Local citations for SEO can help your mold removal company rank high in local search engine results pages (SERPs). It can push your brand up in search results in all the right places and in front of potential customers who are searching for your services. If done correctly, local citations can deliver fantastic dividends – but if you get it wrong, then you will be left with a massive clean-up task on your hands.

So if you want to improve local search engine optimization (SEO) for you Mold Removal Company, then this guide is for you. You will get to learn about local citations, the advantages they can offer for your mold removal company SEO, you will get to know about the different types of citation locations, and lastly what you can do get more local citations for your business.

Let’s get started.

What is a Local Citation?

Ok so before addressing how you can get more local citations for your Mold Removal Company, it is important that you first understand what a local citation means.

In simple terms, a local citation is any mention of your mold removal company’s name, address, and phone number anywhere online. Given how important this information is, it is also important to note that local citations can actually play a critical role in your local SEO as well.

As mentioned above, local citations are a mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) anywhere online. So the obvious question is – what are the different places where citations can appear? Well, local citations can appear in numerous places including business directories and the social space. In other words, it can appear in any location where users are searching for mold removal services.

Which is why you have to get your local citations correct. Remember, search engines such as Google use the business listing of your mold removal company when deciding whether or not you are a credible and trustworthy service. If you pass, then your brand will appear in local SERPs for all the relevant search queries.

While the minimum amount of information that makes up a local citation is NAP, most websites allow businesses to include additional information as a way of strengthening and establishing their brand authenticity.

Why do Local Citations Matter to your Mold Removal Company?

There basically are two ways in which local citations can effectively influence local search rankings. Consider the following;

Local Citations and Search Rankings

So when it comes to local search rankings, local citations can either have a positive impact or they can be very harmful. Here’s how this works –

The number of local citations your mold removal business earns, the accuracy of the information you provide, as well as the quality of the sites and locations where these citations appear can all impact search rankings. In fact, as said earlier, Google will use this information to establish the authenticity and credibility of your business and then accordingly reward you in local SERPs. If however, Google finds your business listing to be false or inaccurate, then the search giant will penalize your business in SERPs.

Local Citations and Customer Trust

When it comes to winning customer trust, here again local citations matter a lot and they can again have a positive impact or negatively impact your mold removal business. When your citations are accurate, they can help in customers discovering an authentic business capable of addressing their needs. You can gain new customers this way. However, if your information is incorrect or false, then potential customers will be misled – causing loss of brand trust as well as revenue.

With your brand reputation, local search rankings, and business revenue on the line, it becomes critical that you take local citations very seriously. Also keep in mind that these tie into the local SEO foundation of your mold removal company, so getting local citations right for your business is absolutely essential.

What are the Different Types of Citations?

So you now know what local citations are and how they can impact your mold removal business. Now you need to understand the different types of citations you can get for your business. There are two types of citations that you should focus on for your business. Consider the following;

Structured Citations

A structured citation is when the most basic information about your business, which includes your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are listed. In structured citations, the information for each business is consistent and is displayed in exactly the same format.

Your social profiles and directory listings are prime examples of structured citations.

Unstructured Citations

On the other hand, unstructured citations are essentially a contextual listing or mentions of your business. These typically appear in forums and blog posts, or it could even refer to mentions of your business in press media.

Different types of citations are there for different business categories or industry types. And although some citations can have higher domain authority, the truth is that you need to be more mindful about the category relevancy. Which is why, you need to get listed in the right industry category first.

Different Types of Citations Websites

You will find different citation websites online. Each with their own level of importance. However, for the sake of local SEO, the following websites are where your local citations should appear without fail. These include the following;

So while there are literally hundreds of citation websites where you can list your mold removal business, most of them don’t hold the kind of importance the above 4 hold. This does not mean that you don’t focus on other citation platforms other than these 4 – look for local citations opportunities where ever you can. Just make sure that those platforms deliver on the kind of value you want for your local SEO.

6 Ways Mold Removal Companies can get Local Citations for SEO

If you already have local citations, then the first step would be to check if your business already owns citations and then to check their accuracy. Only then should you start focusing on getting new local citations for your mold removal business.

Here are six locations for building local citations that you should consider for your mold removal business.

  1. Google

Google tops the list of course with Google My Business listing. This is one of the primary locations for getting your local citation.

One hardly needs any reasons for understanding why Google tops the list – if you are not on the biggest search engine then you are not really going anywhere else!

So start by claiming and developing your business listing here. And make sure that you get all your business information absolutely right and ensure that it stays that way. Google takes local citations seriously, which means you will need to do the same.

