August 18th, 2017
Citations are essentially all the places on the Internet that mention your business by name. That does not include a link to your website, just the name. Good examples of citation places would be business directories, news websites, blogs, social media and review sites. So, why are citations so important? Citations get picked up by the search engines and ensure your business's proper placement in the search results. The search engines rely on citation data to display your business in relation to location and product searches. So, the more citations your business has, the higher your website will rank on the search page.
That does not mean that you need to put your business name any place on the Internet you can find. It is important to choose the sites for your citations carefully. The better known is the website or the directory, the more weight they will have with the search engines, the higher your site will be placed on the search page. Another important thing is to make sure that all information about your business that can be found on the Internet is uniform. If, for instance, you have several online directory listings with different business addresses, the search engines will get confused, which will affect your search placement.
Claiming and optimizing your citation listings can be a huge job. While many companies try to do it manually on their own, most realize that it is too time-consuming. Without citations, though, your website is unlikely to generate any significant traffic. So, do your research about citation building best practices and talk to an expert. Citation building services are quite affordable and will pay off quickly.
Download our PDF of links to some of the Best Citations websites and how to create your listing.