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7 Reasons Citation Management Is Important for Small Businesses

/ directories, local search, SEO practices

Citation management is an important part of the local SEO services we offer to small businesses. There are several reasons every small business needs to pay attention to this.

7 benefits of good citation management

Broad Exposure

Online business listings
How widely are you known across the Internet?

You need to make sure you’re listed and easy to find across the web at dozens of local search engines, directories, maps, mobile apps, and voice assistants like Alexa. This also helps Google, Yahoo & Bing to have more trust in who you are, what you do, and where you are.

Accuracy and Consistency

It can make sure your NAP (name address, phone) is consistent across all of those listings. Before working with us, a recent client was missing from more than a third of the top citation listings. Even worse, two listings had an incorrect address and 14 had their old company name. When this happens, Google has very low confidence in who or where you are. And that’s devastating to your chances of showing up in local searches.

Visible Reviews

Make it easy for delighted customers to review you.
Having reviews on multiple sites builds your reputation.

Having review stars show up in multiple places enhances your reputation. When you get a word-of-mouth referral, odds are that person will look you up by name before they call, just to check you out. When they do, your website should show up — but so will many of your citations, at places like Google My Business, Yelp, MerchantCircle, Facebook, and more. Some may show up that you’ve never heard of, like Clutch or TrustPilot. If all of those have review stars displaying in the search results, that increases the likelihood that person will want to do business with you.

Review Monitoring

We send our clients an email every time someone posts a new review for them. Responding to reviews promptly has been found to increase conversions and closed business. So it’s important to know about new reviews as they happen.

Suppressing duplicate listings helps search engines trust which is correct.
Suppressing duplicate listings helps search engines trust which is correct.

Duplicate Listing Monitoring

Duplicate and near-duplicate listings can confuse search engines, and that’s never a good thing. We alert our clients whenever we find a possible duplicate so they can check it out and suppress it if necessary.

Robust Business Information

Good citation management doesn’t just start with getting your NAP widely disseminated. All of those citation sources gather and reflect lots of information about your business:

  • Website and email links
  • Description of your business and services
  • Social media links
  • Business hours including special holiday hours
  • Accessibility information
  • Your logo and photos
  • much more
7 Reasons Citation Management is Important for Your Small Business

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Inclusion in verticals

Google is getting better and better at responding to what’s called vertical search. Proper citation management will promulgate information that can help you show up when people search for specific things like

  • Wheelchair accessible dentist near me
  • Local restaurant with lasagna
  • Woman-led wellness coach
  • Veteran-led SEO company
  • etc.
Focus your info for search engines with structured data markup.
Structured data markup focuses Google on your essential information.

A Bonus

An added bonus to our citation management here at Rank Magic is schema code. That’s structured data markup in accordance with schema.org and it’s very helpful in terms of ranking highly in Google, Yahoo & Bing. We collect and maintain a lot of information about your business for your citations. That allows us to provide a simple script to add structured code to your website with a simple copy & paste.

How good is your citation management?

It’s easy to check! Just run a free scan to see whether your show up in about five dozen places across the web. And where you do show up, the scan will show your NAP and highlight any errors or inconsistencies. It will either give you peace of mind or demonstrate how badly you need citation management.

Run a free scan

Reach out if you’d like us to help put this into perspective for you.

Agree? Disagree? Have questions? Let us know in the Comments section below.

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Are Your Business Listings Sabotaging You?

/ directories, links

Many small business owners pay little or no attention to their business listings across the web. That can be a big mistake.

BrightLocal Conducted an in-depth look at the impact of business listings

Among their conclusions are some startling ones:

94% of consumers have used a business information site ro find information about a local business in the last 12 months.

Online business listings

The most commonly used sources of business information are

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • Yelp
  • Instagram
  • Apple Siri

BrightLocal found that finding incorrect information on a business listing would stop 63% of consumers from using that business.

Incorrect business listing information causes customers to lose trust in the business to different degrees:

  • phone number – 66%
  • address – 60%
  • business name – 49%
  • opening hours – 40%
  • email address – 46%
  • photos – 45%

85% of consumers found incorrect or incomplete information on a business listing in the last year.

77% found conflicting information for the same business on different business listing sites.

In the last 12 months, 81% of consumers visited a business that said online it was open, but that was actually closed due to the pandemic.

Find the full report on business listings here.

Are your business listings sabotaging you?

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Business listings can hurt you several ways

Here are some of the more common ways your business listings can hurt you.

You’re missing

If someone is looking for what you do or sell in a search engine, directory, map, or mobile app and you’re not there – clearly they can’t find you.

You’re a local business and your address is wrong

Nothing is more frustrating for customers than showing up at a business and finding that it’s not there.

Your phone number is wrong

Equally frustrating is when there’s a wrong phone number in your listing and customers can’t get through to place an order or ask a question.

