Local citations are important for building a reputable brand and it also makes it easier for customers to find you. If you’re reading this article, you probably already have one! You have a Google My Business listing that has complete information, from NAP down to answered questions and an eye-catching business description.
Congratulations! That’s one local citation done…
… And several more to go!
All right, so that may have scared you just a little bit but this is a reality: you might be on Google but just how visible are you? It’s not enough to have a GMB listing, social media accounts and even your own website. You’ll need to register to more local citations for you to dominate local search results. Platforms like TripAdvisor, FourSquare and Yelp, for example, can and will greatly boost your business.
It is a matter of preference of which online directories and how many listings you want to be part of – the most important detail to remember is to have your business information consistently accurate across all local citations. But if you’re still not sure why you need to be on more local citations, well, read on.
1. Local citations have an impact on search rankings.
As mentioned earlier, one great thing about local citations is that it can have an impact on search rankings. Be warned though: this can be positive or negative, depending on the accuracy of the information provided.
Imagine you’re an established nail salon that’s had to move from one district to another. This means that you have a new address and telephone number. If a customer has not been informed that you’ve moved out of their area and you haven’t updated your listings, trust and authenticity fall – including your rankings. Misdirecting both your customer and Google itself leads to poor results.
On the other hand, if you update your business information across all the listings you’re in, Google will trust that the data its ‘spiders’ see and deem it as valid and will push that to the customer when they search for businesses like yours.
You can read more on that in our blog about maintaining rankings when moving locations.
2. Customers can discover your business faster.
Related to the point above: when you have several listings hitting up the first page of search results, customers can see your business faster. Thanks to more local citations, you can expect a rise in transactions, more foot traffic to your physical establishment and putting your information in front of the customer without them having to dig up for more. They can see third-party reviews (more on this in a bit), additional information and other details that can help them decide if they want to purchase from you.
3. Get more third-party reviews
Did you know that prominence is a factor in Google Maps results, especially in a Google Local pack? If you have consistent positive ratings and reviews across other local citations, this boosts your ranking position. That’s why it’s good to encourage customers to add their reviews on these listings because all of this actually ties up reasons #1 and #2 nicely.
4. Suppress Duplicate Listings
Search engines will index what is consistent and authoritative. When you take control of local citations on different online directories and update all business information to stay consistent, this boosts relevant listings up towards the first pages of search results and pushes duplicate listings with inaccurate data down.
How to Manage Several Local Citations
We get it. If you’re everywhere, it’s hard to maintain every single piece of online real estate on a regular basis. That’s why if you sign up to the DigitalMaas Platform, you can update your listings in one central hub without logging in and out of each account.
Aside from location audits, optimising and managing your Google My Business listing, you can also do the same for other local citations. We’ve partnered with Yext – we’re one of two premium partners in Australia, something we’re very proud about – and this means that you can update your business information across other listings without signing in or out of another online directory. This makes it easier for you to keep your information accurate and saves you time to do other things to make your business even better.
With over 40 online directories available to Australia and New Zealand, you’re not only guaranteed a spot on search results but you’ll also stay on top of the minds of your customers.
Keep your local citations optimised on the DigitalMaas Platform and set the stage for online success.
