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Local Citation Building as an SEO Foundation Part II

In Local Citation Building as an SEO Foundation Part I we discussed the importance of building citations in order to achieve top organic search rankings. This included discussion of structured versus unstructured local citations and why you need to build both. In this second and final part of the series we'll detail exactly how to go about building those citations and what to look for when you do.

There are two things you should do before starting a local citation building campaign: check for current listings and check your competitor's listings.

Check Your Current Listings

Before you go building a ton of citations, the first thing you should do is determine if you have any citations already out there, and if so to compile a list of where these citations are found. You can use any search engine for this purpose by entering the address in quotations. This instructs a search engine to return any pages that feature the entered address.

Create a list of the sites and URLs that these citations are published on to be certain that you don't duplicate any efforts as you begin your local citation building campaign.

Check Your Competitor's Listings

Your competitors - especially those that are ranking well for local organic searches - are often the best source of places to build local citations. You can find out where your competitors have built local citations by entering their address in quotations in a search engine. You can also enter a keyword as well to ensure that you only return relevant results, especially if the address in question has been used by other businesses or is part of a large building or complex that shares a similar address root.

Compile a list of URLs and websites where your competitors have published local citations and compare it to your list for your current listings.

(Note: learning about search operators like the plus and minus sign, quotations, site: feature and more operators - especially those used by Google, can help you refine your search and save valuable time and effort.)

Start Building Local Citations

Using your two lists above, you can start building citations, but there's still more searching to be done. Searching for additional places to create citations is critical because the general idea is that you want to have your citations in all the same places as your competition, and then some. You can place citations on business directories, online yellow pages, organizational listings and many other places.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your citations must be consistent. Always use the same exact format whenever possible and strive for a healthy mix of both structured and non-structured citations as mentioned in Part I of this article series.

Take Citation Building Viral

You can make other people build citations for you by offering compelling content with the idea that users will consume and share it. For instance, your perfect local citation listed in the resource box of an article or in the body of a blog post will be propagated across many other websites when they are syndicated. Or, your sponsorship of a free online seminar or video or some other piece of content - with a valuable citation included - could result in a ton of shares across various platforms and social media, likely resulting in a dozens of additional citations being built for you, "free of charge."

The only real problems with local citation building are that it's time consuming, and it can be difficult to find places to publish on. If your SEO campaign is suffering and you need local citations to beef it up or you have a new site or business that needs a solid local citation foundation, call the number at the top of your screen now for an immediate, free consultation about how we can put local citation building to work for your success.

Chris Vendilli
About the Author
Chris is the founder and CEO of Vendilli Digital Group. In his free time, you’ll find him camping, fishing, or playing beer league ice hockey with a bunch of guys who refuse to admit they’re already over the hill.
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