits.

Adding your business information to directories and other third-party websites will help consumers to find your business online. Doing so also serves to boost how authoritative and trustworthy Google considers your business to be—more on this later!

Below you can see a typical example of a local citation. 

What are the different types of local citations?

There are two different types of local citations—structured and unstructured.

What are structured citations?

Structured citations are the most common type of local citation. They’re the listings of your business on relevant business directories and third-party websites. These websites are huge, pre-existing databases of business information that Google already trusts.

When it comes to structured citations, being listed on the directories that are most relevant to your industry is key. On the more general directories and other sites, choosing the most appropriate category for your business is essential. This helps Google to understand your products or services and helps the right customers find you. 

What are unstructured citations?

Unstructured citations are mentions of key business data on a page, but where the information isn’t grouped together. This is likely to happen if your business is mentioned in an online news article or a blog post, such as the example below from Westgate Resorts.

As you can see, the name of the bar is referenced throughout the text, with the address and phone number appearing at the end. 

Although unstructured citations aren’t as immediately obvious to search engines as the structured variety, they are valuable to local SEO.

The value of unstructured citations is influenced by three factors:

• Location;
• industry relevance; and
• website authority.

Location

If your business is mentioned on a website that is connected to your local area, then this is likely to be more valuable than a mention on a website with no local connection.

This is true of both the potential SEO value and also the potential for local residents to discover your business from this mention.

Industry Relevance

Appearing on websites that are related to your industry or niche is helpful from an SEO perspective. This also helps to put your message in front of interested people.

For example, if you run a bakery, and a nearby café talks about your goods on its website, this could be more valuable than being referenced on a textile company’s website.

Website Authority

Website authority—or domain authority—is important to consider when determining the value of unstructured citations.

If the website the citation appears on has a high domain authority, then this citation will likely be more valuable to you than one from a website with low domain authority. This is because domain authority is a recognized signifier of a website’s rankability in the eyes of Google.

What are the core components of local citations?

NAP information is always the core component of local citations.

Local SEO citations might also feature:

• company website;
• opening hours;
• business description/category;
• driving directions;
• images;
• links to social media profiles; and
• email address.

There may also be additional features, depending on the site in question.

For example, Manta (as seen below) allows businesses to feature NAP citations data, an ‘About’ section, website link, map directions, and opening hours. The site also offers separate tabs within the listing for additional contact information, details, and reviews. 

Links and Citations: Similarities and Differences

Citations and links are powerful signals that influence both local and organic search rankings.

However it’s not uncommon for people to confuse the meaning and importance of links and citations. It’s important to recognize the difference between them, though, because to maximize your site’s visibility for localized keywords you need to build both of them. Focusing on one at the expense of the other means that at best you won’t be as visible online as you could be, but at worst you won’t be visible at all (at least not on the 1st page of the search results).

Links and citations are similar in that…

• Both are online references to your business
• Typically these references appear on 3rd party sites (at least that’s how most SEOs think of them)
• They can exist on the same page at the same time
• Both have the potential to negatively affect your rankings if done incorrectly, and particularly if they go against Google Webmaster Guidelines

They’re different in that…

• A citation must include your Business Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP), but a link doesn’t have to
• A link must be clickable (i.e. clicking it must take the user to your site), whereas a citation doesn’t have to be
• All citations must be consistent, whereas links should be varied
• Links improve rankings for both the organic search results & local business search results, whereas citations only improve rankings in local results

What do links and citations look like?

Links and citations can take many forms depending on the site and context that they appear on. These are some examples of what both links and citations typically look like…

Links:

this is a link within a phrase
click here
example.com
http://www.example.com

Links can also be embedded within images and widgets.

Citations:

SEOmark, 34 Links Drive, Birmingham, West Midlands, B91 2DL (0330001152)

SEOmark
34 Links Drive
Birmingham
West Midlands
0330001152

SEOmark, 34 Links Drive, Birmingham, UK

SEOmark, located at 34 Links Drive in Birmingham, is run by Mark Walters. You can contact him at 0330001152.

Note: A full citation includes your complete NAP. A partial citation is one which includes only part of your NAP—maybe your name and phone number or name and address. A partial citation is better than nothing, but not as beneficial as a full citation.

Popular Local Citations Sites

There are many different directory sites that you can create listings on.

Some of the best platforms for local businesses to build citations are:

• Foursquare
• Better Business Bureau
• Localworks
• MapQuest
• Yellow Pages
• Angi
• City Data
• Manta

For more extensive lists of citation sites check out our resources:

• Best Business Directories
• Best US Business Directories
• Top Free US Business Directories
• Top Free International Business Directories
• Best Business Directories for Every Industry

Why are citations beneficial for local SEO?

