Usually when you hear that you have received a “citation” it is a bad thing, but in the
Online Marketing world, the opposite is true. If you own a business in Cape Canaveral,
Brevard County Florida (or any surrounding areas), and you have heard of or read
about citations, you may have been confused about exactly what they are. And it’s
a very beneficial idea to change that mindset like right now.
In simple terms, a citation in the online world refers to any time your company
information is listed on a website. These include listings such as local directories,
such as Yelp.com, YellowPages.com, and SuperPages.com.
Also, citations can be found on other types of websites such as local blogs, news
websites, employment sites, Social Media sites, government sites, the Chamber
of Commerce sites, and anything else that may mention your company. Even if
the mention has no link to your company’s website and only your company’s
name is mentioned, it is still considered a citation.
However, the more information included, the better.
Why Citations Are Good
Any online exposure for your company will bring attention to your products and services,
which you can obviously benefit from. Exposure opens you up to potential customers that
may have previously passed you by; and citations play a vital role in helping you connect
with these potential buyers.
In addition to that, citations are critical for search engine optimization today. Google and
other search engines use citations to rank your business. The more citations you have,
the higher your website will list in the search results. A higher ranking means more web
traffic, which in turn equals more business for you.
So what is the key to getting more citations for your business?
While there are a variety of ways to accomplish this, it all boils
down to building more of a presence online.
However, several factors should be considered when building these citations.
Tips for Citations
At the very least, your citations should mention your company’s formal name, your
physical address, and your local phone number (also called NAP for “Name, Address,
Phone Number”) – and anything else that tells a search engine or a customer exactly
who you are.
Even more important is that all of your citations are consistent and contain the exact
same information. Using different addresses and phone numbers (except in the case
of multiple locations) could actually hurt your ability to gain any benefits from them.
Finally, a citation is most effective when it is accompanied by as much information
about your business as possible. So be sure to include your hours of operations,
pictures, videos, details about your products and services, and any other helpful
information you think your potential customers would like to have.
Especially covering Brevard County Towns such as:
Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Sebastian, Merritt Island, Palm Bay,
Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Rockledge, Mims,
Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, Malabar, Grant,
