What are Citations? - Why Do Citations Matter?

Before the Internet, people used printed directories, like the Yellow Pages, to find information about a business. Citations are modern equivalents of the Yellow pages. They are electronic directories that include your business name, address, phone number, etc. They increase your business visibility and credibility. Citations building is a key element of an intelligent SEO effort.

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

Citations are modern equivalents of the Yellow pages.

​Why Do Citations Matter?

For Google, citations are badges of merit used to determine the credibility of a website. Businesses with several quality citations often rank very high on the search engines result page. Citations are one of the most important ranking factors for local search results.

​What citations do I need?

There are hundreds of citations to consider. Some top tier generic citations such as Bing, Google and Foursquare are a must for all businesses. Some citations are specialized for dentists, attorneys, web designers etc. Not all citations are equal but, as a general rule, the more quality citations you have the better it is for your business.

• Top US free citations sites
• Top local citations by business category​

Alco Web Design Citations Services

​Many citations directories will list your business for free but manual submitting is a tedious and time-consuming process. Most small business owners prefer to purchase their citations through a citation building service provider such as Alco Web Design. Contact us now, we can help.