Your listing got changed

You may have carefully corrected your online listing only to find that it’s since changed and now is incorrect. Listings can be changed without your knowledge or approval and those changes can sometimes hurt.

Your business hours are listed incorrectly

You don’t want someone showing up at your business or calling you only to find that you’re not open when the listings said you were. If your hours are changed due to the pandemic or holidays — or for any other reason — you need to make sure they’re listed properly across all of your listings.

Vigilance!

You need to pay at least a modicum of attention to this, reviewing your business listings occasionally.

There are citation management products like Yext PowerListings that can solve a number of these problems, including blocking your listings so that you’re the only one who can change them. These products typically come with a monthly fee but are often worth it by saving you manually managing all of your listings on an ongoing basis.

Business listing management products don’t typically cover niche directories, though. There are a number of different directories for attorneys, for example, or for people in the building trades, and typically you need to manage those manually.

COVIS - make sure people know your coronavirus practices.COVID

As long as the pandemic continues, some customers will be looking for reassurance that you have appropriate pandemic protocols in place.

BrightLocal found that 74% of consumers searched for a business listing to see what COVID-19 measures were in place. Make sure you identify that in any of your business listings that allow it.

The most important of these places is Google My Business.

  • Log into your Google My Business dashboard.
  • In the left-hand column, scroll down to the section headed From the business. In this section you can add attributes of your business in five categories: from the business, accessibility, amenities, health & safety, and service options.
  • The first section is where you can identify whether your company is black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-led, or women-led. Be sure to check of any that apply.
  • And in the following section on Amenities you can indicate whether you have a gender-neutral restroom.
  • Health and safety is where you can indicate what COVID-related protocols are in place. This is particularly important right now as many customers are sensitive to possible exposure and if you haven’t updated your Google My Business information since before the pandemic, these were not available the last time you were here.
  • The last section is Service options where you can indicate whether you offer on-site services and/or online appointments.
  • In the next section, accessibility, you can indicate whether your premises are wheelchair friendly.

If you just want to update your COVID protocols, you can do that right in the Home section of your Google My Business dashboard:

Stay Connected on Google My Business during COVID-19

Help Your Customers

A good rule of thumb is to always make it easy for customers to buy from you. You need to also make it easy for them to learn what they need to know about you to help them get to the point of buying. Make sure you’re listed widely and consistently across the web, but perhaps most important is thoroughly and accurately.

Your experience and perspective is valuable. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Power Up Your Link Profile With Niche Directories

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Improve your link profile

Niche directories are a great source of traffic and links.
There’s good value in niche directories.

The number and quality of inbound links in your site’s link profile is a critical factor in showing up near the top in Google. The quality of an inbound link is a function of the link authority of the page that links to you, as well as the relevance of that page to your business.

For example, a link from a page with a very high reputation (from having many inbound links itself) is more valuable than a link from a website that has very low link authority.

And a link from a website that’s related to your business counts more than a link from a website that’s completely unrelated. Your link profile should have a variety of inbound link types including from directories.

Get listed in niche directories

An excellent source of high quality inbound links is a niche directory, especially if they offer “follow” links. Directories typically have many inbound links themselves, which gives them high link authority. But they also, by dint of being niche, relate very closely to your business.

For example, if you are an elder law attorney, what could be more relevant that a link from the elder law attorney directory at FindLaw  or Lawyers.com. As highly regarded websites, FindLaw and Lawyers.com have very high authority, and they are highly related to the niche of elder law attorneys— or any law firm for that matter.

Home services companies have niche directories like Houzz  and Home Advisor and almost any business can find at least one directory focused on their niche. Directories in your niche can be excellent sources of link authority for you.

Many large niche directories like those just mentioned are willing to link to your website, but at a price. If you’re a website owner working on a tight budget, paying for every link is not only expensive, but likely not in your budget.

But don’t despair; there are lots of quality, free and inexpensive niche directories out there. The biggest challenge is finding them. You may need to look through each directory to find out if they offer free listings or how expensive their premium listings are.

Power Up Your Link Profile With Niche Directories

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How to Find Your Niche Directories

Method 1: Generic Search

Search for niche directories to add to your link profileGo to your favorite search engine and type in general keywords related to your site. For example, if you’re a wedding caterer you might type in wedding. Usually, well-ranking niche directories will place in the Top 10 results.

In this case Wedding Wire, Brides.com and The Knot all show up on the first page. Click through to the site and look for something like an “Add a Link” or “Join Vendor Directory” button or link somewhere in the navigation.

Method 2: Focused Directory Search

Narrow your search by your niche and the word directory. You may find a directory that offers both free and paid listings like CPAdirectory.com or MyZipPlumbers.com. This may be the quickest way to find good niche directories for your business.

 

Method 3: Unfocused Niche Directory Search

Here, you can find lists of hundreds of niche directories which are likely to include at least one directory for your niche. Simply search for niche directories. This can detect lists like Niche Listings.org and others. You should expect to have to scan through lots of directories, and don’t be discouraged if some of them are defunct; these lists usually aren’t closely maintained or pruned.

