Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Best Local Citation Building Services
-
Hi, have any of you ever used a local citation building service? Are some better than others, any recommendations? Any bad experiences or companies to avoid?
I'm fairly new to the process and it looks like there's a lot of snake oil salesmen in this vertical, so any and all insight you could give me would be great! Thank you in advance, I look forward to hearing feedback from all of you!
-
Whitespark....Darren's got Nyag there and he can build with the best of them!!!
-
One thing I have found with all these local citation building services is that they focus on the big core group of directories that apply to every business but they leave out the niche directories that exist for each vertical. I think the niche directories are really key to helping Google categorize your business better. One tool I've been just recently using is Link Prospector. For $1-2 you can run a report that gives you a list of the niche directories related to the keyword/industry you are looking to rank for.
If you do a report for the directories category and list the keywords (include the cityname) you want to rank for, it will pull a list of all the directories related to that keyword/industry. So, for example, if I was a plumber in Seattle I would list "plumber seattle" as the "phrase". Whitespark helped build this tool as well.
We also use Moz Local. It's really fast and easy to use. Much cheaper than Yext.
-
Matt-Antonino and Matt-Williamson have narrowed down two options that are highly respectable and well thought of - Bright Local and Whitespark. You should also consider Moz and Yext.
Moz offers a basic citation building service that helps you claim the most important listings – the ones that require manual verification. It gives you quick and easy access to all the local data aggregators (the sites that feed a majority of local directories). It's the most affordable.
Yext is limited in it's reach and least affordable. It will however, get your citations built fastest.
Whitespark and Bright Local can get you the most citations. They're both reasonably priced, accurate, and can speed up or slow down according to your needs.
This previously asked, answered and Moz staff endorsed question on the Moz Q&A forum compares Moz Local vs Whitespark vs Yext. The discussion was prompted by a question about UK citation building services, but I think you'll find it helpful.
I wrote a post a while ago that compares local directory submission services that you might like simply because of the simple chart shared under recommendations. It compares your options at a glance.
This forum has a brief back-and-forth discussing Bright Local vs Whitespark. It's just one thread, so don't give it too much weight in your decision. But, depending on your need, I suggest searching for similar feedback on this subset of services, checking out their websites, and then making a decision.
-
Matt gives you some good advice below - I thought I would just throw http://www.brightlocal.com/ into the mix for you to consider...
Hope that helps!
-
You'll definitely find a variety of providers. It depends what you're looking for & willing to pay, I suppose. For instance, we have a team dedicated to citations (mostly AU but some US, NZ, HK, etc.) Our team does nothing but - so they're efficient, organised and we've built tools specifically to help them do their job faster & with fewer problems/mistakes.
But any old SEO hack can download a list of "top citations" off whitespark and get to work. Be careful choosing, get a few references or reasons to trust them and you should be ok. I don't have any specific good/bad examples but beware of those who don't have their own citations in order.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
[Local Search] Do you get penalized by using a Google Voice number for each seperate business location?
My client is expanding and opening up separate locations and I will be getting all their online business listings up and running. The client wants to use a single 1-888 number for all locations, however, it was my assumption that they would need a local number for each location to improve their ranking. Could I suggest using free Google voice numbers that get forwarded to their 1-888 number or will Google discredit us for this?
Local Listings | | aedesignco0 -
For Google's Structured Data, should I change my listings from Product schema to Local Business schema?
I was reading Google's Structured Data spec, and I'm considering changing the schema of our listing pages from the Product schema to the Local Business schema. Is this a good idea? To give you a little more info, the pages that I'm classifying are listings for physical spaces that our website rents out for activities, such as meetings. Here's an example of a listing: https://www.peerspace.com/pages/listings/550ddcde2f352d0800fc186b Our goal is to add the proper schema.org tags to the page so that our spaces show up in local searches, such as "meeting space in San Francisco." The problem is that when we add location microdata (addressLocality, addressRegion, etc.) to our current "Product" schema, Google tells us that "Products" can't have a location. However, we aren't quite a "Local Business" either, since we don't publicly share our space's street addresses—only the space's neighborhood/city/state for privacy reasons. As a result, we get an error from Google's Structured Data Tool as a "Local Business" page because "streetAddress" is required for Local Businesses. Should we switch to the Local Business schema anyway, even though we get structured data errors for streetAddress? Or is it better not to include the location information in the microdata so that we don't have errors? Does Google penalize you for incomplete tags? Any input is appreciated!
Local Listings | | stuartstein0 -
Citation building for multiple locations
Hey everyone, I think i've got a good handle on citations, but had a question regarding multiple locations. I'm going to be doing citation building for a local lawyer, and he's got 4 locations. I'd like to build citations for each of his locations, but I was wondering if the business name needs to change? Ie. If I am building citations for Town 2 and Town 3, should the business name be listed as "Company Name Town 1" for the first location, and "Company Name Town 2" for the second? Or is it fine to use the company name throughout all citations, and just change the location/phone number to the location based info? I'm just worried about Google seeing differing info, but the same company name, and possibly penalizing me for it. Thanks in advance!
Local Listings | | RCDesign740 -
Google My Business- Will a large service area dilute local search results?
I am considering adding our actual service area to our Google My Business profile, but I don't want this to dilute our local search results. As it is, we come up in the top 3 or so when searched in our HQ's city and several nearby cities when you search for us in Google Maps (although when I look at the top 10 organic for Google for some reason when you search for these cities + our keywords Google doesn't show any local results). Our actual service area is fairly large, comprising the states of CA & Hawaii & parts of CO, AZ, and UT. I would be adding the service area by zip code rather than radius, as a radius wouldn't make any sense in this case (particularly considering the distance between HI and CA). Is it better to keep our relatively high ranking in local results? Will adding the service area not affect local results negatively? Also, do you know why Google isn't showing me local results when I look for our keywords + our nearby cities? When I look for these keywords in larger cities like LA or San Diego, Google always shows me local results.
Local Listings | | BohmKalish1230 -
Does anyone use Moz Local + Yext? How valuable is this for local businesses?
For brands that have a budget to pay $600 / year for valuable backlink directories, would you recommend Moz Local + Yext? I would like to hear some feedback on marketers that use Yext. Thanks,
Local Listings | | ColeLusby
Cole0 -
Bright Local - Citation Burst. Winner or Loser?
Bright Local have a package called "Citation Burst." This looks great but, we all know directory submissions can have an extremely negative impact. Has anyone used Bright Local for Citation Burst, please let me know? Thanks Gary
Local Listings | | GaryVictory1 -
PO Box for a Local Client
I have a local client who is adamant about not publishing their address anywhere online. They are a local (regional) company, and work out of their home. I advised that PO boxes do not fill within "accurate guidelines" for Google Places (and moving forward any citation building is going to be tough). Any way to get around this besides buying a generic mailbox that isn't a PO Box? They feel putting their home address anywhere leaves them vulnerable to people showing up at their home, and considering the industry they are in, it is possible this could lead to negative confrontations and I understand their concern. Any ideas for me?
Local Listings | | cschwartzel0 -
How to get a verification tick next to the URL in a Google Plus Local page?
Google Plus Local: https://plus.google.com/+PrestedHallFeering Website: www.prested.co.uk So how do I get the verification tick next to the URL on this businesses Google page? Also, even though the website is much strong then those in the map listings for Wedding Venues In Essex, whats preventing this website from appearing in there? My local optimisation knowledge is poor!
Local Listings | | jasondexter0