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The SEO Citations Study

Download the report for Local Businesses

BrightLocal’s SEO Citations Study uncovers:

  • How many citations local businesses need to outperform their competitors
  • Which citation sites are most popular among local businesses
  • The correlation between citations and local ranking positions in Google results

These findings are based on 122,125 local businesses found using 18,580 related keywords.

Average Citations
1

Local Businesses have an average of 81 citations

Median Citations
1

The median number of citations for Local Businesses is 108

Positions 1-3
1

Local Businesses ranked in positions 1-3 have an average of 85 citations

The Correlation Between Citations and Google Local Ranking for Local Businesses

Created with Highcharts 6.1.1Google Local Ranking8582781-34-67-100255075100125

There is a strong correlation between the number of citations a business has, and how high it appears in Google's search results. Local businesses that rank in positions 1-3 have an average of 85 citations.

Top Citation Sites for Local Businesses

Created with Highcharts 6.1.1Percentage of Businesses With This Citation051015202530354045505560657075808590951…100facebook.comyelp.commapquest.comyellowpages.commanta.comlocal.yahoo.comsuperpages.comwhitepages.comdexknows.combizstanding.com
84%
80%
72%
71%
71%
67%
64%
61%
53%
51%

While many local businesses are making use of the most popular citation sites, 5% haven't claimed listings on any of the top 10 sites.