We’ve been discussing the importance of citations in Google Maps and Google Local Business Center, among others.  Today we will discuss on how to find more sources on which to get your business cited.  Remember that consistency is very relevant in local SEO and your citations need to be the same across the board for those who have the most success.

Free Self-Listings

The first step is to get your business listed on as many sites as possible that allow you to add your own citation for free.  These include Yahoo, Yellowpages.com, 411.com, infospace, anywho, and dozens of other major popular sites.   These major sites are also said to carry more importance when it comes to Google page rankings so get started.

A good way to get started if you have a website/blog or if you’re working with anything related to Internet is to familiarize yourself with the most common terms about search engine optimization (SEO). (For those who already know SEO, consider this post as a refresher!).

1. Search Engine Marketing (SEM): As the name implies, it involves marketing services or products via search engines. SEM is divided into two main pillars: SEO and PPC. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is the practice of optimizing websites to make their pages appear in the organic search results. PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click, and it is the practice of purchasing clicks from search engines. The clicks come from sponsored listings in the search results.

2. Backlink: Also called inlink or simply link, it is a hyperlink on another website pointing back to your own website. Backlinks are important for SEO because they affect directly the PageRank of any web page, influencing its search rankings.

3. PageRank: It is an algorithm that Google uses to estimate the relative important of pages around the web. The basic idea of PageRank is that a link from page A to page B can be seen as a vote of trust from page A to page B. The higher the number of links (weighted to their value) to a page, means, the higher the probability that such page is important.

4. Linkbait: It is a piece of web content published on a website or blog with the goal of attracting as many backlinks as possible (in order to improve one’s search rankings). Usually it’s a written piece, but it can also be a video, a picture, a quiz or anything else. A classic example of linkbait is the “Top 10″ lists that tend to become popular on social bookmarking sites.

Geolocation, demand reviews, and consumers come together with the use of Google Places. U.S. - based companies can now connect and convey their own message to their consumers from all other places.

With Google becoming a huge online directory of local businesses, optimizing your Google Places can put your business in top rankings on a search engine results page.  While the official Google manual states it has no public guidance on how to become top ranked, it does state more than once to read its manuals, and that good search engine optimization continues to rule. At the very minimum, you need to have the following:

1) Integrate Google Places into Your Marketing Plan

Determine how the Google Places fits into your businesses marketing plan. Identify the objectives and its corresponding standard of measurement for using this marketing strategy; the key personnel responsible for managing the listing and incoming reviews; and the potential budget for any upgrade in marketing services via Google AdWords, Google Tags, Google Maps, and Google Boost.

2) Follow Google Rules

It pays to comply on Google Places Quality Guidelines for compliance requirements; particularly, you should follow the correct format as advised.  Provide accurate information regarding your business. Otherwise, your Google Place will be deactivated and will be removed from their list.