Take a NAPHow Local Citations

Boost Your SEO

Mandy PenningtonDirector of Internet

Marketing, Net Driven

Co-Founder, NEPA BlogCon & Squirrel Girls Tech Camp

http://www.mandyboyle.com

@mandyboyle

linkedin.com/in/mandyboyle

Every day, people are searching.

4 out of 5Consumers use search engines to find local

information.

We’re looking for:

• Store addresses• Business hours• Product availability• Directions• Phone numbers• Website URLs• ___________ near me

50%Consumers who conducted a local search on their

smartphone visited a store within a day.

Search engines are searching, too.

They’re looking for YOU.

So, how do they find me?

Search Engines Use Signals

• Social media mentions and activity• Content• Reviews• Links• Mentions• Local citations (more on that in a bit!)

What are local citations?

Mentions of your business name, address, phone

number, and URL on other webpages.

Local citations are a key ranking

component.Both Google & Bing use local citations to rank

businesses in local searches.

Local citations boost your visibility.

Mentions from authoritative sites show trust.

Local citations build trust.

Citations are important for showing your presence within a community.

Where do local citations come from?

• Data aggregators (e.g. Localeze, Infogroup, Axciom, Factual)• Local search engines (e.g. Yelp, Foursquare, Hotfrog, etc.)• Local blogs (e.g. local review blogs, tourism blogs, etc.)• Local directories (e.g. Chamber of Commerce directory,

Yellowbook, Best of the Web Local)• Community-related websites (e.g. Sponsor listing on a site for

an event)• Industry-related blogs and directories (e.g. AutoMD,

TripAdvisor, etc.)

What do local citations consist of?

How can I build local citations?• Submit your business to the primary local business aggregators:

Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual• Get listed on Yelp, Foursquare, Hotfrog, or other review sites in

your industry• Be local blogger friendly• List your business in business directories in your community• Have social media profiles• Be a thought leader in your niche• Be an active community member and participant

Google My Business Listings

Why Be on Google My Business?

• It’s where people are searching!

• You can keep your citations updated

• Add photos of your business

• Stay on top of reviews

• Understand how people find and interact with your business

www.gybo.com

Google My Business

• Create your listing

• Edit or update your listing (if you have a login)

• Make sure to claim & verify your listing (to make it official!)

• If you don’t have a login or access to your page, you can request admin access or do an ownership transfer

Making Your Local Citations BetterBesides NAP consistency, boost your citations by:• Adding photos and/or video• Using great graphics/user profile images• Encouraging reviews• Add your hours• Including a link to your site• Adding relevant categories• Adding relevant description information

But we have a problem: local citations are messy.

Inconsistent Local Citations

• One of the greatest challenges for local businesses

• Changes in your business can result in inconsistencies

Inconsistent NAP Information Results In:

• The wrong business information being more visible• Reviews being left on the wrong listing• Search engines won’t know which listing to trust• Bad information can easily spread• Less value attributed to your overall business footprint• Managing your local business information becomes difficult

Don’t panic! It’s not always your fault

if your NAP is inconsistent!

Duplicate Listings Happen

• You may have accidentally created one • Automated activities by search engines and

directories• Users could have gotten it wrong!

Good news. You can fix it!

Fixing InconsistenciesStart by taking an inventory of your local listings, manually or with a tool

Tools:

• Moz Local• BrightLocal• WhiteSpark• LSEO• Search & directory sites

Fixing InconsistenciesOnce you’ve identified the incorrect listings, you can:

• Correct them manually by logging into your accounts for each directory

• Submit change recommendations manually• Use local citation correction tools to push updates out across

multiple sites

The Manual Fix Checklist• Search Google.com & Google Maps for your business name & city.

Do the same with Bing Local and Apple Maps. • Check your business listings using a free tool like Moz to identify

other inconsistencies. • Search Google.com for any incorrect business NAP info you find. • From your Moz & Google searches, keep track of the major

sites/data sources where there are incorrect listings.• Use the “report a problem” or “submit an edit/correction” option.• Visit Infogroup, Localeze, and Axciom to see if there’s out of date

information.

With cleaner citations, you’re sending

the right signals.

What else can I do?

Tips for Local SEO Success

• Get reviews.• Have a great website. • Be social.• Have a blog. • Be active in your community. • Have rich listings.

Any questions?Thank you!

Mandy Pennington@mandyboyle

boyle.mandy@gmail.com

http://www.mandyboyle.com

linkedin.com/in/mandyboyle

Sources: Moz, Whitespark, RankLogic, GYBO, The Hoth, Yext, BrightLocal, Slingshot SEO, Google, & The Site Edge.