Local citation building is beneficial for SEO because it helps Google—and other search engines—to trust the authenticity of your business and the accuracy of your information.

When Google can see that exactly the same information exists across a number of trusted websites, then this trust can be passed on to your business. NAP citation consistency is therefore particularly important for enjoying the maximum SEO benefit of local citations. This means that your business name, address, and phone number must be accurate across all of the websites on which your business is listed.

Although links are great, a local citation doesn’t need to link to your business website in order for it to have SEO advantages. Google will identify that your business has been mentioned through the presence of your NAP citations data, and this is enough to influence trust signals towards your brand. 

What’s the problem with inaccurate business listings?

Inaccurate citations are problematic because they can cause a decrease in the level of trust Google has in your business. Conflicting information could be seen as misleading, and this can often come down to seemingly insignificant differences, such as spellings and abbreviations. 

For example, if you use a shortened version of your business name on certain sites, but use the business name in full for other listings, then this may appear to be two separate businesses in the eyes of Google. This might mean that less authority is attributed to your website as a result.

Inaccurate business listings can also confuse and deter potential customers. If someone finds your business through a directory, but the contact details are incorrect, then they may struggle to communicate with you. This could cause them to shift their attention—and their money—to one of your competitors.

Additionally, if your citations become outdated, such as due to a change in address, then it’s important to resolve this without delay. Accidentally directing potential customers to your old business location could cause frustration for them, and the loss of a sale for you. 

What are the business benefits of building citations?

Getting listed on business directories and third-party websites is generally free, making it a cost-effective way to boost awareness of your brand.

When customers search on Google for specific services, business directories will often feature in the results. Therefore, having a presence on these sites can help to put your business in front of more consumers. 

Additionally, a number of local business directory sites allow customers to leave reviews. Positive reviews can go a long way to bolstering your business reputation, so the more sites you can build these assets on, the better!

Ready to build citations?

Now that you understand the advantages of building local citations, you’ll want to get started right away.

Third-party listings management tools can help to streamline the process of building, tracking, and staying on top of your citations.

Here are some guides to adding and claiming listings on popular citation sites:

• How to Add or Claim Your Bing Places for Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim an Angi Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your Citysearch Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your MerchantCircle Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your Cylex Business Listing
• How to Add a Zillow Listing

What is a local listing citation? 

Before we jump into why they’re important, let’s define what a local listing citation is. This is a mention of your business information on a third-party website. At a minimum, this should include your business name, current address, and phone number.

Additional information, such as your website URL, social media handles, opening hours, service details, and email address may also appear.

Are citations important for local SEO? 

Citations are essential for local SEO success. Research shows that they’re the fifth most significant ranking factor for local pack visibility and the fourth most important signal for local organic search results.

A good spread of NAP data across the web also provides several indirect SEO benefits.

Directory and Review Sites Rank Highly in Google Search

Many of the places where you’d look to build a citation are places like directory listings and review sites. These are helpful and popular resources for local consumers and often rank near the top of the search results when a local search is performed.

As a local business owner, you can benefit from this search visibility simply by creating a listing or claiming your profile on popular directory sites and review platforms. Doing so allows you to grow your presence in the search engine results pages (SERPs) without directly competing with powerhouse names such as Yelp or Tripadvisor.

Research has shown that organic search results made up of lists of businesses are the most clicked on by local search users. Claiming a listing with your NAP information filled out on all directory sites — or niche review sites relevant to your industry — can potentially put you just one click away from a first-page ranking. Considering the high volume of traffic that directories like Yelp receive each month, doing so could result in a significant uplift in local visibility.

Become Easier to Find

As a local business, the easier you are to find online, the more likely you are to succeed. Each citation you build provides a direct pathway to your company for anyone interested in connecting with you. 

Directory listings also make your business easier to find by those who aren’t searching for a specific company but are looking for a local product or service, such as a plumber or barber. That’s because many consumers naturally turn to directory and review sites to find a local business that can meet their needs. 

Having your information readily available in the right places puts you in front of anyone actively searching for a business like yours. For example, a presence on Angi would be beneficial for service businesses. Yelp is appropriate for a wide variety of local businesses, and Tripadvisor is recommended for travel businesses.

Grow Your Link Profile 

Building links is a prerequisite for SEO success, but it can be difficult and will take time to do well. The good news for local businesses is many places where you’d naturally look to create a citation also provide the opportunity to link back to your website.

Some sites still allow dofollow links to be created, including Bing and a whole host of industry-specific sites. You can use our complete list of local citation sites offering dofollow and nofollow links to discover new opportunities. 

Help to Establish Prominence 

Directory sites and other citation sources will often allow users to review local businesses. If you’re keen to improve your local search presence then this is great news for you. This is because it offers you a chance to build a wider pool of positive mentions across the web. The more of these mentions you can obtain, the more prominent and popular your business appears.

