How can I tell if a citation from a directory is worth the effort?

• I have been working with a company to increase their local SEO and have managed to do pretty well. In the footer I've included the UK post codes for their service area and have also placed many citations around the area in local directories.

  My activity has resulted in being contacted by a number of companies (notably Scoot) who claim they can do a better job by placing even more entries into directories, etc.

  As mentioned, I've seen a huge improvement for my client which I believe are the combination of, not just local citations, but also due to improving copy, optimizing SEO, and creating links.

  So my question is; just how important are these local directory entries? ...especially since, as in many cases, they don't say much that is unique about the target site. They tell me that's to "keep things consistent."

  Ok, but for me the bottom line is this: I'm not seeing much evidence of these citation links being found. I would very much like to hear your thoughts on this.

Answer:

There are good reasons for questioning the value of some local directories. Here are two factors to consider when deciding if a directory citation is worthwhile;

1. If the directory isn't indexed in Google, incoming links from the directory are of no ranking benefit at all.
2. And, if it's not listed in Google or Bing, then it's not very likely to send traffic either.

Instead you should focus on listings, pages, and directories that appear capable of sending you relevant traffic. Those that look sketchy are not likely worth your time.

Here's a great resource to check out: The 2017 Local Citation Builders Checklist

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