Citation no-index issues.

[cfazio]

Hello!

I am having trouble getting my citations indexed. I have 35, including all of the high quality / industry relevant, all created manually filling in as much details as possible.

It has been over 4 months and only 12/35 are indexed. I tried using Ping Bomb which did not result in any chance in index status. About 2-3 weeks ago I made a "find us on the web" page on my site that is linked through the footer, listing all of the directories that we are in with direct links. It is included as part of the sitemap, the page has been indexed and crawled but still have not seen any more citations get indexed.

The only reason that I can think of is duplicate content. I copy / pasted a business description and used it on all directories that allow for a description.

I have heard conflicting information, some say that directories are different and duplicate content doesn't matter, others say yes it does matter. For example Yext uses the same descriptions and it is a widely used citation tool.

I am going through one site first and making all descriptions unique and higher word count and adding as many photos as possible (idk more content better chance at being indexed?) - but before I do this on my other sites I am curious if this is the the right approach, and not wasting time coming up with all these unique citation descriptions.

Below are the directories that I am listed in (green = indexed, grey = no-inidex):

Neustar / localeze seems to not be on this list, but also a no-index.

Is there something about these specific directories that just never get indexed? Or is duplicate content descriptions the issue?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Yan Gilbert]

Sounds like you are doing the right things and don't have any suggestions.

I am not familiar with the directories but you can get a sense of the general indexation rate of the site by performing a site: search on the domain to see how many sub pages are actually indexed.

 

[cfazio]

Sounds like you are doing the right things and don't have any suggestions.

I am not familiar with the directories but you can get a sense of the general indexation rate of the site by performing a site: search on the domain to see how many sub pages are actually indexed.

Thanks for the feedback, I will try this out and see!

 

[JoyHawkins]

Even if you get them indexed, I don't think the ones in grey are going to add any value so my advice would be to not spend time on this. Those sites offer very little unique content (something you can't find on any other site) so honestly I think Google is correct for not indexing them.

 

[cfazio]

Even if you get them indexed, I don't think the ones in grey are going to add any value so my advice would be to not spend time on this. Those sites offer very little unique content (something you can't find on any other site) so honestly I think Google is correct for not indexing them.

Do you have any suggestions for other directories that I should be in?

Or is the handful of ones that are already indexed good enough?

 

[JoyHawkins]

The only others that I know of that would be any value would be social media sites (LinkedIn etc), or niche directories like Avvo for lawyers.

 

[cfazio]

The only others that I know of that would be any value would be social media sites (LinkedIn etc), or niche directories like Avvo for lawyers.

Good to know... this is the direction that I believed in from the beginning - but soo many people seem to think that having a ton of citations is good. Google knows what sites users actually use, junk directories may have worked in the past but I do not imagine they have any real impact now.

It is a difficult topic, a-lot of people firmly believe in the mass citation listing approach.

 

[UKSBD]

As a directory owner you may think he would say that wouldn't he, but I advise people to link back to where their listing is within the directory from a few different sites.

Give your listing a little boost and you benefit as well.

I may be a bit biased though

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Long tail directories and citation management are dead as a local seo strategy beyond max top 10 sites for your business vertical. Put time into making sure your profile looks and is managed 100% on sites like Google/Apple Maps more than anything else.

 

[cfazio]

Long tail directories and citation management are dead as a local seo strategy beyond max top 10 sites for your business vertical. Put time into making sure your profile looks and is managed 100% on sites like Google/Apple Maps more than anything else.

This is what I was hoping .. it just seems like a sham the way companies push listing management. Like I said earlier - google should know what matters and junk directories shouldn't matter.

When you see "managed 100%" - just meaning up to date and fully filled out correct? Apple maps is still pulling information from yelp ... any tips on how to best optimize for that?

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

This is what I was hoping .. it just seems like a sham the way companies push listing management. Like I said earlier - google should know what matters and junk directories shouldn't matter.

When you see "managed 100%" - just meaning up to date and fully filled out correct? Apple maps is still pulling information from yelp ... any tips on how to best optimize for that?

100% = all fields filled, accurate + good photos being uploaded regularly + Posts + review management + using whatever other features Google offers in the client's category. Will all help drive more leads.

Apple Maps tips: Webinar: Apple Maps MF + Local SEO Guide

TLDR = fill out all data fields which incl. sending Apple photos directly and many others you can't access through MapsConnect (use a Maps data partner to fully fill out) and yes, take into account how the business is rated and reviewed on Yelp because is crosses over to Apple's algo.

 

[dgrunited]

Hello!

I am having trouble getting my citations indexed. I have 35, including all of the high quality / industry relevant, all created manually filling in as much details as possible.

