Think of a citation as a mention of your business profile on any website other than your own.  Citations can be both paid, and free, one place they are often found is on a business directory type website. A citation should follow a standard protocol, which would typically include a business name, address, contact details, and a link to your official business website address.

There are thousands of locations all across the internet where a citation could appear. Although business directories are the most well-known, citations can be found on news websites, suppliers, or even client websites. Ideally, you want to place your citations on websites that have a long-standing and excellent reputation with the search engines.

Citations can and do vary, simply because you have to abide by the posting structure of the website where you are posting your citation. However, there are certain standard elements that are universal across all directories. A citation would typically consist of the following items.

• Business name
• Business description
• Phone number
• Address
• Website link

Not every business will have a physical location, a mobile hairdresser being the perfect example. Google and the other search engines, understand this, and so it is important for every business to generate citations. The benefit of citations is that they can provide a business with a more significant online presence, which in turn will help them when it comes to appearing in local search results.