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What Is a Citation and Why It Boosts Your Local Ranking

December 20, 2023 · by Reputory Team

If you’ve done any research on local SEO, you’ve probably come across the term “citation”. But what exactly is a citation—and why does it matter so much for your local rankings and business reputation?

What Is a Local Citation?

A citation is any mention of your business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) on the web. This can be structured (like a formal listing) or unstructured (like a blog post or news article mentioning your business).

Common places where citations live:

  • Google Business Profile
  • Facebook Business Pages
  • Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps
  • Industry-specific directories (Avvo, Zocdoc, Realtor.com, Houzz)
  • Local chamber of commerce websites
  • News sites or blogs covering your business

These citations act as digital references that help search engines verify that your business is real, trusted, and located where you say it is.

Why Citations Matter for Local SEO

Google uses multiple signals to determine which local businesses show up in the map pack and organic search results. Citations play a big role because they:

  • Validate your NAP: Consistent citations reinforce trust in your core business data
  • Act like backlinks: Citations on high-authority domains send authority and relevance signals
  • Improve discoverability: Citations help people find your business in third-party apps and directories

Inconsistent, duplicate, or outdated citations, on the other hand, can hurt your rankings and damage customer trust.

Structured vs Unstructured Citations

Structured citations are formal business listings where your NAP is displayed in fields (e.g., Google Business, YellowPages, Facebook).

Unstructured citations are informal mentions of your business name, address, or phone in content—like a local newspaper article or a blog post review.

Both matter. Structured citations are easier to control, while unstructured ones tend to carry more SEO weight if they’re from reputable sites.

How Many Citations Do You Need?

There’s no magic number, but top-ranking businesses typically have 50–100+ citations across relevant platforms. It’s not just about quantity—accuracy and authority are what matter most.

That means:

  • Your NAP must match everywhere—down to the formatting
  • You should prioritize listings on authoritative sites
  • Outdated or duplicate listings should be cleaned up

Where to Build Citations

Start with these core platforms:

  • Google Business Profile
  • Facebook
  • Apple Maps
  • Bing Places
  • Yelp

Then expand to:

  • Better Business Bureau
  • Local chamber of commerce or business groups
  • Industry directories relevant to your niche
  • Data aggregators like Data Axle, Neustar, and Foursquare

Common Citation Mistakes

  • Inconsistent business names: Reputory LLC vs Reputory Inc.
  • Different phone numbers or tracking numbers across platforms
  • Typos or formatting differences in addresses
  • Creating duplicate listings in the same directory
  • Not updating citations after a move or rebrand

How Reputory Helps

Our platform scans your connected business listings and surfaces:

  • NAP mismatches across platforms
  • Incomplete or missing citations
  • Links to fix or update each citation

We also track sentiment, reviews, and consistency over time—so you don’t have to manually audit every directory or search for outdated info. Our goal: Make you visible, credible, and consistent across the web.

Tips for Managing Citations at Scale

If you manage multiple locations or clients, citation management can quickly become a mess. Here are a few tips:

  • Use a citation management tool or spreadsheet to track all listings
  • Keep a consistent master NAP document
  • Set calendar reminders to audit citations quarterly
  • Assign someone (or a platform) to monitor and fix issues regularly

Final Thoughts

Citations are a foundational piece of local SEO and reputation management. When done right, they give Google (and customers) confidence that your business is legitimate, local, and ready to serve.

Want a fast way to audit your citations? Start with our free brand health check and get an instant snapshot of your NAP consistency, directory visibility, and review health—all in one place.