Why Citation Building is Important for Local Business

Local citations can be found on websites, applications, social media, and local business directories. As a result, they ultimately help online users discover a local business. Whether automatically generated or created, accurate local citations are imperative for business success and online presence. Read on to discover the fundamental components of local citations and why it is important for local businesses.

Components for a Local Citation

A local citation includes the business name, address, and phone number (also known as the NAP information). Citations can also feature a link to a specific page of a local business’s website. Depending on the citation, additional components may include:

• Business description
• Business categories
• Gallery
• Contact information: email, fax, alternate phone numbers
• Taglines
• Hours of Operations, etc.

Local Citations Matter

Citation building has a direct influence on search engine rankings. Accuracy, quality of platforms, and the number of citations directly impact the ranking of a local business. Important search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo gather information about businesses. If search engines discover that a citation is accurate, the data is validated and improves the opportunity for a local business to rank well. Inaccurate business information will negatively impact ranking opportunities.

Secondly, local citations have an impact on online users or customers. Accurate citations allow for online users to discover and trust local businesses and can produce web or phone traffic and potential purchases or transactions. In contrast, inaccurate citations can mislead online users or cause confusion, which can hurt a local business’s reputation and sales.

Active Management

An active approach when managing citations reaps many positive benefits in rankings, reputation, and sales. First and foremost, accurate citations on quality or major platforms make your business discoverable. Inaccurate listings or duplicate listings need to be updated or removed. This helps to rid of any confusion about your business. If your business chooses to rebrand, relocate, or change any NAP information, it is also critical to have a concrete strategy to update business so citations.

How does your local business rank in reviews? If a business has numerous bad reviews, they will be overlooked by online users and potential customers. Online users trust other online reviews for their perception of the company and their overall satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to also have a strategy for managing and finding reviews. Need more positive reviews or reviews in general? Ask satisfied customers to leave a positive review for your local business. Happy reviews help build and reinforce a strong online reputation.

How Can Bigfin Help?

At Bigfin.com, we ensure your company citations are complete and correct across the web. Our citation management service becomes a vital component of your organic search strategy. They help tell users who you are, where you are located, and how to reach you. Many factors play into having successful local organic listings, and it can be quite difficult as well as time consuming monitoring all of them. Bigfin.com can save you valuable time and offer you the best local search optimization available. Contact us online or by phone at (425) 822-8200.