Local Business Citations play a very important role in listing your business locally. Before we jump into the details, it’s important to know the role that business citations can play in indexing your business and thus keeping you on top of Google listings.
If you own a business then it is primitive to submit your business details in different citation sites. If you are not familiar with the term Business citations, not to worry. We are going to discuss it in detail from the beginning.
What are Local Business Citations?
Local Business Citations means online mention of NAP for a local business. NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number of your business.
These online mentions can be very helpful to list your business on different search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and so on.
Now we all are familiar with how important it is to show up in an online search result. We all are familiar that most of the time we find different businesses and their location by doing a Google search
Now it’s important to know how a business gets shown up when you search for a particular query.
Google maps show your business only if you have listed your business in Google My Business(GMB). Once your business is listed in GMB you can then add your business details like NAP to other business directories like Yelp, yellow pages, Just dial, Sulekha and so on.
What Business Details You Need To Submit Local Business Citation Sites?
The most important details that you need to submit are:
NAP:
Name, Address and Phone number of your business. It’s important to be very specific while submitting your address. Even a slight difference in address can harm your listing. For e.g. if your business address is “A/5 Get Ranked Limited” and you submitted as “A-5” or “Ltd. instead of Limited”. So be persistent whatever information you are submitting to these citation sites.
Website
If you have a website, then you must submit the correct website URL to citation sites. You also need to write in the correct form.
Today having a website is a must for any business and not having a website is something “unprofessional” in the business world.
Google offers you a free website when you list your business in Google My Business. Though I would not recommend a Google website for a business purpose, if you are just starting out, it can be a good option.
Category:
Listing your business in the right category is important, otherwise it would be very difficult to get visibility in search engines.
There are almost 3942 categories and you can choose upto 10 categories for your business. But you can select only 1 Primary category for your business.
Even though you are allowed to choose 10 categories, you should be very specific choosing your categories. The more categories you select, the more competition for your business. So select one primary category in which you want to get listed and add some related categories.
Description:
In the description field you can share information about your business. Share the products or services that you offer. Add how did you get started and share your mission statement in this area.
Avoid adding any misleading information in the description. Once again no links or URL in the description. Google will automatically deny it.
Google has provided many templates for descriptions, I have added one below. So that you will get an idea how to write descriptions for Google My Business.
Google Description Example for Retail Business
Template:
[Business name] is a [type of business, category] in [city and neighborhood]. You can find [product, search term] for [audience or occasion]. [Value statement.]
Example:
Brianna’s Boutique is a high-end women’s vintage clothing store in Los Angeles, CA. You can find the best vintage designer labels for any and all occasions. Visit us if you’re looking for one-of-a-kind vintage luxury. Celeb sightings are not uncommon.
Shortened Description:
High-end women’s vintage clothing boutique for all occasions.
Images
Add images, logo and videos to make your listing more enticing. Google allows you to add a logo, cover photo and business photos. Your logo should be square and images must be in png or jpeg format.
Read all the Google guidelines here.
Once you collected all this information and gathered all the images, now you should add this business information in all main business directories relating to your business.
Do remember to submit the information in related directories only. You can also take the help of a local SEO to properly set up your Google My Business account.
If you are familiar with search engine optimization, you can do it manually otherwise it’s better to higher a local SEO.
Local SEO not only helps to set up your GMB but also helps your business rank higher in search engines.
More than 1 billion people use Google Map to find local businesses every day. With more than 46% of all Google searches being used to look for local businesses, it’s no wonder that 72% of people who conduct a local search will visit a store within five miles.
You will be surprised to know that in the past two years, there has been a whopping 900% increase for the terms “near Me” and “tonight/today”.
The trend of hyper-localized search queries makes it mandatory for every business owner to get registered on Google Maps.
So, if you’re not on Google Maps, just imagine all those customers you could be missing out on.
Not to worry, contact Get Ranked to list your business on GMB for free or contact: hello@getraanked.com
Recommended Read: Understanding Local Citations
Conclusion:
Local business citations are a great way to get listed and reach your customers. At the same time, it is important to go through Organic search instead of paid ads.
When you pay for ads, it will rank your business only until you continue to pay. Once you stop your ads you rank nowhere on the search engines. So it’s always better to submit your business details in GMB and other business directories.
I have discussed some of the main components of GMB listing. I hope this will be useful for creating your business citations.
If you have any questions or suggestions pl leave them in the comments below.