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Citations are websites where you can list your NAP (name, address, and phone) to show more relevance with Google. They help people improve local search results and are a trust factor for search engines. The more places Google sees your listing online the more likely it is to place your business on its maps. This improves your SEO (search engine optimization). Please note, this blog is only for businesses and organizations that use a physical location to transact business. This is not for companies that are fully online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It’s hard to know where to begin and you should know there are <\/span>free<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>paid<\/span><\/a> options to help you get started. If you have the time, go with the unpaid options. So let\u2019s get started with some tips on setting up your business\u2019 citations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Set up a new email – <\/b>Before you get started with creating new citations, set up a separate email address because a lot of the sites you submit your business to will send you emails. You can do this with a simple Gmail email address. Just remember to go in and check those emails once in a while to empty the mailbox.<\/span><\/p>\n Create a list of citation targets – <\/b>Next, you\u2019ll want to create a list of citation targets. To help you get started, you can look at <\/span>BrightLocal\u2019s<\/span><\/a> list of top citation sites or <\/span>Moz<\/span><\/a>. You\u2019ll also want to look at local business directories in your area. There are usually multiple that cover your town, county, or state. Finally, don\u2019t forget your local chamber of commerce but you may have to pay for a membership for that directory.<\/span><\/p>\n Submit your website –<\/b> Armed with your new list, start manually submitting your website to the citation sources. These platforms typically use structured data, so they\u2019ll be looking for your business name, telephone number, address, website URL, and description of your business.<\/span><\/p>\n Ensure NAP consistency – <\/b>As you add your new listings, make sure you ensure that your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent. These should match your website and also the details on your Google Business Profile. NAP consistency acts as a trust factor for search engines like Google, helping you to be more visible for local search results.<\/span><\/p>\n Speed up the process – <\/b>If you want to avoid the manual process of adding listings, it\u2019s possible to utilize a paid service to create citations for you. Various companies offer this as a service, including <\/span>Moz Local<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Yext<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Look for other opportunities –<\/b> Now that we\u2019ve covered citations and the structured data they provide, there are further opportunities to generate links. One example of this is to look at your suppliers. For example, if you\u2019re an E-Commerce store and you stock products from a number of brands, check each brand\u2019s website and see if they list their stockists. If they do, ask if you can be included here with a link to your website.<\/span><\/p>\n