Method 4: Competitors’ Links

This allows you to take a shortcut and profit from your competitors’ previous linking efforts. Do a search with a Google search operator for links. Specifically, search for link:example.com, where you replace example.com with your competitor’s website. Then click on each link to find directories that your competitor is listed in.

Method 5: Remember your blog

Yes, you need a blog.We almost always recommend our clients maintain an active blog. If you do, you can enhance your link profile with links to your blog from blog directories that are a good match for your business. Just do a search for blog directories and look for directories that list businesses like yours.

 

Another tip

Expand your thinking when searching for a niche directory. When looking for a directory, try to think of all markets that relate to your web site. You may be surprised at what can count as a related directory.

For example, while working for an elder law firm that does guardianship as one of their sub-practice areas, I found the Special Needs Alliance website which lists many Certified Elder Law Attorneys. Keep an open mind about related topics that might be perfect for you.

Persistence pays off

What is Search Engine OptimizationYou may need to search through several directories before you find some quality, free or affordable niche directories that are right for you; however, persistence pays off.

You may need to explore some directories to find their pricing plans, many of which offer a free option. There are very likely to be some great directories that can enhance your link profile, improve your domain authority and even bring in some high quality, targeted traffic as well.

Your persistence will be worth it.

How’s your experience been with finding niche directories? Start a discussion below.

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If you’re struggling with your link profile, odds are good that Rank Magic can fix that. Reach out to us.

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How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Small Business

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Your domain name is important

Your domain name is important. Choose it wisely.When you’re creating a website for a new business, think carefully about the domain name for your website. It’ll represent your business in a unique way and it will become as important a branding consideration as your company name.

You want it to reflect your company, but there are several other considerations as well.

Decide on your top level domain.

This is the suffix at the end of your website address. Businesses should normally have a .com top level domain (TLD). But there are exceptions. Internet-based businesses, like web designers, may want a .net TLD. Not for-profit businesses and trade organizations may be best served by a .org TLD. And of course colleges and universities qualify for a .edu TLD.  Also consider that the Search Engine Institute recommends avoiding .info domain names claiming that they have a reputation for being spammy websites.

Start with your company name

Does it lend itself to a unique domain name for your website? Or does another business already have a domain name that matches your company name?

Consider including keywords

If your name includes keywords, so much the better. Jones Brothers Plumbing Co. might choose JonesPlumbing.com or JonesBrothersPlumbing.com. The keyword is likely to be slightly helpful in search rankings. You can also think about geographic keywords — like MorristownPlumbers.com. But don’t get carried away with something  like MorristownNewJerseyPlumbingAndHeating.com.

My 5 rules for a good domain name

I wrote about five rules for choosing a domain name more than ten years ago, and I’m happy to say they seem to have stood the test of time.

  1. Easy to remember
  2. Hard to misspell
  3. Make it a .com TLD
  4. Avoid hyphens
  5. Shorter is better than longer.

Beyond this, you may find that the domain name you’ve chosen has already been taken. It may be in use, or it may be held by a squatter who ill happily sell it to you for an exorbitant fee. If that happens, you may find some help in this article from Search Engine Journal: What to Do When the .COM You Want Is Taken.

Consider your domain name thoughtfully

Be sure not to make any of the 10 dumbest domain name decisions.
And finally, look at your domain name with a careful eye. Make sure you don’t choose an unfortunate domain name that can be easily or disastrously mis-read. I have a few surprisingly bad examples here.

This is Pen Island, not Penis Land.If you found this helpful, please share it with the buttons on the left or the Click-To-Tweet above.

Your thoughts and opinions are welcome. Join the discussion in comments below.

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Unfortunate Domain Name Decisions

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Some People Didn’t Think When Choosing their Domain Names

Oops!You may be amused by some of the domain names people have chosen. For some of them they discovered it too late and either went out of business or belatedly re-thought their decisions. But a surprising number of them are still alive under their amusing domains.

Here are some classics that aren’t there anymore.

  • Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
    http://www.expertsexchange.com
  • Need a therapist?
    http://www.therapistfinder.com
  • New to Milan and you need electricity? Why not sign up on-line with Power-Gen?
    http://www.powergenitalia.com
  • Looking for kids’ clothes? Try Children’s Wear
    http://www.childrenswear.com/
  • There’s also the online training company Via Grafix
    http://www.viagrafix.com/
  • A French arborist, Les Bocages
    lesbocages.com
  • Top MP3 songs – MP3s Hits
    mp3shits.com
  • TV personal advice celebrity Ben Dover
    bendover.com
  • Language teachers
    teacherstalking.org
  • A bedspread company in Los Angeles
    ladrape.com
Unfortunate domain name choices.

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And some others are still there.

That’s probably more than any of us really need to know, but the moral of the story is — make sure your domain name can’t be read wrong.