For brick-and-mortar businesses, local search visibility is essential. It’s what allows your business to remain top-of-mind among customers in your geographic area… that is, the people most likely to spend money on the goods or services you provide.

There’s no silver bullet for great local search listings; instead, a robust local SEO plan requires you to juggle a range of different factors, including things like online reviews, on-site SEO, and more. With that said, one of the most invaluable (and oft-overlooked) aspects of a strong search presence is generating local citations. In fact, the enCOMPASS team considers citation services to be the very first step in any local SEO campaign.

What are Local Citations?

When we talk about local citations, what exactly are we talking about?

Basically, a local citation can be any online mention of your company’s name, address, and phone number. A citation can also include the URL to your company website, photos, hours, and much more.

These citations can show up in lots of different locations, including local business directories and social media platforms.

Why are Local Citations So Important?

It’s in the best interests of your business to have plenty of local citations. What’s more, it’s important for those citations to be accurate, up to date, and consistent across the board.

Local citations matter for one big reason: They play an important part in the Google Search algorithms, and specifically help you make certain your business is accurately ranked on Google Maps.

A secondary reason to focus on local citations is that it helps you ensure that, when a potential customer discovers your business on the Web, they have an easy way to contact you, whether that means calling to ask a question or simply driving over to your brick-and-mortar location.

What are the Core Components of a Local Citation?

As we think about local citations, there’s an important acronym you need to know: NAP. This stands for name, address, and phone number, which are considered to be the three non-negotiable elements of any business citation.

In other words, every citation you have should include NAP information, and that information should be consistent from one citation to the next. For example, say you own a restaurant called Steve’s BBQ. It’s important to list the name identically from one citation to the next; if you call it Steve’s Barbecue in one citation and Steve’s BBQ Restaurant in another, it can compromise the accuracy of your Google Maps rankings.

In addition to the core NAP information, your local citations may include any of the following:

• Business category
• Hours of operation
• Email address
• Links to social media platforms
• A basic business description
• Videos or photos

What are Local Citation Services?

The more local citations you have, the better your local SEO standing is likely to be. This raises an obvious question: How can business owners guarantee that they have the most citations possible, and that those citations are accurate and up to date?

Many companies take a manual approach, which can be effective, but is also massively time-consuming; not only do you have to submit a citation to each directory or platform, with potentially hundreds to choose from, but you first have to track down those directories. The manual approach runs the risks of inconsistent/inaccurate data, or of too many citation opportunities overlooked.

A better approach is to engage local citation services; we’re pleased to offer these services to our own clients. Through local citation services, you can enjoy the following benefits:

• Robust, accurate citations in all the important directories
• Awareness and correction of any incomplete or inaccurate information
• Elimination of any duplicate listings, which can imperil your local SEO results
• Greater control over how your business is being represented across the Internet

What is the enCOMPASS Approach to Local Citations?

At enCOMPASS, we employ a tried-and-true method for handling local citation needs. Our multi-step process includes:

• Verification. A lot of the most consequential platforms, including Google and Facebook, require business owners to prove they are who they say they are. We can handle the verification process on our end.
• Distribution. Our team will make sure that your citation listings are correct, consistent, and positioned on a wide variety of reputable websites. Here in the U.S., there are basically four data sources used by all the major search engines; these include Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual. We distribute your verified information to these partners, in addition to a large number of reputable, independent networks.
• Monitoring. The enCOMPASS team will keep your information updated and accurate where it matters most, while also removing false or duplicate listings that might otherwise compromise your results.

Local citations are a critical component of any SEO strategy. We’d love to tell you more about the benefits of using our local citation services; contact the enCOMPASS team whenever you’d like to chat.