Will linking to my citation sources help google recognize them / credit my places account?
-
Or will those sources be discounted by google then similar to how google discounts link exchanges?
I have noticed some pages, like mapquest, don't really have a directory, so google might not be aware of their content unless it is linked too???
In this type of a case, would it help to link to mapquest's search results? then the citation will get picked up by google?
-
Hi Storwell,
Thanks for being a good sport, and it definitely sounds to me as if you are experiencing heavy lag time between citations being created and being imported into your Place Page. It can take months for this to happen. Given the vagaries of Google's Local product, your other citations could show up tomorrow, next month or never. I know how frustrating this is. I wonder, have you started a thread about this at the Google Places Help Forum to see if you can trigger a response from a Google rep? It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does and you may either get A) a response or B) a spine tingling mysterious edit. I've seen both happen.
If you do decide to create a thread there, make it as simple but thorough as possible. Obviously, give your business info and link to your Place Page. Then, I would suggest that you cite the 5 biggest citations sources where you are cited but which aren't being shown on your Place Page. I would put them in a simple list, with links to the citations.
My bet is that you will get other forum members chiming in over there with, "it takes patience, just wait it out." But, if you could ask a rep for a general idea of when you might expect to see these appearing on your Place Page, you just might get a response.
Good luck!
-
Thanks Miriam,
I have been trying to get a definitive answer on that question for several months now, which is probably why i came off a little bit aggressive towards Tyler. For that i appologize.
Back on topic though:
I have already gotten our business information listed in 95% of the recomended sites on whitespark and getlisted. But i find that google still only lists our business as having 4 or 5 citations, most of them are not from any of those recognized sites, but from other random extraneous places.
My idea was not so much about pushing google to recognize other websites citations, but to make it pick up citations on the big directories where we are already cited but not yet credited in google places.
I know most people say it takes time, but we are about 5 months in from submitting our info to all those directories and still nothing has showed up on our google places account. So i was looking for ways to encourage google to pick up those citations that are already out there.
-
Hi Storwell,
Google's decision as to what qualifies as a citation source is not in your hands and Google has not given a definitive public explanation as to how a website becomes deemed appropriate as a citation source. It's an interesting suggestion that if enough people linked back to a certain source, Google might eventually come to recognize that source as a trusted citation provider. This might be a factor in their determination process (i.e. if enough links are indicating that a source is of importance, some type of consideration might be triggered at Google). Interesting idea, as I've said, but I have never read or heard anything to indicate that this is true or correct.
Your best bet is likely to devote your time to getting your business cited by those entities that Google already considers to be appropriate for your industry and region. Using Whitesparks' Local Citation Finder tool will get you off to a very strong start with this process:
http://www.whitespark.ca/blog/post/2-using-the-local-citation-finder
My feeling is that your results will be most effective if you focus on what Google feels are the best citation sources, rather than trying to find a way to convince them that some other source should be included. Hope this suggestion is helpful to you.
Per your response, to Tyler Fraser, let's keep the conversation positive and friendly here in Q&A. Everyone is here to learn and help and we appreciate everyone's participation.
-
If you don't know what a citation is (from previous question you answered) then why are you answering this one? you obviously don't know what you are talking about!
-
I have had this same issue and recommend that you not link back. But I also think it's a simple enough situation for google to understand what is happening and not dock your links in any way.
I would not link to mapquests search results though. This is very minor.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Updating address in Google Places
My client has moved address to a location in the same city. Will updating his Google Places page lead to a drop in rankings? If so, what is the best way to resolve it?
Image & Video Optimization | | neooptic0 -
When do I use no-follow links to interlink on my own site?
Hi Mozzers, When would I ever want to use no-follow links when interlinking pages on my site? The more authority being passed around, the better, right? Does it save or conserve page rank / authority from being transferred to pages you don't necessarily need it on? Thanks!
Image & Video Optimization | | Travis-W0 -
Anyone notice significant impression drops in Google Places on February 20th?
We've read reports, heard from colleagues and some of our clients have experienced a drop in impressions starting on February 20th. Going from an average of 500+ impressions to 10-30. Anyone else experiencing this?
Image & Video Optimization | | WrightIMC0 -
Is it possible to have an ogranic and places listing on the same SERP?
Have a bit of a quandary; I am working with a site that ranks fourth for their main term via a Google Places listing. However, I can't seem to find a traditional organic listing to save my life.The only way I can do it is to search from a mobile device, or expand the search results to 100 listings. When I do that, the site appears in the top 10 organic listings. That got me to wondering, is it possible this client's traditional organic listing is being cannabalized by their listing in Google Places?
Image & Video Optimization | | phantom1 -
Best tools for checking competitors citations.
I am using whitespark and brightlocal to run citation checks for my clients. I was curious if there was a good tool to compare competitor citations + other local metrics easily without paying per report.
Image & Video Optimization | | waqid0 -
[local seo] How to compete against e.g. yellowpages on Google Rank 1 - 4?
Hi Folks, How to compete against the big SEO-powered pages like Yellowpages in the SERPs? I mean, they have thousands of Rd -> Rd Links as well as super Page and Domain Authority. How has a let's say Dentist or Electrician a decent chance to compete against those? Does Google give credit to them because of the Content they have on their page? These yellowpages totally take the fun out of it for my clients. Answeres would really much appreciated. Thank you. For me it feels like Don Quijote.
Image & Video Optimization | | gooddy1 -
Competition leaving bad reviews on our places page, what to do?
I have flagged the reviews as not useful from multiple IPs. I have attempted reporting the review as well. Google does nothing. It's very obvious that the review(s) are fake. Often all the other reviews of the person's profile are for different cities and all 5 stars for businesses that they are most likely doing SEO work for. Are (blackhat) SEOs using bad reviews as a technique to keep the competition out in your business/market? What did you do about it?
Image & Video Optimization | | adriandg0