Actively managing local citations used to be a key focus of local SEO, which helped propel Yext to an IPO two years ago. Local citations included business listings and mentions across the web. Historically, citations were seen as a critical local ranking factor, but it seems that time has changed things.
Now, some local SEOs dismiss citations as almost meaningless. But, there are some who argue the opposite. They say that judicious focus on citation on key sites still matter. Either way, the consensus seems to be that citations are declining in importance.
Greg Sterling had some a number of informal conversation about citations and decided to get some comments on the matter from leading local SEOs, including:
- Miriam Ellis, local SEO SME for Moz
- Joy Hawkins, owner of the Local Search Forum and Sterling Sky in Canada
- Andrew Shotland, CEO and founder of LocalSEOGuide.com
- Darren Shaw, founder of Whitespark
- Mike Blumenthal, founder of GatherUp.
The discussion, which is found on the Search Engine Land article here, helps capture the range of opinion in the community on the subject. Looking at everything collectively, the thoughts reflect fading focus on citations. Miriam Ellis has the most “positive”” things to say in regards to citation, but Joy Hawkins doesn’t place much emphasis of the group on citation building.