Citations are listings for your business and its contact details on the web. These are very important factors in determining a business’s ranking on Google My Business and it is important that you place the correct information on the right websites.
When it comes to building my clients’ local citation links, these are the sites I trust (in no particular order).
Cylex is one of our favourite business directories as it offers a really comprehensive listing plus your business details get pulled through to aussie-hours.com so it’s really two listings in one!
HotFrog has been online since 2005 and is a free directory for Australian businesses. You can add as much detail as you like including images, services and of course that all important website link. They claim to have almost 2.7 million unique users per month, so not only is it great for SEO but may even lead to some solid customers for your business.
This Australian online directory has been around since 2006 and is trusted by both consumers and businesses. Listings are free and they also have a True Local iPhone app available. It’s preferable to start with a new listing as it can be a laborious process to claim your listing if there is already one on the site, but it is worth pursuing to gain control of it and make sure it is up to date with the correct information.
Yellow Pages is one of the most well-known listing services which has more recently made the transition from paper to web. Be advised that the Yellow Pages do like to try and sign you up for paid listings but we personally do not see a great ROI on this investment so if you have a small budget for online marketing this may not be the best place to spend it.
Founded in 2004, this listing service puts local businesses in touch with potential customers. Yelp has a set of tools like reviews, ads and message services to help you connect with your clients. Yelp used to be mainly focused on restaurants and cafes but these days any business can register with them and be reviewed by its community of Yelpers. If your business is already on Yelp, you can claim the listing by receiving an automated phone call at your business number.
Pure Local is a trusted Australian business directory that helps users discover verified local businesses across Australia. As one of the top business directories in Australia, they provide reliable information through location-based searches and curated company listings. All businesses listed on the Pure Local Directory are manually reviewed to ensure quality and trust.
Localstore connect local consumers with retailers and service providers. To list here you must sell products or provide services directly to the public, and, you must have a shop, office or premises open to your customers even if you are an online or mobile only business.
AussieWeb is one of Australia’s most popular local search directories. They provide good authority and it is free to submit a listing to their site. Started by Monte Huebsch way back in 1996, it doesn’t take long for your listing to get verified and added to their directory provided you use a business domain email address.
Fyple is a nice easy submission. Despite its basic nature, this is one of the most used local citations for Australian businesses so definitely consider this site for your business.
Womo is a great place to list your business as not only can you add all your business information, but customers are able to review you and build up your reputation online. WOMO actually stands for Word Of Mouth Online, and that’s exactly what it is – a place where you can get genuine reviews from genuine customers.
This is something you can do yourself or you can get help from a virtual assistant.
Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003 and is a recognised expert in Local SEO for professional and service-based businesses across Australia.
She is the founder of Blue Cherry Online Marketing, a Local SEO and Google Ads agency she established in 2008. Through Blue Cherry, Karen has optimised over 1,000 websites and managed millions of dollars in Google Ads spend, giving her a deep understanding of what drives visibility and enquiries for service businesses in a constantly evolving search landscape. Over the past two decades, she has worked with a wide range of local service businesses including trades, allied health, psychologists, childcare centres, naturopaths, accountants, lawyers and many more.
Karen is also the creator of The SEO School, an online SEO course designed to teach business owners how to take control of their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for Local, State and Federal Government and was an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Her passion for making SEO accessible drives everything she does, from free resources to hands-on training.
Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google's Head Office. She holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.
She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female service-based businesses.
To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.
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