A secondary advantage is that the reviews themselves are also a ranking factor, giving you double the benefit when it comes to improving your local visibility.

How many citations are good for SEO? 

Citations have numerous SEO benefits, so it’s helpful to build as many as possible. Your industry will play a role in how many citations you’ll need to accrue to get an SEO advantage, with some sectors more likely to have a higher number of citations than others. On average, businesses that rank on the first page of local search results will have around 80 citations to their name. However, this rises to 152 for the hotel industry, 107 for dentists, and 101 for the medical sector. 

How do I get my local citations indexed?

It’s not enough to create directory listings and online mentions featuring your NAP data. You also need those pages to be indexed to unlock any SEO benefit. There are a few ways to encourage indexing, including using a pinging service or creating a page on your site that includes a link to all your citations. You can find more information about how how to index citations here.

What does NAP stand for? 

NAP is shorthand for three powerful pieces of local business information commonly found in directory listings, review sites, and other business profiles: 

• Name
• Address
• Phone number 

Each element of the NAP trio conveys a vital chunk of information to a local consumer, making it easier for them to contact or visit you. If any one of the three foundational elements is missing from a business mention, it’s known to be a partial NAP. 

Your Local Citations and NAP Data

As NAP data is commonly shared as part of any online mention of your business, you might find many of these citations you haven’t purposefully created yourself. 

Have you received coverage in a local newspaper article or presented at an industry expo? Have you hosted a local event or sponsored a local community sports team? These are examples of where a NAP citation may have been created without you realizing it.

Having others do some of the heavy lifting by creating NAP listings on your behalf can be both a blessing and a curse. The more of these citations you have, the bigger the SEO benefit you can expect to receive, and the more visible your business becomes to local consumers. 

However, that’s only the case if your business name, address, and phone number are accurate in each of the listings.

It’s quick and easy to create inaccuracies but time-consuming to fix them. For example, a local reporter might get your zip code wrong in their write-up about your latest award. Likewise, that industry seminar you’re speaking at may inadvertently share an outdated phone number or old address. 

Each time one piece of information differs, confusion and uncertainty are created. This can erode trust, leave consumers unable to contact you, and cause Google to place less trust in your business.

How do you make a NAP citation? 

Any time your business name, address, and phone number are mentioned online, a NAP citation is created. This means there are a few different options for building your pool of listings:

• Claiming your business profile on review platforms 
• Adding your business to directory sites
• Creating social media profiles with all profile information filled out
• Creating events listings 
• Local media mentions
• Putting out press releases 
• Through local business organizations, such as Chambers of Commerce
• Exhibition listings 
• Industry award nominations 
• By authoring guest blog posts

Another way to build local citations is via your business website. The content on your site should naturally include your organization’s name, address, and phone number on various pages.

For example, it could appear on your contact page, in the footer on each page of your site, or be covered in a press release you publish on your news page. Whether you present that data together or split it across the page, it still has value for your local SEO efforts. 

What is NAP consistency?

NAP consistency refers to your business name, address, and phone number being the same across all of your online citations.

Whether on your Facebook page, a business directory or a review platform, there should be complete uniformity in how your data is shared.

Something as simple as a missing digit from your zip code or phone number can spiral into a bigger problem. This is because these errors create variations of your information, and this erodes consistency.

Why is NAP consistency important for SEO?

NAP data may appear so simple as not to warrant much importance, but when it comes to SEO, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Local SEO Ranking Factors Survey confirms citations as a top-five ranking factor for both the Local Pack and organic search results. Consistency and accuracy must be on point for the data to benefit search engines and human readers.

Outdated or Incorrect Citations Can Impact Search Visibility 

To verify that its impression of a local business is correct, Google requires a sufficient pool of data. 

Many citations with identical NAP information can signal to Google that what it knows about a business is correct. This also indicates that it’s safe to provide that information to search users. 

However, warning bells sound if there are differences in NAP data from one citation to the next. To Google, inaccuracies suggest that some of the data is wrong, meaning it can’t trust that search users are being served reliable information. As a result, rankings can suffer.

Inconsistent NAP Harms Voice Search Visibility 

Google needs to be confident that your business information is accurate when populating traditional search results, and it also requires that same trust for other forms of search results, including voice search.

Voice search can represent a significant source of traffic to your local business, so the importance of this should not be underestimated. 

Comscore data confirms that smart speaker ownership is at an all-time high, with almost one in two households having at least one smart speaker device.

SEMRush has revealed that two in five adults use voice search at least once per day and that the results are typically from the first page of the organic SERPs. The data shows that 80% of voice search results are sourced from positions one to three, while 97% of results are drawn from the top ten results.

