Is Building Citations Still Important to Local SEO?

One of the most hotly-discussed local ranking factors is without a doubt citations. If you’re active on the forums, you’ll often see people questioning “How relevant are citations?” or “Does building citations help local SEO?” But finding a straightforward answer to those questions can be a whole new challenge.

In recent years, the relevance of citations (and other ranking factors) has been frequently debated.

Anecdotal evidence points to a change in the role of citations. No longer are they competitive difference-makers but more “table stakes”, or what people would call a foundational factor in local SEO. This means that, while citations alone won’t get you ranking #1, you do need at least some accurate and consistent citations to compete effectively in the local SEO game.

Additionally, research like our annual Local Search Industry Survey shows that citations still provide value to agencies and local businesses alike, and that citation management remains one of the most common services offered by agencies.

Value of citations

So while we might say that the impact of citations on local SEO performance isn’t what it was 10 years ago, the value to agencies and businesses remains intact. 

In an effort to demystify the chatter around citations, I’ll be asking (and hoping to answer!) some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding citations.

So get ready to hold your breath, as we’ll be diving deep into the world of citations.

Frequently asked questions about citations Does building citations have any impact on rankings?

Like with any local SEO ranking factors, it’s hard to tell how impactful one component is, but there’s definitely a correlation between businesses ranking in the top ten and the number of citations they have. 

As I said earlier, building citations no longer provides the competitive advantage it once did. It’s possible you will receive more noticeable gains if you are in a less saturated industry, but more often than not having citations is just a part of building local SEO foundations.

While we might not advise building hundreds of citations, if you want to try to rank for local searches, you will need at least a foundational citation presence.

According to our SEO Citations Study, which explored more than 120,000 businesses, businesses ranking in the top 10 search results have an average of 81 citations. Meanwhile, businesses holding onto the #1 spot have 86 citations and businesses rankings in #10 have just 75. 

Of course, we can’t make causation claims from this correlation, but we can try to connect the dots. It’s likely that businesses ranking in the top 10 are doing well in other aspects of local SEO, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to suggest that citations played some part in their top ranking.

Do I need hundreds of citations to rank well?

You don’t need hundreds of citations to rank well — it’s perfectly possible to rank in the local pack without that many, providing you’re doing everything else right. And citations alone aren’t going to get you ranking number one without putting the work in elsewhere.

That said, citations go beyond being a ranking factor and it’s important to make sure your business is listed on any sites where customers may search for you. Our SEO Citations Study showed that, on average, top 10-ranking businesses had 81 citations. But of course, this number will vary from industry to industry.

How many citations do you need?

If in doubt, you can use a tool like Citation Tracker to find where your business is listed online already. It will also display anywhere your competitors are listed that your business isn’t present on. If your competitors are listed somewhere, it likely means that site will be relevant to you, too (if there’s a lot of overlap in your industry, be sure to do due diligence and check the site out first!)

While you don’t need hundreds of citations to rank well, most local SEOs recommend having at least 30-50. A good way to ensure all bases are covered is by submitting to a data aggregator. These companies (FourSquare, InfoGroup, Neustar, and Factual) distribute your NAP (name, address, phone number) to third-party directories, which means you can fill in any gaps on directories you may have missed.

Even more important than building new citations, it’s vital to make sure anywhere your business is listed online includes the correct, up-to-date information (think opening hours, location, contact details), and no



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