Local Business Listings: How Citations Can Boost Your Business
As a small business owner, you may be wondering how to get your company more exposure. One way to do this is by ensuring that your business is listed in as many online directories as possible. This process is known as creating citations and can be a powerful tool for boosting visibility and reach.
As of 2020, 93% of consumers found a local business using an online search. Potential customers who search for businesses like yours will be more likely to find you if you have a strong citation profile. In addition, citations can help to improve your search engine ranking, making it more likely that people will see your listing when they perform a relevant search.
Creating citations can be time-consuming, but it is well worth the effort for the benefits it can bring your business.
What are local citations?
Local citations are online mentions of a local business's name, address, and phone number (called NAP). A citation can appear on a local business directory, a website, an app, or even on a social media platform. In addition to helping people discover local businesses, citations can also impact local search engine rankings. You can improve your local search rankings by having high-quality citations.
What is citation building?
Citation building involves submitting consistent, accurate, and relevant information about your business to online business directories so your customers can easily find you and search engines can track your site.
Think about where your customers will go to find your business. Check where competitors are listing their details. These are the sites where you want your business also to appear.
What to include in a quality online citation?
Before you start listing your business, gather all the relevant data in one document to make sure these are listed uniformly across sites. These are the information you’d need:
- Business Name – use your formal name and avoid nicknames
- Business Address – use your primary address if there are multiple locations
- Phone Number – make sure it’s correct since customers click on these numbers to call you
- Opening Hours – make sure it’s current and accurate
- Products & Services – showcase what your company offers
- Images – people trust listings with realistic images
- Social Media Links – let customers know where they can find you
Benefits of Citation Building
Citation building can help establish credibility, improve SEO, and increase web traffic for your business. They tell search engines that your business is safe and can be trusted. As a result, your details appear in search results and in front of customers.
For these benefits to happen, your citations must be consistent and updated across all sites. One misleading or outdated information can affect your search engine rankings.
Ready to take your local business to the next level?
With so many business directories you should be listed in, keeping track of your local business listing and ensuring they’re accurate can be challenging. A citation-building service will help ensure your details are consistent across different sites resulting in higher rankings and more customers.
Boost your business and take it to the next level. iMapping can build your way to a bigger business.
Get a citation builder to take care of your online listings and watch as search traffic leads customers to your site and your doorstep.