We know that NAP data is a notable organic search ranking factor and having consistent information means you’re also much more likely to be ranked well in voice search.

Local citations can be the starting point for the consumer journey – but only if they’re accurate

Any discovery of your business name, address and contact information can be the starting point for the consumer journey. 

For many consumers, especially those using mobile devices, that journey will begin with a search engine. 

However, that doesn’t always mean that a consumer will click on your website. for example, we know that 31% of search users will select an organic search result because it offers them a list of businesses, which will likely be a review site or directory listing. However, they could also click through to an informative article, a social media post, or a Google Business Profile.

Whatever the point of call, you need your information to be accurate if you’re to have any hope that they’ll continue on that path to purchase. If your phone number is incorrect and they can’t get in touch to see if you stock a particular brand, for example, they’ll abandon that path and turn to one of your competitors.

Inaccurate Citations Spell Disaster for Consumer Trust

First impressions matter. If the first impression a consumer has of your brand is that the street address they found leads them to the wrong location, you can guarantee you’ll get off on the wrong foot. 

In addition to the inconvenience that incorrect data causes, research shows that consumers hold the business responsible for that error. 93% of consumers are frustrated by incorrect information on online directories, and 80% say they will lose trust due to inconsistent contact details. 

Consistent NAP Leads to More Referral Traffic 

Consistent business information is the backbone of higher local search and voice search rankings and funnels consumers along the path to purchase. Therefore, it’s a significant factor in the volume of referral traffic your business receives.

The higher the level of consistency you can achieve across your local citation profile, the greater the level of trust search engines and consumers can build. This makes your website more discoverable, sets the right tone for the consumer relationship, and encourages searchers to call, click, or visit.

How do you measure NAP consistency?

You can manually gauge your NAP consistency or use an automated tool. If you opt to check manually, you’ll need to hunt down all your citations and study each in turn. Pay particular attention to review sites, directory listings, your social media profiles, and your Google Business Profile. 

How consistent should your NAP citations be?

Today’s search engine algorithms are very smart, so you don’t need to worry about minor details, such as using slightly different abbreviations in your listings. For example, Google will understand that ‘No.’ and ‘#’ are the same thing. Ditto for ‘Street’ and ‘St’. 

Rather than focusing on these formatting matters, concentrate instead on the essential details such as always using your correct business address and phone number. 

To automate the process, use a tool like Citation Tracker, and use other tools to manage your listings.

What is a duplicate business listing?

A duplicate business listing occurs when a business has more than one listing on an industry directory site, general directory site, or similar platforms, such as Google Business Profile. 

Even if the details are different for each listing, if the listing itself relates to the same business, then this counts as a duplicate listing.

Let’s say, for example, that you run a restaurant and also have a takeout service. If you created a business listing on Tripadvisor or Yelp for your restaurant and then created a second listing for your takeout service, you’d essentially be creating duplicate business listings.

In cases like this, it may be a genuine mistake caused by simply wanting to get as much online visibility as possible, however, it’s an action that can have serious consequences for your overall local search visibility.

Why are duplicate business listings a problem?

You may have created a duplicate listing innocently enough, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that duplicate business listings are no big deal; after all, you’re simply making it easier for a potential customer to find you, right?

Unfortunately, while it may seem inconsequential on the surface, duplicate business listings can seriously derail your local SEO efforts. Google Business Profile doesn’t allow duplicate listings, which is a big indication that you’ll need to be especially vigilant about maintaining just one profile on industry directories.

Duplicate Listings Negatively Affect Your Local SEO

One of the biggest issues associated with having a duplicate business listing is that it can harm your local search visibility. Having repeated information — whether that’s in the form of multiple social media profiles or multiple directory listings — creates NAP inconsistencies, which, as well as being problematic for Google, can cause issues for your customers.

Duplicate Listings Cause Consumer Confusion and Negatively Impact Trust

Google finds duplicate listings suspicious and so do consumers. Duplicate listings not only confuse consumers and erode trust, but they can also lead to a loss of revenue and store visits.

The findings from our Local Citations Trust Report confirm this impact, with 93% of consumers admitting to being frustrated by incorrect information in an online directory. What’s more, eight in ten consumers state that if they encounter incorrect or inconsistent business names or contact information, they will lose trust in that business. 

With nine in ten consumers known to search for the address of a business online before their first visit, no organization can afford to generate confusion via duplicate listings. If a potential customer is confused by a duplicate business listing, you may inadvertently encourage those visitors to spend their money with one of your competitors—one they can easily find online with no conflicting information.

