The Greatest Local Business Directories and Citations Worldwide
What Are Local Citations?
Local citations are vital information about any business, known as NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), referenced throughout several major directories across the web, like Foursquare, Yelp or Bing Places.
They are also mentions on local news sites or blogs, and Chamber of Commerce listings. Although still part of a local SEO strategy, they’re less important than in the past.
Why Are Local Citations Important?
Local Citations are important because they still play their part when a local business launches a Local SEO campaign, even though they are not a huge ranking factor as they used to be long ago.
Besides their decent ranking power in local search visibility, they build credibility and enhance customer trust, which leads to increased conversions, brand awareness, and recurring customers.
How To Build Local Business Citations?
To build local citations you should register your business primary information (NAP) in free big directories, like Yelp, Manta, Foursquare, or Tripadvisor.
Besides the main information, you should include lots of high-quality pictures and videos, hours of operation, primary and secondary categories, a link to your website, a catchy description and unique attributes like Free Wifi and Free Parking.
Prioritize the big data aggregators like Yelp, continue with citations related to your specific industry, look for directories in your local area, and leave general low-quality websites for last.
What Does NAP Stand For When Referring To Local Citations?
NAP is the short term of a business’s core information, which is Name-Address-Phone number. The most crucial step when building citations on various directories is consistently providing this information for each listing across the web.
What Is An Example Of A Local Citation?
An example of a local citation is the registry of a business’ NAP and other important information, like a description or social media pages, in general, niche, and geo-specific directories.
So a citation of a “grocery store” in Kansas City, Missouri(MO), United States, would include the following information:
Name: Marco’s Groceries
Address: 6400 NW XXth St, Kansas City, MO 64106, United States
Phone Number: +1 XXX-XXX-XXX
Website: www.sitename.com
Category: Grocery Store
Social Media: Facebook & Instagram Page, Twitter Page, YouTube etc
Description, possible hashtags or keywords, photos, videos, hours of operation etc.