  1. Use your Website Effectively

When it comes to building local citations for your mold removal company, one of the best platforms is your business website. So while Google and other structured citations platforms should be at the top of your checklist, you need to look towards your website since it is the one place that can validate your business credibility and authority the best within the online space.

Make sure all your business information is updated and absolutely accurate. Every mention of your business details anywhere within your website should be consistent and accurate.

Be sure to check both your header and footer and also scrutinize your pages for any business information – it should be the same and it should be 100% accurate.

  1. Build Local Citations over Prominent Structured Platforms

As mentioned above, citations are divided into two main types, structured and unstructured. Structured citation platforms include search engines, social media channels, local business directories, as well as apps. These locations are all very structured platforms and nearly every local business type can easily get listed with them. You can go ahead and post your mold removal business information on these platforms at little or no costs – some platforms offer a combination of both options.

Some of the top structure citation platforms include the following;

  • Bing.
  • Yahoo.
  • Yelp.
  • Apple Maps.
  • Acxiom.
  • Facebook.
  • Citygrid.
  • Foursquare.
  • Factual.
  • Superpages.
  • Infogroup/ExpressUpdate.
  • YP.
  • Localeze.

Regardless of which platform you choose, make sure your business information on these platforms is accurate and that you don’t end up with duplicate listings with any of these locations.

When it comes to managing your core citations, you can either do so manually or you can have a third-party manage local citations for your business.

  1. Look at Industry-specific Citation Platforms

It is always best to spread your wings by looking at citation platforms that support your industry specifically. You might also want consider the physical location of your business and find local citation platforms that offer opportunities for building and managing structured citations based on both of the above mentioned criteria.

So as an example – healthcare citation sites such as HealthGrades.com are ideally suited for physicians. Obviously this is not a site for your mold removal company to build local citations. Your interests will be better served when you focus on professional association sites that support your industry.

When it comes to location or geographic specific citation support, you should consider local business associations, your local chamber of commerce site, or find community hubs to build and manage local citations for your mold removal company.

Again, some of these citation building locations offer free listings, while others might offer paid options. However, when it comes to industry or geographic specific citation sites, it is advisable that you go with the paid listing option only if the sites can drive enough traffic to your mold removal business.

  1. Unstructured Citations

In addition to structured citation building sites, also look at how you can build unstructured local citations for your mold removal company. So what are some of the places you should consider?

Well, unstructured citation can happen over websites, media platforms, or apps that don’t sport a structured citation format for local business listings.

Examples of unstructured citation building sources include blogs, social platforms, or even your local press media.

Some of the ways of building unstructured citations include the following;

  • Submit editorials or similar material to your local newspapers or magazines.
  • Publish content over social sites or get featured on blogs.
  • Find opportunities within your local community that can make your brand stand out, be a part of a social outreach program, take part in local auctions, or help organize community specific events – the idea is to become newsworthy or to stand out in a way that earns you mentions in both offline and online platforms.

The purpose of building unstructured citations is so that your brand can be viewed by a wider audience base – customers who would be difficult to target only via structured citation sites.

When you focus on building valuable unstructured citations, it can provide you with a competitive edge within your local market space. This kind of brand building within your local market space can also effectively boost local SEO for your mold removal company.

  1. Build Local Citations that Best Serve Local SEO for your Mold Removal Business

What do I mean by this? Ok so I did mention earlier that your local citations can positively or negatively impact your search rankings right? Well, always remember that accurate and consistent local citations are prized by search engines such as Google. So regardless of where they appear (structured and unstructured citations), the purpose of your business mentions is to make sure that search engines find you and use those citations to establish brand credibility effectively. This is one way to ensure your mold removal business can rank high in local SERPs.

Secondly, you want to make sure that all local citations for your business are accurate and updated because you want customers to connect with your business in relevant searches. Incorrect information will only drive them away – so you want accuracy and consistency here as well.

Connecting the two, local SEO for your mold removal company is best served when search engines and potential customers can find your business to be authentic and trustworthy. The best way to do this is by making sure all your business information stays accurate and consistent always – regardless of the citation source.

In Conclusion

Local citations are critical to the local SEO of your mold removal company. They can not only help you gain ground in your local SERPs, but they also ensure that potential customers can find your business in all the right places. So they serve a dual purpose and for this reason you have to make sure that any mention of your mold removal business over the net is consistent and accurate.

In addition to your business NAP, any other information pertaining to your business including business descriptions, photos and videos among other such information should be accurate and updated. This is critical because any deviation from accuracy in your business information can impact your SERP ranking, your business reputation, as well as your business bottom-line.

Opportunities for building authentic local citations are plenty – you just need to look for them in all the right places. Use the above guide to get local citations for your mold removal company right and also to build a trustworthy brand for both search engines and potential customers.