Commenting on the study, BrightLocal’s Content and Research Manager Rosie Murphy says,

It’s clear from this data that having incorrect information about your business visible in your local citations could be having a serious impact on your potential audience’s likelihood to visit or call you. Nearly everyone finds incorrect information in online directories frustrating. [And] the blame for incorrect local citations tends to lie with the business. These errors can be reason enough to deter potential customers, and sometimes even send them into the arms of competitors. Businesses need to take action now if they are to maximize their chances of getting customers through the door and ready to buy. It’s not enough to make sure contact details are correct on the business website, as anyone researching their choice of local business using an online directory could still fall foul of incorrect info.

Duplicate Listings Could Lead to Your Account Being Suspended

Incorrect or inconsistent information is incredibly frustrating for consumers. If that frustration turns to action in the form of complaints, it could lead to the business directory suspending your account or even removing all listings related to your business.

If this happens — and you’re prevented from having a business listing on a key business listing site such as Yelp for restaurants or Tripadvisor for hotels — you could be giving a serious amount of ground away to your competitors.

Being suspended could cost time and money to rectify. The loss of a live link and profile on a major directory site could also result in a loss of rankings, which leads to fewer site visitors and potential damage to your revenue.

How can duplicate business listings occur?

Even if you haven’t intentionally set out to create a duplicate business listing, you may well find that several have sprung up over time anyway. There are lots of reasons why this may be the case: 

Accidental Addition

You, a co-worker, or an agency working on your behalf may inadvertently create a citation on a site where you already have a listing. This can happen very easily if you have been building citations for a while and have lost track of sites where a business listing already exists, or if you bring someone new on board who doesn’t have a complete list of current business listings.

To avoid the curse of accidental addition, make sure you keep track of all existing listings in a location that every team member has access to.

Aggregation

Some listing sites aggregate data from multiple sources. If you have inconsistent NAP, it may be that these sites find several different listings, each with slightly different data, all of which are then imported separately, compounding your duplicate business listing problem.

Loss of Login Details

Business information naturally changes over time. Your business phone number may change, for example, or you could move to a new address. If you no longer have access to an original listing, perhaps because it was set up by an old agency or owned by a former employee, you may just go ahead and create a new one instead.

Securely storing your login information for all directories your business is present on is advisable to avoid this common faux pas.

Attempting to Boost SEO

SEO is in a constant state of evolution, so it’s possible that an agency you worked with in the past created multiple business listings on the same directories because they believed it was a way to gain better search engine rankings.

This definitely isn’t the case today. So if you think an agency you worked with may have created duplicate listings on your behalf, be sure to monitor where your business is present online and remove any copies.

How to Find Duplicate Business Listings

Now you know the consequences of duplicate business listings, let’s explore how to find them. 

Whether you’ve been building a business listing profile for a few months or several years, regularly checking for duplicate listings is essential to keep your local SEO and consumer trust in good standing. 

Manual Search Engine Check

A manual check is just as it sounds – you’ll methodically and manually work your way through the web to find and flag up duplicate listings. Of course, this is a pretty daunting task and an unenviable job to have on your to-do list.

It’s very difficult to manually find all of your business listings and harder still to keep track of each one. If you’re set on doing things the old-fashioned way, make sure you set up a tracker (a Google or Excel Spreadsheet will do) to monitor your progress.

Manual Listings Site Check

Similarly to a manual search, you can use a Google search operator such as “site:listingssite.com yourbusinessname” to track down all mentions of your business on each individual listing site. Again, you’ll need to comb through the results and check each site in turn to perform an effective check.

Business Listings Site Check

Another option is to manually search every business listing site you know you have a listing on, and search for multiple variations of your business name on each.

The main problem with these manual methods is that many listings sites get their information from third parties, so there could well be plenty of duplicate listings on sites you’re not aware of.

Invest in a Tool

Using a specialist local SEO tool is a less time-consuming and more thorough solution. It can be used to perform a full web scan of hundreds of listings sites so you can easily find each duplicate business listing and take appropriate remedial action. Tools like Citation Tracker can help you spot your duplicate listings.

How to Remove Duplicate Business Listings

Once you have identified a duplicate business listing, you need to remove that duplicate so that a single, correct, and complete listing remains. The exact process you’ll need to undertake will depend on the directory or platform hosting the duplicate.

For example, GBP has a specific process to follow, but this process will differ from the steps required by a directory such as Yell. 

Wherever you do encounter a duplicate listing, you’ll need to log in, claim it, and then edit it. If you have pinpointed dozens of duplicates, it’s a long and arduous process that requires a lot of manual effort, but the results are worthwhile.

Some services allow you to suppress duplicate listings, while others will merge or remove the listing. Again, the exact process will depend on the site or service itself.

Protecting Your Online Reputation

Duplicate business listings can eat away at your Local Pack rankings and consumer trust. Incomplete and conflicting information is frustrating to both search engines and consumers and can seriously undermine SEO efforts being made elsewhere.

