Citations (Google+ Places)

Article by Andrew Cremata
June 10, 2013

Citations may seem simple enough, but care must be taken to ensure that this step is followed to the letter. Your citation is your business address and phone number, and it must match what is listed on Google+ Places (Maps) and should be ideally placed at the footer of your website. It is VITAL that these two addressed match perfectly. If your address is different on Google than your site, these citations may not get honored and you have difficulty ranking Google+ Places (Maps).

Google uses this information for Geo-Targeting your website. Geo-Targeting is what allows people in your vicinity to find your business. If the address or phone doesn’t match then Google will be not honor your citations as a valid business verification, and will be unable to direct your potential clients to your site.

The future of search is Geo-Location. During search engine’s infancy, results were global. A search for Attorney returned every attorney website across the globe. People quickly learned to add a location to their search in efforts to find local goods and services. In recent years, Google Maps, re-branded as Google+ Places (there is a long story behind this), became a valuable resource for users. With the advent of cell phone searches almost surpassing desktop searches, search results have been localized using either the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) location of the device or the desktops IP (Internet Protocol) address.

Just recently, Google+ Places (Maps) has now added a feature to limit a distance radius on cell phones. The recent Penguin 2.0 update has also vastly improved Geo-Location of its search results. As time goes forward, we will see more granualar search results dominating. It is imperative that this is taken into consideration and done perfectly.

This may seem simple enough, but our SEO experts have learned the value of being thorough, and this means dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. Mistakes in any aspect of your SEO strategy can lead to failure, and that’s why we take great care to make sure these small details get the attention they deserve.