How Local Online Citations Help Your Business | Online Presence | NWA
When it comes to increasing your website’s profile and traffic, there are a number of ways to move forward. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one such popular route, and while there are certain aspects of your site you can improve upon to boost SEO, other elements require a bit of help. Online citations can serve as a helpful tool in increasing your search engine ranking. Such benefits do not usually happen overnight though, which is why a company such as Simplemachine is so helpful in developing these online citations and increasing your overall exposure online.
What is an Online Citation?
An online citation is simply a reference to your website on another page. If you run a local business, it may be a listing on Yelp, yellow pages or in a localized newspaper article. Some of these citations you can create, yet most are created by external sources. Ideally, online citations come with a link. These links help send traffic to your website, and many search engines consider the backlink as a show of your quality content, which in turn can help boost SEO. Even without a link though, a simple reference to your page, your business and your company address can do wonders. Think of it as an online shoutout to your business.
Links are Helpful But Not Required
Ideally, when an online newspaper article or yellow pages directory references your company, it includes a link. This is common protocol—sourcing and attributing your company to the products and services the page is referring. Most newspapers will provide a link, but this is not always the case with business directories. Links are helpful in sending direct traffic to your page and with boosting backlink SEO, but it is not required and your site can still get a boost in search engine optimization without such a link.
Due to the complexity of a search engine’s algorithm (such as Google and Bing), nearly every bit of information listed on a page is sourced, cached and referenced. This means that, if your company name and address is referenced on another website, it doesn’t need to include a link to help with your search engine optimization. Search engines like Google know how to attribute the information to your page and boost your ranking.
Requesting a Link
There are ways to request links to your page, should another website provide online citations to your business. With the help of Google Notifications, you can receive a notice whenever certain keywords are referenced anywhere online. This is a must when running a business, as it allows you to see when someone reviews your services or writes about your company. This way, you can see when another page provides you with online citations. Once you are notified, you can request a connected link in order to help drive direct traffic to your page.
Creating Your Own Online Citations
Most online citations are created by third parties. You can have citations generated for you, though. If you blog, try to mention your company name at least once in each blog post. You can also upload your information to business directories, which cite your company. Offering the insights to a local chamber of commerce and business association pages also help.
Simplemachine is here to assist you with improving website performance. One way to do this is with the development of online citations. If you are serious and ready to take your business website to the next level, contact Simplemachine today.
