How to Get Citations and Local Backlinks: Directories, Vendors, Guest Posts
By Clay Lawrence, Review Harvest · · 5 min video
The short version
A citation is anywhere your name, address and phone number are listed online, and a backlink is anywhere another website links to yours. Get citations by buying a directory listing package and having the listings indexed, with details that match your Google Business Profile exactly. Get local backlinks by joining the Chamber of Commerce, trading preferred vendor links with businesses you trust, and writing guest posts for local blogs. None of it matters without steady Google reviews and an optimized profile.
Do this, in order
- 1
Get reviews and your Google Business Profile in order first
Google reviews are the most important signal that you are reputable. Citations and backlinks do not really matter if you are not consistently getting reviews and your profile is not optimized.
- 2
Buy a package of local citations
Getting citations is pretty simple, because you can pay a service to create them. The one used here for years is on Fiverr and was $60 for 350 local citations.
- 3
Submit details that match your Google Business Profile exactly
The service asks for your business details. Give the same business name, the same address and the same phone number formatted the same way as on your profile.
- 4
Keep the report the service sends back
You get a report listing each website, the exact listing where your name, address and phone number appear, and the login and password for that directory.
- 5
Get the citations indexed
Search Fiverr for citation indexing and pay a service to index the listings. Indexing means a listing can show up in search results, which makes it a more powerful citation.
- 6
Join your local Chamber of Commerce
A link from the chamber is a very high quality backlink, and Google knows it is the Chamber of Commerce for the area you want to rank in.
- 7
Trade preferred vendor links with businesses you trust
Add a preferred vendors or preferred partners page to your site and link to each one. Scroll through your phone contacts, find owners you know and trust who have a website, and ask them to list you the same way.
- 8
Write a guest post for a local business's blog
Email local businesses that have a blog, offer a finished article with photos, and link back to your website inside it. An HVAC company could write about HVAC in rental properties for property management companies.
What does Google need to know to rank a local business?
Three things: what you do, where you do it, and that you are a reputable business in your industry that deserves to rank above your competitors. Google reviews are the most important way to show the third one. Citations and backlinks are the other two.
What is a citation?
A citation is anywhere your name, address and phone number are listed on the web. You will often see this written as NAP.
Most citations are directory listings such as Yelp and Yellow Pages. Your Google Business Profile is technically a citation too, and a very powerful one.
Here is why they count. When someone searches for the best plumber or the best dog sitter in their area, Google is crawling the web to see how many other places that business is mentioned. If you are listed on 300 directories and your competitors show up about 10 times, that is a good signal that you are the more reputable business.
How do you get citations?
Buy them as a package. It is pretty simple. The service used here for years is on Fiverr, and it was $60 for 350 local citations.
- Place the order and fill in the details it asks for.
- Make those details consistent with your Google Business Profile: the same business name, the same address, and the same phone number formatted the same way.
- Keep the report you get back. It lists every website, the exact listing where your business appears, and the login and password for each directory.
Then take it one step further and get the citations indexed. Search Fiverr for citation indexing. Indexing means the listing can actually come up in search results, which makes it a stronger citation.
What is a backlink, and which ones matter locally?
A backlink is anywhere your website is linked from another website. For local SEO, go after links that are local and high quality.
Join the Chamber of Commerce. This is a very high quality backlink, and Google knows the chamber belongs to the area you want to rank in.
Trade preferred vendor links. Put a preferred vendors or preferred partners page on your website, list the vendors you use and trust, and link to each one’s site. They can do the same for you. In practice: pull up your phone, scroll through your contacts, find the business owners you know and trust who have a website, and say, “Let’s put each other on our websites.”
Write guest posts. Reach out to local businesses with a blog and offer them a finished article. An HVAC company could email every property management company in town: “I see you have a blog about property management. We wrote an article about HVAC in your rental properties and how to keep everything running efficiently. It is completely written, and here are the photos.” The link back to your website inside the article is the cost of the content you wrote for them, and that content helps them rank higher too.
What has to be in place first
None of this really matters if you are not consistently getting reviews and you do not have an optimized Google Business Profile.
Common questions
What is a citation in local SEO?
A citation is anywhere your business name, address and phone number are listed on the web. You will often see it shortened to NAP. Most citations are directory listings such as Yelp and Yellow Pages, and your Google Business Profile counts as one too.
Do citations help you rank higher on Google?
They are a signal that your business is reputable. When someone searches for the best plumber or dog sitter in their area, Google looks at how many other places the business is mentioned across the web. Being listed on 300 directories when competitors appear about 10 times tells Google you should rank over them.
What is citation indexing?
Indexing means the listing can actually show up in search results when someone types something in. An indexed citation is more powerful than one that is not. You can pay a service to do it, for example by searching Fiverr for citation indexing.
What is a backlink?
A backlink is anywhere your website is linked from another website. For local SEO the ones to go after are local and high quality, such as a link from your Chamber of Commerce or from a trusted business in your area.
How do you get local backlinks for a service business?
Join the local Chamber of Commerce. Set up a preferred vendors page on your site and ask the business owners you already know and trust to list you on theirs. Offer local businesses with a blog a finished guest post that links back to your website.
Does the name, address and phone number need to match on every listing?
Yes. When you submit your details for citations, make them consistent with your Google Business Profile: the same business name, the same address, and the same phone number formatted the same way.
