CITATIONS AND BUSINESS LISTINGS

Citations are defined as “mentions” of your business name and address on other webpages, even if there is no link to your website. An example of a citation might be an online yellow pages directory where your business is listed, but not linked to. It can also be a local chamber of commerce, or a local business association where your business information can be found, even if they are not linking at all to your website . Business Listings is also another term for citation.

Citations are a key component of the ranking algorithms of Google, Yahoo & Bing. In most cases if you business has a large number of citations you will probably rank higher than your competition with fewer citations.

Citations from well-established and well-indexed portals (like YP.com for example) help increase the validity that the search engines have about your business’s contact information and categorization.

Citations insures that your business is part of a your community. It’s hard for someone to pretend they are a member of the chamber of commerce or other business affiliations, or have articles in a local online newspaper or local blog. Citations along with links from these kinds of local websites and directories can dramatically improve your Local search engine rankings.

"Consumers depend on accurate listings when searching for a local businesses online. Incorrect business listings lead to lost sales opportunities, frustrated consumers, and weakened search rankings. In fact, 73% of consumers stated that they lose trust in a brand when an online listing shows incorrect information. Therefore, accurate listings are considered to be an essential component of the local marketing stack."