Citation link building falls under the Local SEO bracket and involves posting your business details on various online directories. There are two main reasons that SEO agencies put forward for citation building and they are:
- To make your business visible when someone is searching for a service or product you offer. For example, if Sarah is looking for an electrician nearby, she’ll find a few directories like Yelp in the results.
- Send signals to Google that your site is trustworthy because it’s found across the web and, therefore, deserves to rank higher in search.
We haven’t used citation building to a great extent at Batlinks, but we’re eager to see why others are promoting this so heavily, so we did some research.
Do citation links have any effect on rankings?
If it works, what’s the best way to go about it?
Join me as I attempt to get to the bottom of it.
Is citation link building worth your time and resources?
The answer is a mixed bag.
Ask the many “SEO experts” on YouTube or companies that offer citation link building services, and you’ll hear a resounding YES! You’ll also have no problem finding blog articles that state all the reasons why it works but, unfortunately, have very little evidence to support their claims.
What does Google say? Here’s one of the only mentions I could find from an Ahrefs article quoting John Mueller.
“ Just because a company name is mentioned somewhere doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or bad for the company. I’d see those mentions more as advertising — if you think people will see it and explicitly search out your business, then that’s great.”
So, while listing your business in directories won’t do any harm, there’s also no mention it will positively affect your rankings.
One thing is for sure – when it comes to SEO, there are no shortcuts. If something sounds too good to be true, it often is.
As a side note, If you’re looking for an SEO Agency that’s not about taking the easy way out, contact us. We’re in this for the long run and want you to be, too.
The proven benefits of listing your business in directories
What are the proven benefits of business directories, then?
- Increases the visibility of your business
- Improves search engines’ understanding of your business
- Enhances brand awareness and exposure
- Attracts more customers through positive reviews
Case Studies on Citation Link Building
Right, so after doing research, I found some good resources that can give you a better idea of whether citation link building works in terms of rankings.
1. Richman SEO Training
To be fair, this isn’t the most scientific bit of research and leaves out numerous factors that could have influenced the results. It is basic, but it helps prove the point.
Using Ahrefs, he took just over 500 small business websites each with multiple links and citations from online directories submitted via a paid citation service. He then compared it to another batch of websites with no citations. When looking at traffic, he found that both sets have roughly the same 2.17 visitors each month. So having numerous business listings didn’t seem to make a difference one way or the other.
2. Sterling Sky Inc.
It should be noted that as an agency, Sterling Sky is not anti-citation link building. They have probably done some of the most legit research into the topic, and here’s a taste of what they found:
- If you’re going to try citation link building, you need to make sure the directory pages are indexed by Google. If a page isn’t indexed, it may as well not exist. A tool like Ahrefs can help you to see how much traffic the site gets. If the traffic value is not increasing or at least being maintained, give it a skip.
- Be realistic. Expect that the vast majority of local directories indexed today won’t be in the next 3-6 months. In a test, they posted information on 50 different business directories, and although there was an initial increase in organic traffic, it didn’t last long. After just two months, only 2 out of the 50 were still indexed by Google.
I highly recommend taking a look at the full video here:
3. Batlinks Client Case Study
As mentioned in the intro, we don’t have an extensive amount of data to contribute, but here’s what we found when building citation links.
Based on our experience with a client in the accounting niche, we focused on posting only on high DA directories like Yelp and Bing. We started focusing on our client’s Local SEO in May 2023, and here are the results so far:
As you can see, there is a steady increase in their Business Profile Impressions.
However, this was done in conjunction with other strategies so we can’t conclusively say the reason for the growth was down to publishing on these directories.
The link builder on this campaign, Marc, said the following about this type of link building:
“I’ve seen it work before, but I also see it not working on some of my previous campaigns.” He adds, “What we did differently for this client is that we prioritized building the listings on citation sites that have high DR/Authority (Bing, Yelp, EZlocal, etc.).”
How to do citation link building the right way
If you’d still like to give citation link building a try – here are some tips taken from the above case studies:
- Filter filter filter. Rather post on 20 quality sites than 200 low-quality ones. How can you tell if it’s a goodie? Check the traffic value – and make sure that value is on an upward trend. An easy way to get a list is to do a Google search. For example, type in “Hairdressers Kansas” and see what directories Google deems worthy of listing.
- Check that those links are indexed and then check that they’ve stayed indexed. If not, that’s a sign that Google doesn’t have a very high regard for the directory.
- You get what you pay for. You will absolutely be able to find a cheap freelancer on Fiver promising to post to hundreds of directories on your behalf. You should expect a long list of directories that Google probably doesn’t care about.
On the other hand, if you choose a popular service like Brightlocal or Whitespark, in theory, you’ll get better quality directories and can keep track of them for a monthly fee. Is it worth it? It depends on your budget. If you’re focusing on quality over quantity, you should be able to manage this yourself and use these resources elsewhere.
- Keep a list of directories: As tedious as this sounds, you need to create a list for when your business info changes. Having incorrect business info out there is not only bad for Google, but will also chase potential customers away.
- Focus on your Google My Business profile: If you’re going to invest your time and resources into something, let it be here. This is one of those rare occasions where something quick and easy can get you great results. If you need convincing, have a look at a few Google My Business success stories.
What would be a fair conclusion?
If people are promising you increased rankings with citation building, there is nothing to support that it works to increase rankings. However, its greatest advantage is in your local community, where people want to deal with the electrician from the same town, for example.
At the end of the day, making a list of 20 or so great directories and putting your business info up is not going to take a massive amount of resources. My advice? Give it a shot but don’t expect miracles from it.
It’s just another tool (albeit experimental) in your link building arsenal. But the main benefit will come when a potential client finds you in a business directory. And that is, after all, the main aim anyway.
That being said, there are far more tried and tested strategies that will actually move the needle. If you are interested in knowing more, reach out to the team at batlinks or take a look at our link building services page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is local citation link building?
Local citation building is when you publish your business information (such as website URL and business address and number) on local business directories. You should include this info on your social media profiles too, such as on Linkedin or Facebook.
Will local citations increase my search engine rankings?
Given the lack of sufficient evidence, it is unlikely that Google and other search engines consider these links from other websites a worthy ranking factor. However, there’s no harm in making it part of your local SEO strategy as long as you focus on high quality directories.
As a local business owner, can I build citation links myself?
Absolutely. It’s not a complicated process. Especially if done the right way – producing a list of only the top directories that actually feature in Google search results and are indexed. This can be done using a tool like Ahrefs or through a simple Google search. For example, searching “electricians New York City” will produce a list of directories Google deems worthy of your time.
How important is a Google My Business profile?
Very, get it done now. A complete profile with your website URL, business address, phone number, photos, and business hours will help you be given preference in local search. All local businesses should have their profile set up as part of their local SEO strategy.