If you’re a business owner and would like to market your brand online, you need to consider local citations. Citations are business mentions that external websites like local listing services make. They have your business’s name, address, and contact number (NAP).
Citations can help you establish your brand’s reputation and make it easier for your target audience to find you. Google My Business is a standard citation that most businesses use to give their nap information. However, to be more visible, you should also establish your presence on social media accounts and other platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and FourSquare. Agencies like Outrank can also help you to register on other platforms.
This article gives you some ways of improving your citations.
Confirm Your NAP Confirm Consistency
NAP is an abbreviation for the name, address, and phone number. It can be a great platform to start enhancing your citations and search rankings. That’s because SERPS uses the information you give to determine location-targeted searches. That means that if your NAP is inaccurate, search engines will misinterpret your business’s location and may have a difficult time verifying your business’s authenticity.
To prevent this from happening, ensure that your business’s phone address and the name is consistent in all listings. You need to look out for forms of inconsistencies that come with name variations.
Find Local Links
Though it’s difficult to have link controls, you can work at getting more links to enhance your citation. One way of doing this is to encourage positive reviews and recommendations on sites like Yelp because they’ll improve your visibility and credibility.
Some activities you can do to get local links include joining local networking groups, sponsoring local events, setting an interview with the local media, hosting local events, and joining your local commerce chamber.
Get Cited
You can use many ways to get cited. However, the three primary citation sources that you can begin with include:
Yelp
Yelp is a famous online review site that brand owners use to build an online community and interact with customers. It can also help you showcase your offers and deals.
Better Business Bureau
This bureau has existed for more than 100 years and advocates ethical business practices, and highlights customer services. Some customers and business owners regard it as an excellence symbol.
Angie’s List
This list has existed since 1996, and you can use it to get referrals from satisfied customers and improve your business rankings on search engines.
Use Online Tools
The invention of online citation tools has made it easier to enhance local citations. Some tools will give you advice on what to do to boost your rankings and get backlinks. Others will also give you a platform for submitting your data to renowned data aggregators.
Online tools can also confirm your business listings to ensure that they’re consistent, factual, and visible. They also add targeting and mobile personalization solutions that can help you with mapping and data cleaning services.
Summing Up
Citations are essential for online business growth. However, you need to ensure that your information and addresses are correct. In case you move to another location, remember to change the information.
