What is a citation Literally translated, it means “quotation/mention”, and in SEO, it is mainly a quote or mention about your own website without a link.
Conversely, a quote or mention of your own website with a link is a backlink.
It is said that increasing the number of citations can be expected to have an SEO effect (which will have a positive impact on search rankings), but simply increasing the number of citations and mentions (reviews and word-of-mouth) about your site is meaningless.
For example, if there are many positive citations that indicate the reputation of your website, you can expect an SEO effect.
On the other hand, if the number of citations and mentions that include the bad reputation of the site increases, and the site lacks credibility, Google (search engine) may give it a low rating.
These negative citations generally tend to increase as the size of the site increases.
So, it can be said that promoting SEO measures so that the ratio of positive citations will increase over negative citations is the key to aiming for higher rankings.
Based on this point, this time, I would like to explain the points that are easy to understand for beginners, focusing on the SEO effects of citations.
What is a citation?
What is a citationLiterally translated, it means “quotation/reference”, and in SEO, it means “quotation/reference without links” regarding your website.
This citation is especially used as a search ranking signal for local searches such as Google Maps and is an essential element for aiming for high display in MEO measures (local SEO).
To put it a little more, for MEO measures, it is first necessary to register with Google My Business, and at the time of registration, enter information about your business (mainly company name, site URL, address, and phone number).
And if that information is quoted or mentioned by word of mouth on other sites, the “famousness” of your business will increase, so you can expect a citation effect, and as a result, your business information will be found in local searches. It means that it will be easier to be displayed at the top in the result.
In addition, this citation is said to be an important element not only for MEO but also for SEO measures.
Read Also: Points to make images effective for SEO
About the SEO effect of Citation
About your website By increasing the number of favorable citations and mentions, you can expect SEO effects by acquiring citations.
For example, let’s say that there are many favorable quotes and references that include information about your own website (mainly site name, site URL, etc.) on an external site.
If that happens, your reputation will increase and your website will be more likely to be evaluated by Google as a more trustworthy website, which will make it easier for your search ranking to increase.
On the other hand, the more negative citations and mentions your site receives, the less credibility your site will have and the more likely it is that you will receive a lower rating from Google.
SEO effect can be expected if there are many positive citations and mentions
of your own website favorable citations and mentions that indicate a good reputation can be expected to increase through external sites, and SEO effects from citations can be expected.
For example, on Twitter, there is a favorable mention of the blog “Infowikiz”
If there are more good citations like this, It will be perceived as a positive reputation by Google, making it easier for your site to be evaluated (increased credibility), which will eventually make it easier for your search ranking to rise.
Furthermore, if the number of positive citations about your website increases, the number of users who search by name or website URL will also increase. I can do it.
If the authority increases, Google will evaluate it as a more reliable site, so you will be able to expect further SEO effects.
By the way, the importance of a positive reputation for these websites is also officially defined in Google’s Search Quality Rating Guidelines.
2.6.1 Reputation Studies of Websites or Primary Content Creators
We consider a large number of positive user reviews as evidence of a positive reputation.
Prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize are strong evidence of a positive reputation.
Recommendations from experts such as professional associations are strong evidence of a very positive reputation.
2.6.2 Sources of reputation information
News articles, Wikipedia articles, blog posts, magazine articles, forum discussions, and ratings from independent organizations can all be sources of reputation.
For example, Alexa-like pages have information about Internet traffic to websites but do not provide proof of positive or negative reputation.
4.4 Positive Reputation (Good Reputation)
Reputation is an important criterion when using high ratings and informs the page to EAT.
While a page can deserve a thumbs up without a reputation, thumbs up cannot be used for any website that has a compelling negative reputation.
When conducting research, be sure to consider the reasons behind negative ratings, not just the ratings themselves.
※Citation element:
General Guidelines
As you can see from this, there is a high possibility that a large number of particularly favorable citations will lead to an increase in reputation.
Also, sites with apparently high ratings seem to avoid negative reputation penalties.
And basically, it states that we don’t take the negative reputation of any site seriously and evaluate the website holistically.
If there are many negative quotes or mentions, it is easy to receive a low evaluation.
of your own website The more critical citations that indicate a bad reputation, the more likely it is that Google will give you a low rating, not to mention a negative SEO effect.
For example, if there are many negative references to your business, such as “persistent telephone sales,” in reviews and articles on external sites, it will lead to a lack of credibility for the company that corresponds to the content of the reference.
If that happens, the website related to the company will also lack credibility and will be evaluated as a low-quality site by Google, resulting in a drop in search rankings.
By the way, the negative reputation of such websites is also mentioned in Google’s search quality rating guidelines.
2.6.3 Customer Reviews of Stores/Businesses
Any store or website can get a few negative reviews.
This is completely normal and expected.
Large stores and companies have thousands of reviews and most receive some negative ones.
Credible, convincing reports of fraud and financial wrongdoing are evidence of an extremely negative reputation.
A single encounter with a rude clerk or the delayed receipt of a single package should not be considered negative reputation information.
2.6.3
Store/Business Customer Reviews
Any store or website can receive some negative reviews.
This is perfectly normal and expected.
Large stores and businesses have thousands of reviews, most of which are negative.
