What are Google Map Citations?
Simplified

Having more citations can boost your visibility on Google Maps. It means you are more likely to appear at the top of search results when people look for your services.

However, I recommend listing your local business on only a few quality websites.

• Reach and Visibility
• Rankings
• Trust
• Free

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number

Structured and unstructured citations are the two main types of Google Maps citations.

(Source: https://jetrank.com/google-maps-citations/)

Structured Citations, or NAP Citations, include your business name, address, phone number, and a backlink (optional). You typically find these on sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook Business Pages, Hotfrog, and more.

Most citation sites charge fees, but some don’t. So keep this in mind when thinking about building Structured Citations for your local business.

Unstructured citations appear when someone mentions your business name, address, or phone number. They don’t follow a specific format like Structured Citations. Anyone who knows about your business can create them intentionally or unintentionally on blog posts, forum posts, and social media.

These are less useful than Structured Citations because anyone can mention your business information incorrectly, so you have to track it using a citation management tool like BrightLocal.

Most people must correct their business name, address, or phone number. It looks simple, but it’s not because, as a beginner, you can make these mistakes, and you’ll be worried later on.

Let’s take a look at what types of mistakes you can avoid when building citations for your local business:

These are six common mistakes that most people make with their business name when building citations:

1. Misspellings: Like “Starbukcs” instead of “Starbucks.”
2. Omissions: Skipping words, e.g., “The Coffee House” becomes “Coffee House.”
3. Additions: Adding extra words or letters, e.g., “Sam’s Coffees Shop” instead of “Sam’s Coffee Shop.”
4. Wrong Order: Flipping words, e.g., “House Coffee The” instead of “The Coffee House.”
5. Abbreviations: Shortening names incorrectly, e.g., “McD’s” instead of “McDonald’s.”
6. Punctuation Errors: Missing or extra punctuation, e.g., “Joe’s Cafe” vs. “Joes Cafe.”

These are seven types of mistakes you can make with your business address:

1. Misspellings: Wrong street names, like “Elm Strete” instead of “Elm Street.”
2. Wrong Numbers: Incorrect building numbers, e.g., “123” instead of “321.”
3. Omitted Details: Skipping parts like suite numbers, e.g., “101 Main St” instead of “101 Main St, Suite 200.”
4. Wrong Order: Flipping address components, e.g., “Main St, 101” instead of “101 Main St.”
5. Abbreviations: Inconsistent use of abbreviations, like “St.” vs. “Street.”
6. ZIP Code Errors: Incorrect or missing ZIP codes, e.g., “90210” instead of “90212.”
7. City/State Mistakes: Confusing city and state names, e.g., “Austin, Nevada” instead of “Austin, Texas.”

1. Wrong Numbers: Typing incorrect digits, like “123-456-7890” instead of “123-456-7809.”
2. Missing Digits: Omitting numbers, e.g., “123-456-789” instead of “123-456-7890.”
3. Extra Digits: Adding extra numbers, like “123-456-78901.”
4. Wrong Order: Mixing up the sequence, e.g., “123-457-6890” instead of “123-456-7890.”
5. Formatting Errors: Inconsistent formatting, like “(123)456-7890” vs. “123-456-7890.”
6. Country/Area Codes: Missing or incorrect country or area codes, e.g., “+1 123-456-7890” vs. “+44 123-456-7890.”

This blog post lists 60 general Canadian citation sites where anyone can list their business for free. You must sign up on these websites; some will send a verification code to your email account or phone number.

Verify by code if required, and they will publish your business listing within a few hours.

Niche-specific or industrial citations are websites where businesses in specific industries or specialized fields are listed. For example, only a Canadian locksmith business can be listed on a locksmith citation site for Canada.

We can only cover a few niche-specific businesses, but we’re working hard to provide lists for as many local business types as possible.

Your competitors can build duplicate and false Google Map Citations of your business by adding incorrect names, addresses, or phone numbers. They can also choose spammy websites to list your business info.

You can’t entirely stop it, but you can lower its chances. You can use a tool like BrightLocal to show duplicates and errors in your business citations. It’s a complicated process, so I’ll never recommend working on it as a beginner. After establishing your local business, you can focus on it, but it’s hard. Hire professionals if you need to solve this issue.

NoxRank provides instructions for local SEO citation building. You can hire NoxRank for citation-building services if you have a marketing budget. Discuss your project with us, and we’ll start working on it immediately.