In a recent column, searchengineland’s Erin Everhart talks about how to get citations for local SEO. Citations are references that function much as links do for organic listings, and the more consistent citations your business has, the better your local rankings will be.
Why is it important to rank well in local listings? Because over 20% of searches on Google are for local businesses and that number doubles on mobile devices! SERPs are catering to these local searches by returning more local listings which also pushes the organic listings further down the page.
So how do you make sure that your business shows up when a potential client does a local search for your product or service?
The obvious place to start is GooglePlaces; create your page and make sure all the info is accurate. Then set up a page on every local directory you can find, with information that is consistent across all of them. Industry directories like Urban Spoon and Open Table (for restaurants) can be located by searching on “City + industry”.
These are some of the largest general directories in which you should be listed:
- Yelp
- Superpages
- City Search
- Yellow Pages
- Angie’s List
- Yahoo Local
- Trip Advisor
- Merchant Circle
- Dex Knows
- Insider Pages
- Localeze
- Shop City
- Judy’s Book
- Yellow Bot
- Kudzo
Social Media Listings
Your social media applications (Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Google+) should contain complete contact info.
Local Blogs
Any local blogs, especially those within your industry, can provide another place to list your business.
Competitor’s Listings
Check out where your competitors are listed, you may turn up more places to list your business information.
Local Newspapers
Some local newspapers will also have a business listing database that you can submit your information to, and don’t forget your local chamber of commerce.
Again, it’s critical that all these listings are consistent, for example; if your address is 123 Spruce Place, and you enter it that way on your Google Places page, you must always enter it that way elsewhere, not 123 Spruce Pl. or 123 Spruce Plc.
A little effort put into local SEO can go a long ways towards helping your clients and prospects find your business.
