What is a Local Citation and Why You Need to Have It

It’s a pretty good thing if people start mentioning your business and they acknowledge how amazing your company is. Gain all the credibility and authority for your site by getting more local citations. So, what is a local citation?

Why are local citations essential? How do they work? What leverage can local citations offer to businesses? Knowing the reality that the internet is crowded with new businesses popping every minute, you’d have to explore how you can get your edge by utilizing local citations.

How do you define local citations and what are the various types of citations, if there are any? This article will not only give you an idea about local citations but also, it will open new doors for your business once you know the vital elements that compose local citations.

WHAT IS A LOCAL CITATION?

For any business, it is already an honor and a privilege to be mentioned online. It feels rewarding to have your company name, address, or phone number to get acknowledged. You may find these local citations in business directories, other websites or apps, and even on social media platforms. Local citations aid users of the internet in discovering local businesses that may also boost search engine rankings.

 Local citations can either be in the form of:

1. STRUCTURED CITATIONS
2. UNSTRUCTURED CITATIONS
3. OTHER VARIETIES OF WEB PUBLICATIONS

The crucial elements that make up a local citation are as follows:

1. Categories of your business
2. Operation hours
3. Directions or Coordinates leading to your business
4. Description of your business
5. Images and videos
6. Accepted payment forms
7. Reviews and Owner responses
8. Taglines and Links to social media platforms
9. Email addresses and fax numbers
10. Alternate phone numbers and other attributes

After establishing the important elements of local citations, we then tackle the importance of citations to our businesses:

1. Local SEO citations are vital parts of your business because if you have several of this, it can get your details to the right consumers that have been searching for your type of business.
2. Aside from having any local mentions, you must make sure that they are accurate since these local citations aid in boosting your organic traffic and rankings.
3. With local citations, you are a step closer to the first page of organic SERPs.
4. The higher the number of your local citations, the more links you get back to your website where you’ll gain more authority and credibility.
5. You get to gain more possibilities and opportunities from third-party reviews.
6. Local citations are vital for your business because the reality is that Google lists those businesses where users visit more often.
7. With the help of local citations, you can leverage in what we call “word of mouth”. Where the more people visit you, the more they will talk about you.
8. Last but not the least, if you gain local citations, you get the opportunity to check if somebody else is impersonating you that may give a negative impact on your business.

Now that we have an idea about what is a local citation, we understand its importance to our business and how we can succeed with its help. As part of the SEO process, we can optimize our site so that it can perform better and bring us better rankings in the near future.