SEO Citations
Citation is an online reference to your business’s name, address
and phone number (NAP). Like links to your website, Google uses them
when evaluating the online authority of your business. Unlike links
though, citations don’t need to be linked to your business’s website in
order for you to be credited for them. So, having your NAP listed in
plain text is fine.
A partial citation is one which includes only part of your NAP –
maybe your name and phone number or name and address. This is better
than nothing, but not as beneficial as a full citation. A full citation
is one which includes your business’s complete NAP. It doesn’t matter
how that information is visibly listed (horizontally or vertically), so
long as it’s all there. This is an example of a full citation:
Muddlex, 34 Links Drive, United States, West Midlands, B91 2DL (0330001152)
Why Citations?
Along with links and reviews, citations are a primary factor that
Google uses when deciding on which order to rank businesses in their
local search results. To them, it’s logical that a business that’s
mentioned a lot online deserves a higher ranking than one that’s hardly
mentioned at all, especially if those mentions are on websites that are
relevant in terms of location and/or topic.
Google uses citations to verify the accuracy of the contact details
in their local business listings too, as listing addresses or phone
numbers which are out of date, incorrect or falsified, looks bad on them
and causes people to question the reliability of their search
results. If exactly the same NAP is listed on 50+ different websites
then it’s highly likely to be correct information, and Google can be
more confident in showing that NAP to searchers.
Another reason citations are important is that, as well as helping to
improve your business’s rankings in local search results, they increase
general awareness of your business and provide more ways for people to
find you online. The more places that your business’s NAP is listed, the
higher the likelihood of people seeing it, and the more people who see
it, the greater the number of people who will contact you.
From Where Can you Get Citations
