Actively managing local citations — business listings email list and web mentions — was once a key focus of local seo and helped propel yext toward an ipo two years ago. Citations were historically considered a critical local ranking factor. But things have changed. Some local seos now dismiss quotes as almost meaningless. However, others argue thatjudiciousthe focus on citations at key sites continues to matter. Either way, the consensus now seems to be that quotes are losing their importance. After many casual conversations about citations.
I decided to get some official feedback from top local seos: miriam ellis , local seo sme for moz, joy hawkins , owner of local search forum and sterling sky in canada, andrew shotland , ceo and founder of localseoguide.Com, darren shaw , founder of whitespark, and mike blumenthal , founder of gatherup. The discussion below is not exhaustive, but it captures the email list range of community opinions on the subject. Taken together, the thoughts reflectdiscolorationfocus on quotes. I have organized the comments according to the degree of importance given to the quotes. Miriam ellis has the most "Positive" things to say about quotes, while joy hawkins places the least emphasis of the bunch on quote building.
Miriam ellismoz it is quite true that our industry's email list perception of the role of citations has evolved over the past two decades, and thankfully our understanding today is more nuanced than just a few years ago. My personal view of the practical value of citations is as follows. Every location-based business should own as many of its brand and core keyword serps as possible. Taking maximum control of both structured and unstructured citations is one of the most obvious and sensible ways to achieve a high degree of ownership. Whether structured, like a traditional tripadvisor page, or unstructured, like a mention of your business in local online news rankings in the first 3-5 pages of google, these are identifiable business assets. I personally believe that the quotes that matter most to your business are the ones that rank the most for your business by geographic market.