This presentation, delivered by Mandy Pennington at C4 DigiCon in Milford, PA on Saturday, October 16, 2016 covered the basics of local citation building and optimization. Small business owners explored how consistent location data across the web can result in higher visibility overall.

1. Take a NAP
How Local Citations
Boost Your SEO

2. Mandy
Pennington
Director of Internet Marketing,
Net Driven
Co-Founder, NEPA BlogCon &
Squirrel Girls Tech Camp
http://www.mandyboyle.com
@mandyboyle
linkedin.com/in/mandyboyle

3. Every day, people are
searching.

4. 4 out of 5Consumers use search engines to find local information.

5. We’re looking for:
• Store addresses
• Business hours
• Product availability
• Directions
• Phone numbers
• Website URLs
• ___________ near me

6. 50%Consumers who conducted a local search on their
smartphone visited a store within a day.

8. Search engines are
searching, too.

10. They’re looking for YOU.

11. So, how do they find me?

12. Search Engines Use Signals
• Social media mentions and activity
• Content
• Reviews
• Links
• Mentions
• Local citations (more on that in a bit!)

14. What are local
citations?
Mentions of your business
name, address, phone number,
and URL on other webpages.

15. Local citations
are a key
ranking
component.
Both Google & Bing use local
citations to rank businesses in
local searches.

17. Local citations
boost your
visibility.
Mentions from authoritative
sites show trust.

18. Local citations
build trust.
Citations are important for
showing your presence within a
community.

19. 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.)

20. What do local citations consist of?

21. 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

22. Google My
Business
Listings

23. 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

24. www.gybo.com

25. 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

26. Making Your Local Citations Better
Besides 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

27. But we have a problem:
local citations are messy.

28. Inconsistent Local Citations
• One of the greatest challenges for local businesses
• Changes in your business can result in inconsistencies

29. 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

30. Don’t panic!
It’s not always your fault
if your NAP is inconsistent!

31. Duplicate Listings Happen
• You may have accidentally created one
• Automated activities by search engines and directories
• Users could have gotten it wrong!

32. Good news. You can fix it!

33. Fixing Inconsistencies
Start by taking an inventory of your
local listings, manually or with a tool
Tools:
• Moz Local
• BrightLocal
• WhiteSpark
• LSEO
• Search & directory sites

34. Fixing Inconsistencies
Once 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

35. 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.

36. With cleaner citations,
you’re sending
the right signals.

37. What else can I do?

38. Tips for Local SEO Success
• Get reviews.
• Have a great website.
• Be social.
• Have a blog.
• Be active in your community.
• Have rich listings.

39. 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.