Citation (Local SEO)
Definition
In local SEO, a citation is any online mention of a business's Name, Address, and Phone number — collectively NAP — whether or not it includes a link, on a directory, review site, or third-party publication.
Citations are one of the oldest local SEO ranking factors. Google uses the volume and consistency of citations as a confidence signal: a business mentioned 100 times across known citation sources with identical NAP is treated as more "real" and prominent than one with five inconsistent mentions.
The most influential citation sources are the major data aggregators (Data Axle, Foursquare, Neustar Localeze) which feed many smaller directories, plus the dominant verticals: Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and industry-specific platforms.
Citation building used to be a major service category in local SEO agencies, with manual submissions to hundreds of directories. The practice has consolidated around aggregator submissions (which propagate downstream) and high-quality industry-specific citations, rather than spray-and-pray submissions to low-quality directories.
The distinction between a citation and a backlink: backlinks include a clickable hyperlink and pass PageRank, while citations may or may not be linked. Both contribute to local SEO but in different ways. Most citation sources don't link the business, but the mention itself contributes to NAP confidence.
Related terms
NAP Consistency
NAP consistency is the exact-match alignment of a business's Name, Address, and Phone number across every place those details appear online — including the business website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, citation directories, and review sites.
Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is the free business listing on Google that appears in Google Search, Google Maps, and the Local Pack, and serves as the central control surface for a local business's presence on Google.
Local Pack
The Local Pack is the cluster of three local business results that appears at the top of Google's search results page for queries with local intent, accompanied by a map and a "View all" link.