Local citations basically refer to mentions of your business name on different websites across the internet, which may or may not include a link to your website. When we talk about Atlanta based businesses and local search results, these “web references” could include any mention of your business on the net, right from a listing on online local Atlanta based directory, to a local business association or chamber of commerce that includes the name of your business. As a basic rule for Local SEO, it is important to have your business listed in prominent (but relevant) local resources.

Citations that are from reliable and well-indexed local portals are more efficient in boosting SERPs for your business. These citations help search engines know that your business offers what it claims to, and hence to have a higher degree of certainty regarding your business information. You can achieve better recognition using citations, specially if your Atlanta-based business is in a less competitive niche, such as plumbing or electrical. This is because most of your competitors are less likely to have a website or business listings, which leads to your website standing out on search engines.

Citations coming from highly reputable sources, such as an article in a local newspaper mentioning your business name, increase how legitimate search engines perceive your business to be. Currently, the section titled “More About This Business” on the Google Place page is the most comprehensive compilation of citations for your business. In order to achieve the maximum SEO benefit from local citations, you should follow a consistent format on all your citations. This means that you should make sure that these citations list the same contact information for your business, down to the minute details such as abbreviations in the citations.

While directories are a good place to start when building citations for your local business, you should remember that there is a lot more options that you can explore. These include social networking platforms like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., discussion forum posts, Youtube video descriptions, review sites for businesses, online publications like industry magazines, industry-specific news websites, etc. These citations are commonly characterized as unstructured citations, and can be extremely effective in boosting your local rankings. Industry experts rank local citations as one of the top four factors influencing local search engine rankings for a business, along with reviews, links, and websites.

For more on SEO and internet marketing for your business, call us at (404) 994-5074, we are Atlanta based SEO company providing wide array of SEO services as per client’s targeted market.