While there are several reasons for duplicate listings cropping up, it’s important that you develop a process for monitoring duplicate listings and take appropriate action.

Happily, it’s not quite as resource draining as link building. In fact, building and managing local citations is easy to get to grips with, if not execute. While it’s not complex the actual time taken to build citations can be a barrier, which is where listing management tools can help.

A citation is a mention of your business information shared online. Creating a more robust profile is simply another way of producing more of those mentions. 

The best kinds of mentions include your business name, address, and phone number (NAP), along with any supplementary information that may be relevant. This could be your opening hours, web address, or email, depending on where the mention is going to exist online. 

You could have built local citations without even realizing it, such as through:

• Social media profiles 
• Directory listings
• Event listings
• Review profiles 
• Articles 
• Aggregators or booking websites 

Of course, you can also purposefully set out to grow your current profile by searching for local directories, niche industry sites, social media platforms, and so on, to share your business details.

How many should you aim to build?  

As with links, there’s no magic number that you should target. It’s more often helpful to focus instead on consistently building as many good quality, accurate citations as possible.

The bigger your pool of good quality, accurate and consistent mentions, the better it is for your search visibility and consumer discovery.

Another helpful tip is to benchmark your count against your competitors. We know citations are a top-five local search ranking factor, so you should aim for as many local citations — if not more — as your biggest competitor. We’ve studied several industries and calculated average citation counts to get you started. 

How do you build local citations to boost local SEO? 

There are three core ways to build local citations to boost your local SEO results: 

1. By making manual submissions to directory and niche industry sites
2. Via a data aggregator
3. Using an API

Many local businesses will begin with manual submissions as it’s easy to do, requires no special tools to get started, and can be more accurate than automating the process, providing the person creating the listings has an eye for detail.

What to Do Before Making Manual Submissions 

Before you can start to create listings, you’ll first need to perform an audit to identify and record existing citations for your business. Doing this beforehand means you won’t waste time accidentally creating duplicate listings. It also allows you to identify outdated or incorrect citations and perform vital remedial work before new listings are added to the mix.

Any incorrect information, including inconsistencies in your business name, address, and phone number (NAP), should be updated as a priority. This is an essential task because incorrect information is a known source of irritation for local consumers.

A factually incorrect citation could see you miss out on more than half of available sales opportunities. 68% of consumers say they would stop using a local business if they came across an incorrect directory listing. Additionally, almost a quarter report of consumers that an incorrect address found online led them to visit the wrong business location within the last 12 months. 

No small business can afford to have inaccurate information online, confusing consumers and causing them to distrust your business. Inconsistent NAP data can also lead Google to question what it knows about your business and lower your search visibility. So don’t be tempted to skip this step when manually building local listings. 

If you’re struggling to find your NAP mentions using Google, try a tool such as Citation Tracker or the Local Listings Health Scanner. 

Build a List of Target Sites  

A key stage in the manual submission process is identifying the directory sites and other platforms where you’d like your business information to appear. 

Research shows that domain authority, industry relevance and local relevance are the top three most important factors when choosing which citation sites to submit to. Whether or not a site displays user reviews and audience size are also vital considerations. 

Performing quality control to weed out inferior or irrelevant sites that won’t enhance your local search visibility or drive traffic to your site can save you time in the long run. Doing so also ensures that the time you invest creating listings is focused entirely on the areas that provide the best return for your efforts. 

Assess Competitor NAP Profiles

You can turn to your competitors to discover good-quality citation targets. The advantage of this method is that you can piggyback off the work your rivals have already done by comparing their citation profile with yours. Begin by looking for sites they’ve identified that you don’t have a presence on. Focus on pinpointing niche and local outlets, as these listings are likely giving your competitors an advantage over you in the local search results.

Assessing a rival’s local business listing profile can be automated if you’re using a tool such as Citation Tracker. If you don’t have access to a tool, you can do this manually with Google research. Record your findings on a spreadsheet to keep track of the information.

Use Google to Identify Good Quality, Niche Sites

You can also Google to identify gaps in your current citation profile and further build out your list of targets for manual citation building. For example, searching your business type and industry niche should bring up several directory sites. If there are any major platforms — such as Yelp or the Better Business Bureau — that you haven’t already ticked off, they’ll need to be added to your list. 

Look for directories that are specific to your local area, along with platforms focused on your industry. This may include trade bodies, industry organizations, local networking associations, and nearby Chambers of Commerce. The best quality sites will be found within the first few pages of the search results. 

There may also be other opportunities to build unstructured citations, such as by connecting with local news outlets, government databases and blogs. 

Measure Domain Authority with the Moz Toolbar 

The Moz toolbar is helpful for anyone learning to build manual citations. Free to download, it shows the page authority, domain authority, and spam score for any page open in your browser. This makes it easier to identify whether your target directories and industry sites meet the quality threshold necessary to create a beneficial citation. 