Reliable and persuasive reports of fraud and financial misconduct are evidence of a highly negative reputation.
One encounter with a rude clerk or delay in receiving one package should not be considered negative reputational information.
*Source:
General Guidelines
As you can see from this, more overtly critical citations are likely to accelerate the decline in reputation.
For example, Google Suggest displays negative compound words along with the site name and company name at the top, which accelerates the decline in reputation and can be said to be a bad trend that leads to low ratings.
How to increase positive citations and get SEO benefits
In order to increase positive citations (citation building) and get an SEO effect, First, consider creating a high-quality site to do.
And if you actively promote the high-quality site on SNS and encourage sharing, it will be easier to increase favorable citations, so you can expect SEO effects accordingly.
It is also important to improve the quality of all services provided by companies and individuals to create a favorable impression and to create a situation in which positive reviews and word of mouth tend to increase.
By doing so, positive citations about websites operated by companies and individuals will increase easily through external sites, so SEO effects can be expected.
- Create a high-quality site
- Promote quality pages on social media
- Improve the quality of all services provided by companies and individuals
Create a high-quality site
For a high-quality site, Consider increasing the quality of pages to do.
For example, first of all, we create a high-quality page that takes into account the user’s search intention (information desired by the user, the amount of information, and the ease of obtaining information), credibility, and uniqueness for the selected keyword.
Then, we will increase the number of such high-quality pages and create a more reliable and high-quality site that interweaves expertise and authority.
That way, you’ll get more positive citations about your site and build your reputation, which in turn makes it easier for Google to rank you.
In this way, operating a high-quality site that satisfies users and increases positive citations is the key to achieving SEO effects.
By the way, users who land on low-quality pages should be less than a little less satisfied with your site.
So let’s eliminate low-quality pages that exist on the site as much as possible and operate a site with higher user satisfaction filled with high-quality pages.
that way, The number of positive citations per site will increase, making it easier to improve your reputation, so you can expect even more SEO effects.
Promote quality pages on social media
To promote a good page on SNS, as I mentioned earlier, First, create a high-quality page that takes into account the user’s search intent (information desired by the user, the amount of information, and the ease of obtaining information), credibility, and uniqueness for the selected keyword.
Then, promote the high-quality page on SNS such as Facebook and Twitter, which have a particularly large number of active users.
At this time, advertise to related users by securing followers related to the theme of the page to be advertised in advance.
Doing so promotes the sharing of good quality pages and increases the number of favorable citations, which in turn makes it easier to be evaluated by Google.
In this way, promoting high-quality pages that are easy to share and increasing positive citations is the key to getting SEO results.
By the way, besides SNS, there are other ways to use e-mail magazine distribution.
For example, we collect e-mail addresses of users related to our services and regularly send e-mail newsletters containing URLs of quality pages to those e-mail addresses.
that way, As positive citations accumulate and lead to an improvement in reputation, SEO effects can be expected as a result.
On the other hand, promoting a low-quality page or continuing to promote to a different target audience than the page’s theme will not resonate with users.
If that happens, it will not lead to the accumulation of positive citations as a result, and you will not be able to expect the expected SEO effect.
Improve the quality of all services provided by companies and individuals
To improve the quality of all services provided by companies and individuals, Consider user satisfaction To do.
For example, if there are many complaints that “telephone sales are persistent”, we will reduce the frequency of telephone sales to reduce stress on users.
Also, if there is an opinion that the website is difficult to use, we will improve the website UI and enhance the usability (user experience).
By doing so, the number of services with high user satisfaction will increase, and the reputation of companies and individuals will gradually increase, so it will be easier to increase positive citations through external sites.
In this way, increasing the number of services that are more user-friendly and working to increase positive citations is the key to achieving SEO effects.
on the other hand, Even one service that lacks user-friendliness can spread bad publicity and generate more negative citations on the Internet indicating a bad reputation.
If that happens, it will lead to a lack of trust in the company/individual itself (site operator), so the SEO effect of the accompanying management site can not be expected, and Google may give a low evaluation.
In the worst case, the keyword rankings of websites managed by companies and individuals may drop across the board, leading to a decline in the number of accesses.
Summary
relevant to your site The more positive citations you have, the better your SEO will be.
In order to obtain such an SEO effect, both the site operator (company or individual) and the site itself must be highly reliable.
On the other hand, a lack of credibility can lead to more negative reviews and word of mouth (quotes, mentions, etc.), which can lead to bad publicity on the Internet.
Since there are more than a few bad reviews on any site, as mentioned earlier, Google officially mentions in the search quality evaluation guidelines that sites including bad reviews should be evaluated comprehensively.
However, it is important to suppress mentions and quotes such as negative word of mouth and reviews as much as possible to make it easier for Google to evaluate.
for that purpose, It is important to run your website in such a way that the percentage of positive citations outnumbers negative citations.
Specifically, first, we create a high-quality page that considers “1 page per keyword”, “user’s search intention”, “comprehensiveness and simplicity of information desired by users”, and “content credibility and uniqueness”.
Then, we will increase the number of such high-quality pages and promote SEO measures so that they become more reliable sites that add expertise and authority.
As a result, it will be easier to be evaluated by Google, and you will be able to operate a site that is easy to display at the top.