What exactly are citations (NAP), and why should you care?

By Sarah Jones|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: |Comments Off on What exactly are citations (NAP), and why should you care?

 

 

I recall when I first began working in SEO. I was excited because I’d just launched a shiny new website. It looked amazing—slick design, punchy headlines, and loads of potential. But then reality hit: it started on page 10 of Google.

Ever been there?

You’re probably nodding right now.

It’s a common scenario for many business owners, especially when you’ve splashed a fair bit of money on a beautiful site, expecting it to rise to the top of Google or at least be indexed closer to page 1 of Google.

But page 10! That means there is a substantial amount of work to be done.

But here’s the thing: great design alone doesn’t cut it.

If you want people to find you, you’ve got to invest in local SEO. And a massive part of local SEO? Yep, you guessed it: building citations.

Therefore, citations need to be built on, say, Wales Online and other business directories.

 

What’s a business citation anyway?

I remember first hearing the term “citation” and imagining something complex and challenging to implement.

But honestly, it’s way simpler than it sounds.

Business citations—also called NAP listings—are just mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number online, say Wales Online.

 

Think of them like your business’s digital footprint.

Every mention of your business counts, helping Google to understand where your business is based in Cardiff.

The more high-quality citations you have, the better your chances of appearing higher in local search results. Sounds pretty good.

But wait, there’s a catch (isn’t there always?)

Every citation must match exactly.

Yep, no typos, no extra spaces—everything identical.

This means your address on Yellow Pages should match exactly with your Google My Business page, your Facebook, and every other listing out there.

 

Why matching citations matters so much

Now, you might think, “What’s the big deal?

It’s just an address.” But from Google’s perspective, consistency is everything.

Google’s bot (let’s call him Googlebot for simplicity) scans the web, which is called “crawling and indexing. This collects your business information from various sources, including Thomson Local and Hot Frog. If your address or phone number doesn’t match, it gets confused.

And confusion is the enemy of rankings.

Consistency across citations tells Google, “Hey, this business is based here, the address and phone number are cited in many business directories, so it’s reliable, and worth showing to people searching for services in this area.”

 

Quality must always come over quantity.

Okay, so you know you need business citations, but where exactly should you get them?

The short answer: quality websites related to your industry.

For instance, if you’re a solicitor in Wales, getting listed on well-known law directories or legal publications is the way to go.

Google loves relevance.

So, always prioritise quality over quantity.

Avoid spammy directories like the plague.

Seriously, stay far away from using spammy SEO methods, as you could incur a penalty.

Using these might seem tempting because they’re quick and easy, but believe me, it’s not worth the penalty.

That’s a headache you want to steer clear of.

How to build the perfect business citation

Alright, let’s break it down into simple steps:

 

Find quality business directories:

Start with industry-specific directories, for example, if you work in construction, list your business on construction business directories.

Also, list your company on local business listings with good domain authority (you can easily check this using Moz Pro).

 

Enter your NAP information carefully.

Double-check that every detail related to your company’s NAP information matches precisely with the information in your other business listings.

One slip-up and Googlebot might get confused.

Add a unique description.

Write a short, unique blurb about your business for each citation.

Sure, it’s more work, but it massively boosts credibility.

 

Include a URL

Always link back to your homepage—this helps Googlebot associate your citation directly with your site.

Add Photos (If Possible)

Add a professional mugshot of the team or the office; it does make a difference.

 

Slow and steady wins the SEO race

Here’s a common mistake I’ve seen way too often: businesses rush to create tons of business citations all at once.

I get it—you’re keen to climb the rankings fast.

However, Google doesn’t like anything that appears unnatural or spammy.

Instead, build citations gradually.

Aim for one or two per month rather than twenty in a week.

Slow, steady growth looks genuine, not spammy, which Google (and customers) appreciate.

 

Why consistency is your best friend

Let’s say you move offices or change your business phone number; then you need to update your Google listing. But what about all those other directories you’ve listed on?

This is where things get messy. If some citations still contain your old information, Googlebot receives mixed messages, and your customers might end up confused as well. Not ideal, right?

I once had a client who relocated and forgot to update about half of their citations.
Traffic dropped, customers became frustrated, and it took a considerable amount of time to clean up the mess.

Whenever there’s a change, review every business citation and update it accordingly.

Tedious?

Sure.

Worth it?

Absolutely.

 

How many citations do you need?

Okay, let’s be real for a moment, there’s no magic number. Every industry—and every city—has its different levels of competition.

The harsh truth is, someone will always be fighting for your spot.

So, keep building those citations, but do it thoughtfully. Focus on quality and relevance rather than sheer quantity. Remember, this isn’t a quick fix—it’s a long-term marketing strategy that yields lasting benefits.

Can citations alone get you to the first page?

I hate to break it to you, but no, citations alone probably won’t catapult you straight to the top of Google’s first page.

You need a multi-layered SEO strategy that combines citations, high-quality backlinks, effective content marketing, and robust technical SEO.

Think of citations as the foundation—a crucial first step that supports all your other SEO efforts.

SEO is about consistency, ongoing effort, and patience. It’s not quick, but the results speak for themselves when done right.

 

Come chat with the experts.

I’ve spent over ten years helping businesses navigate local SEO, citations included.

Want to skip the trial and error? Let’s have a chat. Drop us a line today for a free, no-obligation quote—we’ll get your business on track without the hassle.

Are backlinks still an important part of the SEO process?