It has been over 4 months and only 12/35 are indexed. I tried using Ping Bomb which did not result in any chance in index status. About 2-3 weeks ago I made a "find us on the web" page on my site that is linked through the footer, listing all of the directories that we are in with direct links. It is included as part of the sitemap, the page has been indexed and crawled but still have not seen any more citations get indexed.

The only reason that I can think of is duplicate content. I copy / pasted a business description and used it on all directories that allow for a description.

I have heard conflicting information, some say that directories are different and duplicate content doesn't matter, others say yes it does matter. For example Yext uses the same descriptions and it is a widely used citation tool.

I am going through one site first and making all descriptions unique and higher word count and adding as many photos as possible (idk more content better chance at being indexed?) - but before I do this on my other sites I am curious if this is the the right approach, and not wasting time coming up with all these unique citation descriptions.

Below are the directories that I am listed in (green = indexed, grey = no-inidex):

Neustar / localeze seems to not be on this list, but also a no-index.

Is there something about these specific directories that just never get indexed? Or is duplicate content descriptions the issue?

Thanks for any feedback!

Is there something about these specific directories that just never get indexed?
Yes.

Or is duplicate content descriptions the issue?
No. Duplicate content is a very, very, very small contributor to the issue.

 

[cfazio]

100% = all fields filled, accurate + good photos being uploaded regularly + Posts + review management + using whatever other features Google offers in the client's category. Will all help drive more leads.

Apple Maps tips: Webinar: Apple Maps MF + Local SEO Guide

TLDR = fill out all data fields which incl. sending Apple photos directly and many others you can't access through MapsConnect (use a Maps data partner to fully fill out) and yes, take into account how the business is rated and reviewed on Yelp because is crosses over to Apple's algo.

Thanks for the info - yes I do all of these things on GMB, but need to catch up with apple maps.

Besides GMB, MapsConnect, Bing, Yelp ... (not including important industry specific sites), are they any more to focus on? Those 4 seem to be the only ones that real people use, and google knows it.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Would consider Yahoo, MapQuest (esp if your target demo is older - MQ ranks well in Google too under 'directions from A to B' searches + the top 5/6 vertical sites.

Would also syndicate to HERE, TomTom, Waze to fully cover in-car navigation exp.
Claim local presence on popular social platforms too - FB + Nextdoor

 

[cfazio]

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated.

Watched most of your webinar too, good stuff! Definitely learned more about apple maps ecosystem. Had a patient recently put down "Apple Maps" on the "how did you find us" portion of our paperwork - so it is definitely being used to find businesses in our industry.

Not surprisingly my Nextdoor listing is indexed with no extra help.

 

[CaribouFondue]

Hello!

I am having trouble getting my citations indexed. I have 35, including all of the high quality / industry relevant, all created manually filling in as much details as possible.

It has been over 4 months and only 12/35 are indexed. I tried using Ping Bomb which did not result in any chance in index status. About 2-3 weeks ago I made a "find us on the web" page on my site that is linked through the footer, listing all of the directories that we are in with direct links. It is included as part of the sitemap, the page has been indexed and crawled but still have not seen any more citations get indexed.

The only reason that I can think of is duplicate content. I copy / pasted a business description and used it on all directories that allow for a description.

I have heard conflicting information, some say that directories are different and duplicate content doesn't matter, others say yes it does matter. For example Yext uses the same descriptions and it is a widely used citation tool.

I am going through one site first and making all descriptions unique and higher word count and adding as many photos as possible (idk more content better chance at being indexed?) - but before I do this on my other sites I am curious if this is the the right approach, and not wasting time coming up with all these unique citation descriptions.

Below are the directories that I am listed in (green = indexed, grey = no-inidex):

Neustar / localeze seems to not be on this list, but also a no-index.

Is there something about these specific directories that just never get indexed? Or is duplicate content descriptions the issue?

Thanks for any feedback!

Hi, did you ever end up finding good ways to get these listings indexed?

 

[cfazio]

Hi, did you ever end up finding good ways to get these listings indexed?

Multiple drip-feeds on Omega indexer got a few.

Now I am in a different position, where I have the opportunity in the near future to test our indexation strategies for hundreds of clients - will come back to this after testing.

I am afraid that Google just does not see the majority of directories as quality enough to index no matter what.

I actually reached out to Yext about citations (70 quantity) about having an average of 3-6% indexation rate (tested on multiple client accounts) - they were very defensive about it.

Yext actually made the claim that although they are not indexed, google still refers to information on the non-indexed pages to influence GBP rankings. Seems like a stretch to me.