A list of Local Citation Sources in Canada

August 10, 2009 @ 2:37 pm · Filed under Google

Local SEO has become an important segment of search engine optimization and in fact sprang a mini industry in the SEO sector, with companies focusing solely on local results, such as 10 box, 3 box and authoritative 1 box (explanations below). Effective, less resource demanding, and less time consuming, local SEO has become an essential part of our industry.

Boxes

The 10 box, 3 box and 1 authoritative box, all describe the way Google displays local search results. Here are the visual examples.

10 Box

3 Box

1 Box or Authoritative Box

Obviously the one box is the best one to have for a competitive search term, however it is hard to get, as it shows mostly for direct company names, and very authoritative domains.

A list of Site Objects to Optimize:

Claim Your Local Business Listing. The process is a pain in the butt, but here’s the guide we wrote a while ago.
Have local business address in the city you’re targeting
Include City / Province in the titles tag, preferably index and contact
Have inbound links from relevant site with local anchor text (”toronto limo”) etc.
Have an address as close to the center of the city as possible
Include targeted keywords in the business description
Have as many links as possible.
Include photos, videos and additional information in the Google Local Business Center
Get some positive ratings on third party sites (trip advisor, etc)
Associate your listing in the proper category
Include full address on the contact us page, and also on the footer of other pages (footer not required)
Have inbound links from local sites and directories
Have targeted keywords in the business title
Have a local area code phone number
Get citations from major data providers (list below)
Have quality inbound links to the site to improve trust (like regular SEO)
Get customer reviews directly on Google maps and from data providers such as City Search and Yahoo Local. The more reviews the better, regardless negative or positive (a bigger factor for hotels and other industries with many customer reviews)

Local Citations (Canada Only)

Local citations have become equivalent to links in regular search engine optimization, as the more citations a local business has the more prominent it is the eyes of Google. Here’s a list of directories you must be in if you want to be a leader in the local results.