Use Online Resources

Online resources that compile lists of directory sites relevant to your area or niche can be invaluable when building local citations. This is because much of the research has already been done for you.  

This resource lists the best places for business listings for more than 40 industries. It also shares the domain authority of each and indicates whether the listing is free or not. 

If you’re based in the USA, Canada, UK, or Australia, this compilation of the top 50 sites for each country also logs domain authority and provides a direct link to each site. 

Make Manual Submissions 

With your list of target sites in hand, you can now start the process of making manual submissions. 

Working your way through your list from top to bottom, go to each site and enter your business name in the search bar to verify if there’s already an entry.

If a listing is already present, review each piece of information, including your business NAP, opening hours, URL, and email information to verify accuracy. If they’re correct, go ahead and claim the listing.

If the information isn’t accurate, you’ll need to claim the listing to correct any issues. The process of claiming the listing will vary from platform to platform but will generally require you to prove your connection to the business. This could be by entering a code sent via postcard to your brick-and-mortar location, or via a telephone call or email. In the case of email, your email address will need to match the business’ domain name for a verification link to be provided.

If there’s no current listing, you can go ahead and start to build your manual citations. You’ll often see an ”add business” option on the directory site, which will present you with a form to complete. Ensure that you enter your NAP in the same format each time.

Remember that you may need to go back and update your business information in the future. Maintain a spreadsheet of manual submissions with a link to each directory site and the usernames and passwords for each. You’ll need these to log in and update your citations when any information changes.

Alternatively, you can go ahead and lean on a listings management tool for any updates you may need to make. 

There’s no right or wrong way, however, for those with large or complex local SEO strategies and multiple physical locations, there’s no doubt that local data aggregators offer an efficient solution.

Because citations include essential business details, such as name, address, and phone number (NAP), they’re incredibly useful for both search engine users and search engine crawlers.

In our most recent Expert Local Citation Survey, 90% of experts agreed that citations are important to local search rankings. Our panel was unanimous in requiring the business phone number, city, zip code, and URL to be identical across citation sources for local search success. The 22 local search experts sitting on our survey panel also believe that a mix of different citations from a range of industry and niche sites is preferential.

For those charged with creating those citations, there are a couple of clear issues:

• Building citations – we estimate that manually building citations takes around 20 minutes per listing. It’s easy to see how much time is required to build citations at volume for multiple physical locations.
• Accuracy – changing how the city and state are formatted from one submission to another, or how the phone number is written, means citations aren’t an exact match. If you’re manually building dozens of citations (without the necessary training to handle all the different citation types), accuracy can falter.

So, what’s the solution? Data aggregators, or local data aggregators as they are sometimes known, offer accuracy and a wide reach. The relatively simple submission procedure can reduce the time needed to submit the volume of citations necessary for local SEO improvement. This efficiency can lead to the all-important broad coverage and value paying off sooner.

What is a local data aggregator?

A local data aggregator (LDA) is an organization that gathers information about other businesses and then passes that data on to other sources.

Think of the function of LDAs as similar to that of old-school Yellow Pages. LDAs bring information — such as NAP data — together, but on a much larger scale. Unlike Yellow Pages, the data gathered by a data aggregator is funneled to lots of other services for use in a range of ways, such as in mobile apps, on maps, to populate business directories, and to be used on citation sites.

Any business can sign up to use a data aggregator. Simply create an account, input your business information, and then that LDA takes steps to verify your information. Once verified, you’re added to its database along with thousands of other companies. Your business information is subsequently fed to many of the websites and services that use business data from that aggregator.

Aggregators diffuse information using systems such as RSS technology, so they can push information from thousands of businesses to thousands of sources. It’s this process that makes data aggregators such a useful tool for citation building. Just create an account with an LDA, submit your information, and wait as it gets blasted out to multiple sites.

Compare the ease of that process with the prospect of having to submit your information to every citation site one-by-one, and painstakingly typing out your business details each time!

Who are the main local data aggregators to be aware of?

We’ve seen that data aggregators make citation building easier by sending your business information to multiple sites automatically. There’s further good news too; there are less than a handful of data aggregator services in the USA. This means it’s not too much of a task to submit your business information to all of them.

Foursquare

Foursquare has emerged as a key player in the data aggregator market, having merged with Factual in 2020, which was one of the longest-standing data aggregators.

Most people recognize Foursquare for being “that app that you used to check in at your local coffee store to let your friends know how much of a caffeine nut you are.”

But Foursquare has since pivoted to focus on providing accurate location data to a wide range of different apps and publishers. Today, it powers location data for the likes of Uber, Snapchat, Apple Maps, and Bixby (Samsung’s Voice Assistant).

