If you are a business with a physical location and doing SEO for your website, Local SEO is one crucial thing that you should not miss. Local citations are an integral part of local SEO.
Local citations help users find your local Business online and also help in boosting local search rankings on search engines.
What is a Local Citation?
A citation is any mention of a business on the web, and it can be the Name, Address and Phone number of a local business. So when a user searches for a local service, citations can help rank on search engines. Although Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP) are core components of a Local Citation. But few other elements can also positively contribute to a local citation. Such as,
- Business categories
- Hours of operation
- Driving directions
- Business description
- Images
- Videos
- Payment forms accepted
- Geo-coordinates
- Reviews
- Owner responses
- Taglines
- Links to social and other forms of media
- Email addresses
- Fax numbers
- Alternate phone numbers
- Attributes
How are Local Citations Important?
An accurate and consistent local citation can impact search rankings and discovery, which improves customer foot traffic and ultimately impact business reputation and revenue. There are a few things to keep in mind to manage your local citations correctly.
How to manage Local Citations?
Managing all the citations accurately and consistently will impact your local SEO rankings. Following are the few things you should keep in mind.
- A rich, accurate citation set on major platforms (Google, Bing, Facebook)
- Correction of inaccurate data on citations
- Permanent deletion of duplicate citations or business listings
- Maintaining a timely update of all business listings based on the changes in Business (Change of Phone number, Moving Business, Timing changes)
- Managing and responding to reviews in a timely manner.
- Take control of your business and how it is being represented across the web.
Top 5 Local Citations, Is your listed here?
Google My Business:
Google Maps is one of India’s topmost used applications in both web and mobile App sectors. It is crucial to list your Business on Google My Business. Google My Business is a platform to manage your local business on the Google network. You can take control of your listing by verifying through phone number or Post Card.
Facebook.com:
Facebook is one of the most potent networks to reach potential customers at any given time. All you need is a local business page of yours with all the service details mentioned. Just update your page daily with new information and get connected with your potential customers.
Apple.com:
Apple Maps is not a cross-platform service, but since the growth of Apple users in India has increased, the use of apple maps has increased. It is time to make your mark on Apple Maps as well. You have to create an Apple id to register your business on Apple Maps, and adding business details and the verification process are pretty straightforward. You’ll get to verify your business by phone or by uploading an official document under the name of your business, like a utility bill, Insurance, or lease agreement.
Bingplaces.com:
Bing Places is still the best platform to list your local business and the opportunity to rank on search engines like google and Bing. Listing on Bing Places is easy, and you can also sync with Google My Business and claim your Bing business listing even easier.
If you are listed on these websites, you are already there with your local citation-building process. Here are the top 40 local citations for Indian local businesses.
Citation/Website | DA | Niche | Country | Free/Paid |
---|---|---|---|---|
https://foursquare.com/city-guide | 92 | General | International | Free |
https://www.trustpilot.com/categories | 92 | General | International | Free |
https://www.sulekha.com/ | 79 | B2B | India | Free |
https://www.tradeindia.com/ | 78 | B2B | India | Free |
https://www.justlanded.com/ | 76 | General | India | Free |
https://www.indiamart.com/ | 74 | B2B | India | Free |
https://www.mouthshut.com/ | 64 | General | International | Free |
https://www.brownbook.net/ | 61 | General | International | Free |
https://www.storeboard.com | 61 | General | International | Free |
http://www.lacartes.com/ | 60 | General | International | Free |
https://www.exportersindia.com/ | 55 | B2B | India | Free |
https://www.indiacom.com/ | 55 | General | India | Free |
https://www.cybo.com/ | 54 | General | International | Free |
https://www.showmelocal.com/ | 53 | General | International | Free |
http://www.expressbusinessdirectory.com/ | 49 | General | International | Free |
https://www.clickindia.com/ | 48 | General | India | Free |
https://www.2findlocal.com/ | 48 | General | International | Free |
https://in.enrollbusiness.com/ | 48 | General | International | Free |
https://www.40billion.com/ | 48 | General | India | Free |
https://www.whodoyou.com/ | 44 | General | International | Free |
https://www.hotfrog.in/ | 42 | General | India | Free |
https://cpadirectory.com/ | 41 | Accounting | India | Free |
https://www.go4worldbusiness.com/ | 41 | General | International | Free |
https://www.smartguy.com/ | 39 | General | International | Free |
https://www.beautyseeker.com/ | 38 | Saloon | India | Free |
https://www.indianyellowpages.com/ | 37 | General | India | Free |
https://www.freelistingindia.in/ | 36 | General | India | Free |
https://www.grotal.com/ | 34 | B2B | India | Free |
https://www.yalwa.in/ | 33 | General | India | Free |
https://companylist.org/ | 33 | B2B | International | Free |
https://www.zoompo.com/ | 32 | General | India | Free |
https://wadline.com/in | 32 | General | International | Free |
https://maharashtradirectory.com/ | 31 | General | India | Free |
https://www.eindiabusiness.com/index.html | 31 | General | India | Free |
https://www.tuugo.in/ | 29 | General | India | Free |
https://www.bigwigbiz.com/ | 27 | General | International | Free |
https://www.yelu.in/ | 27 | General | India | Free |
https://www.jantareview.com/ | 27 | General | India | Free |
https://www.localbiznetwork.com/india | 25 | General | International | Free |
https://www.zipleaf.in/ | 20 | General | India | Free |