The landscape of SEO is always changing. What’s vital one year might fall out of favor the next, only to return the following as a small but integral part for an overall strategy. Local citation management is one such pillar, ruling the roost some ten years ago but now often left by the wayside.
Since search engines don’t divulge proprietary data, it’s hard to assign a number value to how important one aspect of SEO is compared to another. What we can do is look at ancillary numbers and see how they stack up. Today, we’re going to look at a study from Moz and Uberall to see what answers they could find about the efficacy of local citation management.
Google Says it’s Important
Before we go any further, it should be noted that both Google and SEO experts say that local citation management is an important component of SEO. All we’re trying to do is tease out how important.
The Study
The study we’re looking at compared the results of businesses who only pushed their data to the big four of Google, Apple, Facebook, and Bing, and compared it to distribution of the big four plus ten or more other directories. The sample size was 6000, and they took 13 months total.
Bad listings and the experiences that derive from them lead to bad reviews, which can permanently damage your bottom line.
The Increases are Impressive
It should come as no surprise that pushing data out to more directories resulted in increases across the board. The size of the increases, though, are notable.
Direct search saw an increase of 89%, indirect got 77%, search view was the smallest increase with 65%, and maps view received a whopping 91% increase. If you want to stop reading here, I completely understand. Those kinds of increases cannot be ignored. But there’s more.
Keep your local citation’s up to date and in-sync.
Schedule a free Listings Manager demo and we’ll show you how!
You Want Engagement? We Got Engagement.
Increases in visibility correlated strongly with increases in engagement. With a concentration on local citations, businesses saw a 102% increase in requests for directions, 13% increase in phone calls, and an 87% increase in clicks.
In addition, the study suggests that local businesses should try to be listed in somewhere between 31-40 directories for the best cost/benefit ratio.
Customer Service
For local citations to be an effective tool to drive both engagement and sales, they need to be accurate. After all, an incorrect address can point a customer to the wrong store, and inaccurate information gives a poor impression of your business. And as I’ve stated many times in the past, inaccurate listings directly harm SEO.
Many listings out there are incomplete or incorrect, leading to problems like driving to pandemic-shuttered stores and calling wrong numbers. In some ways, you can stand out just by being conscientious.
Bad listings and the experiences that derive from them lead to bad reviews, which can permanently damage your bottom line.
Local Citation Management is a Cornerstone of SEO
At DealerOn, we’ve often stated that “local SEO is SEO,” and this data bears that statement out. You should invest in local citation management for SEO and engagement as a vital part of your store’s budget. Be sure to schedule your free demo today.
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