Local citations are essential for improving local SEO and driving more customers to your business.
But how do you build these powerful backlinks from scratch?
This step-by-step guide from a company of local SEO BCÂ covers creating and optimizing Google My Business, Apple Maps, and other important local citation sources.
Follow these proven tips to establish your local authority and visibility.
With strategic local citations, your website will rank higher in local pack and map results.
What Are Local Citations and Why Do They Matter?
Local citations are listings of your business name, address, and phone number across various online directories, apps, and search engines like Google My Business, Facebook, and Yelp.
They act like “votes” to verify and reinforce that your business information is accurate and belongs in that locality.
The more quality citation sources linking to consistent NAP (name, address, phone) details, the more local SEO authority Google will associate with your website.
This means you’ll rank higher for valuable geographic and “near me” searches.
As a local business, strong citations should be the foundation of your entire online visibility strategy.
Key Benefits of Local Citations
- Improved Local Rankings: More citations make Google more confident you deserve visibility for local keywords.
- Increased Visibility: Citations get your business seen across many platforms, not just Google.
- Customer Trust: Listings reinforce your business is real and established.
- Accurate Information: Proper NAP details mean fewer duplicate or incorrect listings.
Now let’s dive into the proven process for building authoritative local citations from the ground up…
Step 1: Set Up Your GMB Listing
The first citation you need to claim and optimize is Google My Business (GMB).
This is your digital storefront on Google, so making it robust should be priority 1.
Here’s how to complete your GMB profile:
- Fully fill out all fields – name, address, phone, opening hours, photos, services, etc.
- Include your keywords – naturally work your main keywords like “coffee shop Vancouver” into parts like your bio.
- Get customer reviews – aim for at least 10+ to start. Reviews boost local SEO!
- Respond to reviews – publicly replying shows customers you care.
- Add attributes – enable features like booking and food ordering if applicable.
Best local SEO in BC
Step 2: Find The Best Citation Sites
Not all citations carry equal weight. Focus on getting listed on high-authority sites first.
Here are 10 of the top citation sources to target:
- Facebook Business Page
- Yelp
- BBB
- Apple Maps
- Bing Places
- YellowPages
- Foursquare
- TripAdvisor
- Localeze
- Hotfrog
Aim to have at least 30+ high-quality citations overall.
Step 3: Manually Build and Optimize Your Citations
The best way to build citations is by manually claiming or creating each listing.
For each site, follow these best practices:
- Use the exact same NAP details – this includes your business name, street address, phone number, etc.
- Include consistent categories/keywords – like “coffee shop, café, breakfast”.
- Add photos, logos, and other features – make full use of each site.
- Monitor and update regularly – keep all citations updated over time.
Manually building each citation takes more effort but ensures accuracy and gives you full control. Consider hiring a local SEO specialist if you need help managing the process.
Step 4: Automate and Maintain Citations
Once you have citations established on the core directories, you can use automation tools like Moz Local and Synup to streamline building out more citations.
Just be sure to regularly monitor new citations for duplicate or inaccurate listings. Here are some citation maintenance best practices:
- Audit annually – review all listings to catch inconsistencies.
- Refresh details – update sites if your business details change.
- Respond to reviews – Continue being active in managing your listings.
- Fix errors ASAP – if you find duplicates or wrong details, get them corrected.
Proper maintenance keeps your citations strong over the long term.
Let’s Recap – How to Build Local Citations
Follow this complete guide to make sure your local citations are driving new business:
- Optimize your Google My Business listing first.
- Find the most authoritative citation sites.
- Manually create optimized listings on each site.
- Use tools to automate and maintain citations.
