Google uses a different algorithm to populate its local search results than it does to generate its organic listings. Most people know that having more (quality) links from outside sources pointing to your site can help it rank in the organic search results.
While there are many
ranking factors that appear to contribute to local search, experts agree that citations matter more than links.
So what’s the difference between citations and links?
Whitespark explains it well:
“A citation is any mention of your business out on the web, with or without a link. It can come in various forms:
- Company Name, by itself.
- Company name & phone number.
- Company name, phone number, & address.
- Company name, phone number, address, & link.
- etc.
“Even just the phone number by itself can be a citation.”
And the quality of the citations here matters, too.
According to David Mihm, “A citation from your local community college or city hall is going to be infinitely more valuable than one from findbusinessesinyourcity.info.”
How many citations you have matters as well. “If your business is listed on 100 websites, all of equal value, and your competitor is listed on 50 websites, all of equal value, you should rank higher (sorry, be more relevant) for a particular search than your competitor,” he said.