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What is Local Citation

A local citation is any kind of online mention of a local business. It can contain the local business' address, phone number, company's name, and even an external link for more information or the company's website. A local citation is very important because it is able to create an opinion and impact the business with negative or positive reviews, given by the customers themselves or by commerce websites. Furthermore, a good and accurate local citation can increase the number of customers, whereas a bad and inaccurate will decrease the number of customers.

A local citation is extremely important for a new business to acquire a better ranking in search engines, thus, increasing the number of customers, who will be able to discover the new business through the internet. However, for that to happen it is needed for the business to keep their information – such as phone numbers, e-mails, and, payment method, among others – updated because it will create a consistency that will attract customers. On the other hand, if by any chance the search engine believes the information given is inaccurate or inconsistent, then the business will face a low rank, thus leading to a loss of revenue.

Currently, there are three types of local citations, which are: Major Local Business Data Platforms, the Geo/Industry Specific Platforms, and, The Wider Web. Although these three types can reach different publics, they all have the same intent of acquiring more revenue for the business. With that said, it is important to note that interestingly enough, these citations can be done without any action taken by the business itself. That happens because these types of citation are mostly made on public platforms, such as social media, thus the public itself will share the information and give their review based on how they experienced the business in question.

That is another reason why the company must keep their information updated. The public will need to know the information to get to know the business better, be interested in it, talk about it, review it, and recommend it. Furthermore, if the information is old or inaccurate, the local citation will be weaker and possibly have no effect, thus causing a loss of revenue, low search engines rank, and even loss of reputation. However, the exact opposite will occur if the business maintains an updated information, a strategy of correction of inaccurate data, and accurate citations on major platforms.

There are strategies that the business in question can use, such as using The Wider Web type of citation and intentionally create a citation for your own business. With that said, this type of strategy is the most used nowadays and requires dedication by the business' owner, who will have to reach and attract more customers by themselves. However, this strategy is also the most efficient one, because will also require attention to the details, thus forcing the owner to update the business' information every now and then, because there will be no outside help for that.

A local citation is extremely important when it comes to reaching new customers, increasing the revenue or even having a better review, it is also capable of giving the business a better ranking in search engines. The business, however, must maintain an updated information to create an accurate citation that will bring nothing but positive impact, however, it can also negatively impact the business if the information given is incorrect. Therefore, although the business' owner can use some strategies, everything leads back to the information and the necessity of it being correct.

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