Best Citation Sites to Update & Obtain Reviews On

[Laustin1878]

I'm not sure if this should be split into two separate questions but I didn't want to add another post unless necessary. Mods, feel free to split it up if you feel it would attract more activity or be better discussed separately.

I was hoping to compile a list of citation/business listing websites that is prioritized by having the most impact when updating information. I am seeking sites where you can support the impacts you've seen instead of just hearsay or undocumented. Basically, the sites that you go to for any and all clients whether competitive or not competitive.

My second question is which review sites do you find provide the best results for your overall campaign? Do you find that certain niche review sites provide better results for certain projects or do you use X amount of sites regularly for your local campaigns?

I've hit a slight stall in my project and have a number of citations but I don't want to spend time updating listings only to find out it will not pay off. Also, which fields do you typically update or have found pay off the most? Description? URL's? Categories?

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi LAustin,
Your questions are definitely interesting - I'm afraid I don't have lists of the kind you're looking for. I did want to ask a question. When you say 'update' a listing, do you mean correcting bad data on listings (as in citation cleanup) or are you talking about some form of optimization? Obviously, it's worth it to clean up problematic citations, wherever they exist, given Google's handling of the data cluster, but perhaps you intend something else?

 

[Laustin1878]

Hi Miriam,

I was looking more along the lines of listings that were correct and did not need corrections but a list of sites where you can add posts and more details about the business. I know there are some citation sites that allow you to blog or post updates on. So definitely in the form of optimization.

I have been trying to manage my time better. I spend countless hours reading, researching, etc. and I know I can be devoting more time to actually doing and executing. I was hoping for a number of people to chime in and share some of the sites they update or add their client sites to routinely as well as trying to hone in a little more on which review sites translate into better overall results for a local campaign.

I am not afraid to put in time to achieve results. I wanted to cross check my process in a sense to make sure I'm putting my time in the areas that will pay off the most. I just don't know that I'm spending my time in the right sandbox.

I have a list of sites I've used in the past and added to but I just don't see how it's helping. I've asked several related questions before regarding success tracking but I want to make sure I'm spending as much time in the right places as possible. I know there are better sites to have a business listed on then others and was hoping to get a list started for these types of sites.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Ah, got it! Thanks for the further details.

So, here is the conundrum I think any local business owner faces in regards to Social Media. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. People in the tech industries may find Twitter to be the most important socialization platform for them, but a fabric shop may not see much of a response from effort spent there. They might be way better off on Facebook + participation at some sort of industry-focused forum like PatternReview.com, or something like that. Google, as we know is pushing + as the be-all-end-all, but if your specific audience isn't engaged there, participation may be a waste of time. For some industries, social media is especially problematic because few people are firing up their computers to talk excitedly about plumbing problems or garden hoses. Here, a more specials-and-deals-type approach may be the mainstay of social marketing, letting people know of offers, but this type of business might still find that participating in a Q&A-style platform yields some results.

I really like your question and I think if you are focused on a specific industry and zone in on where consumers with a need/wish for your topic congregate, you will have struck some gold. But, I don't think this will be a generic experience - it will be one that is fine-tuned to your specific offerings and customers.

 

[Laustin1878]

Thank you for the response. I wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying and I was afraid of that response....lol The area I find myself spending the majority of time in are areas that are specific to the industry that I'm working with. You are absolutely correct, what works in one situation may not work in another.

I figured firms would start with a list of general citations and always add a listing to say Yelp, Yellowpages.com, etc. no matter which industry. They know these have the best chance to rank well, convert well and distribute your listing information to several other websites in a network.

At the end of the day, I want to know what playgrounds are the best to play on. I only have so much time to play in the sand and I want it to be the "best" sand. Execution overall is something I personally would like to improve upon. If I spend too much time in areas that aren't that beneficial, I am cheating myself and any potential clients.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Luke, in the 'Private Pros' forum see: "Need an Awesome Local Link"? (See the site I mention and the ranking results)

Then top of page 2 see my post: "San Marcos Chiropractor Ranking Experimentation" (Where I use the site I mention in the top post)

Plus there are a bunch of citation lists in the citation forum that feature the top citation sites. But I assume you wanted more personal recommendations?

As you know I don't really do much with citations or reviews so don't have much else to add. But thanks Miriam for your thoughts and I hope others will weigh in as well.

 

[Laustin1878]

Thanks for pointing that out Linda. I have viewed that post and searched through a few more to see if there were any gems. I guess it was my attempt to also consolidate some of the results. I will definitely re-read that post more closely.

I am not necessarily seeking information for personal recommendations just a list of go-to citation sites that are most commonly used but which have also been known to help the most. I know there are a several sites on my list that probably do little in terms of success but it's on my list b/c a citation is a citation as a link is a link. I know there are more quality sites out there and I am hoping to find as many of those as possible.

If I could cut my list down to 20-30 sites that I know will be more helpful than 50-60, I would be heading in the right direction. I was trying to stay away from compiling "another list." I was hoping for a nice list of verified sites that we can go to that will have more benefit then just a regular citation site. Thinking more about it, if I could utilize sites that give me more of an opportunity to optimize or update information (not mistakes ;-) ) then I would spend more time there. Kind of like quality over quantity.

 

[Linda Buquet]

There is a ton of good advice and several lists in these posts:

List of "must have" citations.

Top Ranking Local Business Directories in the US

I realize you likely don't want more lists, but if you look at all those you'll see the top players appear over and over.

 

[Laustin1878]

More or less what I'm looking for Linda. I must search like a moron b/c I never find these posts...lol

At least if I saw some of the same players in several posts, it would be an indication of a good source. Coupled with Nyagoslav's citation download of course.

Thanks for the additional feedback.