By Sarah Jones|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: |Comments Off on Are backlinks still an important part of the SEO process?

 

Written by: Ryan

 

Table of contents:

What is the difference between internal and external backlinks?

How do Google algorithms use external links to assess the strength of a business’s search engine optimisation?

Why is it important to lower a company’s bounce rate?

What is user experience?

What does anchor text mean? Why is it important not to optimise this text?

How our expert team can help?

 

To put it in a nutshell, to improve a business’s search engine optimisation, the company must have a strong backlink profile. Ever since the days of Google’s PageRank, Google has viewed backlinks as a key indicator of a business’s search engine optimisation strength. If companies have numerous powerful links (high DA), they will have much stronger domain authority, resulting in more organic traffic.

If you are scratching your head, wondering what “Google PageRank” means, do not be overly concerned about this term at the moment, as it’s just a description of one of the many algorithms that Google uses.

Google’s algorithm has become significantly more sophisticated; it now utilises numerous additional ranking factors to calculate and measure the strength of your business’s search engine optimisation.

However, a long time ago, Google relied almost entirely on backlinks to assess the strength of a business’s organic search engine optimisation (SEO). However, when you speak with any of the top SEO experts in the world, they will agree that there are now over 200 different ranking factors that Google utilises.

 

Can you please explain the difference between external and internal backlinks?

 

Internal links are simply links from pages or blog posts within the same domain name. You might be scratching your head, wondering what the point of that is. Let us explain a little further.

You will begin to understand how internal links are helpful for both shoppers and when improving a business search engine optimisation.

Let’s say you’re busy reading a particularly long blog post, which is over 3,000 words in total.

Therefore, it’s often the case that the business has written previous articles about similar topics that are discussed in that article.

Let’s say you’re reading an article about how high-performance engine oil. The company might link to other products sold, such as filters, air filters and perhaps other products, even car waxes. Therefore, these internal links direct shoppers to other product pages, providing access to additional helpful information.

Therefore, remember that internal links direct shoppers to different pages on the same website.

 

What are external links?

External links can decipher whether an SEO campaign wins or fails.

If a business has many strong, and powerful links then this improves its website’s domain authority, and the website is likely to rank higher on Google.

However, if your backlinks are low quality and have been purchased on mas, which means that the business SEO will undoubtedly fail. Companies may incur a Google penalty, (Google Penguin Penalty) and as a result, it can sometimes take many years to recover from a link penalty.

Therefore, when it comes to external links, quality is the key.

Only build quality backlinks.

 

 

Can you explain why backlinks are so crucial to the SEO process?

 

Google uses back links as a key ranking

You might be wondering what SEO ranking factors mean; well Google uses over 200 to decipher and determine precisely how good a business’s organic and local SEO is. Out of all ranking factors, when you ask any SEO expert, they will tell you that backlinks are right at the top of the tree in terms of importance. This means that if you establish powerful links, such as those from a reputable business, you can significantly improve your company’s ranking.

With a single powerful backlink from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the business could go from page 3 to page 1.

 

Using links to lower the company’s bounce rate

Have you ever visited a well-written website that is so engaging that you want to continue reading the helpful and valuable information it provides? It could be a blog post or a piece of evergreen content marketing that has kept you reading the page for over say over 7 minutes.

You may have clicked on several internal links and, consequently, transitioned from reading one blog post to perhaps three.

You may have spent a considerable amount of time on the website, but this can have a substantial beneficial effect on the business’s SEO.

SEO agencies refer to this as “dwell time”, thats the amount of time the shopper spends reading and digesting the information.

Dwell times are considerably high, lets say anything is five minutes; it shows the reader is interested in the work and wants to sit and read the information because of its quality.

This sends a clear message to Google’s algorithms that the information, that page is of high quality, indicating that the business offers helpful and reliable advice. Therefore this is why the bounce rate is low and the dwell time is high.

On the other hand, if the shopper fails to click on another internal link, the bounce rate could substantial, possibly reaching up to 70%. This, on the other hand, indicates that the shopper’s disinterest in the business and this is reflected in a high bounce rate.

Internal links can also help crawlers, such as Google bots, crawl and index different pages more efficiently.

 

Improve user experience

Consider a significant business for which you regularly make purchases from. This is probably a well-known e-commerce store with a multi-million-pound turnover.

What you often find is that such businesses will have often gone to considerable lengths to improve website navigation. There will be breadcrumb navigation, a good page structure, well designed drop-down menu, well designed main menus, and internal links.

What the business wants you to do is navigate between pages as simply as possible so you spend more time on the website and buy more products.

The last thing they want is for you not to find the product page you want, and leave the website without making a purchase? As this will result in a higher bounce rate.

Well-written anchor text

The anchor text, for those unfamiliar, refers to the clickable text that is clicked to follow the link.

However, Google also uses the anchor text as a way of deciphering what the page is about.

 

How our agency can help

Working with our agency can help you develop a winning SEO strategy for your business.

Whatever your business needs in terms of technical SEO, whether it’s links or content marketing, we can help.

It’s important to remember that there are marketing agencies, then there are marketing agencies. What we mean by that statement is that we have a consistent track record of helping businesses increase their sales numbers. Some SEO companies often take shortcuts and pursue quick wins, which can result in numerous penalties from Google.

Instead, we use some of the best methods, as recommended by Google. This can help to get your business to the top of Google’s search results.

If your business is seeking to enhance its SEO then please get in touch with us today.