Foursquare now has one of the largest location data sets in the world, spanning more than 500 million devices, a panel of 25 million opted-in, always-on users, and more than 14 billion user-confirmed check-ins.

Data Axle

Data Axle says it is “the leading provider of business data to the top search engines, navigation systems, mobile apps, marketing information programs, and location-based apps. Our data powers the top search engines, because we provide the most accurate, continually-verified collection of real-time business data available, delivered through powerful technology.”

Data Axle accepts business data submissions via its Data Axle Local Listings and BulkUpdate engines.

The process is simple: simply search Data Axle Local Listings for your business listing and verify the information is correct. Any anomalies can be corrected and updates can be made in the future as circumstances change. As a bonus, the first ten locations are completely free!

Data Axle conducts a phone verification and then makes that data available to its partners, which it says include the leading in-car navigation systems, 85% of the largest public libraries, and the leading search engines, which account for 98% of all internet searches in the US.

The BulkUpdate works in a similar manner but is for those with ten or more listings to submit, such as brands with multiple physical locations.

Neustar Localeze

Neustar Localeze is a data aggregator for small businesses. Its local search solutions for small businesses are built around True Identity, its proprietary platform which offers listing management with full control over business data.

It says, “Our True Identity service enables businesses to update their local listing information with over 100 local search platforms, mobile applications, navigation systems, and directories at one time – from one place.

“Localeze publishes your listing information to the largest authorized local search platform network in the industry.”

Businesses must take out a subscription to use True Identity – this is currently $79 per year, for 1-24 locations with unlimited updates. Data is subject to ongoing verification and validation to ensure complete accuracy and a completeness score is assigned to data, demonstrating how much additional information is required to assure trust in business information.

Adding a specialist tool to your marketing toolkit can free up that time and automate much of the process, removing the potential for human error and inconsistencies. However, not all tools are created equal.

When choosing which local citation management tool to use, you’ll need to consider a few crucial elements. Doing so will enable you to select a solution with the features and functionality you need to take the guesswork out of local listings management.

Listing Variety 

Does your shortlisted tool allow for a variety of listings to be created? This is an important consideration because a good citation profile includes mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on both general and industry-specific sites. 

When deciding which tool to use, it’s well worth finding out how much control you have over site selection. Find out if you can choose industry-specific directory sites and if you can select which directories your business information is submitted to. 

Some tools won’t allow user input and will make the site selections on your behalf. You may also need to factor in some manual citation building to build a presence on niche platforms if that’s the case. 

Duplication Management 

Detecting and suppressing duplicate local listings on directory sites is difficult to manage manually, so automating the process of sniffing them out and removing the surplus listings can be advantageous.

Not all management tools will have this feature. However, for those that do, take the time to understand how easy this process is and what level of accuracy you can expect. 

Citation Tracking 

Given the foundational role that local citations play in building visibility for your local business, you must have a system for tracking your overall listing profile. Tracking your listings means regularly reviewing each one to ensure that it remains active and the NAP is correct. 

When considering a tool, it’s helpful to know what tracking features are available to you, how accurate each tool is, and whether they can be connected to any tracking tools you’re already using. 

Cost 

The cost of local listing tools can vary considerably, but the fee you pay will likely be a deal-breaker when making a final decision. Comparing and contrasting features offered by different tools at different price points can help you get an idea of what a fair price looks like.

To avoid unexpected costs further down the line, always check what the base subscription fee includes and if there’s any additional charges. 

Behind the scenes, the API standardizes the transfer of information and acts as the messenger between point A and point B. As they are so efficient, APIs are used to complete a wide range of tasks — from data sharing to integrations — often without the end user being aware of their existence.

Numerous APIs are available to submit citations, with each providing business information to its own network of sites. Some sites may accept data from one specific API only, while others may get data fed into them from several different sources. 

Why use an API to build citations? 

The main advantage of this method of citation building is speed. The automatic nature of the process allows for listings to be built quicker than is possible with a manual approach alone.

An API versus human-led input can also improve accuracy and NAP consistency. The fact that a large number of listings can be built in a short time frame also provides a visibility boost. 

Is there more than one type of API? 

When it comes to local citation building, there are two types of APIs available to you. 

The first type submits your business information directly into the database of the listing site. It will continually push that data through so the recipient site knows the information is correct. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your listing will be permanent, however. If you stop using the API, your listing may be removed. 

The second type works as a data layer, with the business paying the API to have its data placed on an existing web page. If you use this solution, your listing will remain active as long as you’re paying for it.

Is this option right for you? 

Not every method of building citations will be suitable for all business types. An API is often better suited to large and multi-location businesses that can’t realistically keep their business information up to date manually.

Other methods may be more suitable for smaller organizations that don’t expect to make changes continually.