What are the two ways to get citations? Also introduces precautions and how to check citations

Did you know that there is an external SEO measure called citation?

When it comes to external measures, backlink measures are often talked about, but citations are also one of the important evaluation targets.

Countermeasures against citations can affect not only SEO but also branding, so you should take measures to the extent possible.

However, what should you do to prevent citations? Many people may have doubts.

Therefore, in this article, we will explain in detail everything from basic information about citations to how to obtain citations.

If you are not yet working on countermeasures against citations, please refer to it.

What is Citation?

Citation refers to “reviews without links.”

Literally translated, it means “quote” or “mention”.

As I will explain in detail later, citations are one of the external measures, and acquiring these citations will have an effect on SEO.

Obtaining citations may seem a little difficult, but what it means is getting people to mention your company name or service name without a link.

For example, at our company, you can earn citations by having people write reviews that include the company name or service name, such as “Xscore” or “Webma”.

Next, I will explain the difference between backlinks and external measures.

Difference between citation and backlink

Citations and backlinks are both external SEO measures, but they are clearly different.

There are only two types of external measures, but it’s a bit confusing, so keep in mind that there are clear differences.

The difference between citations and backlinks is as follows:

In external measures, backlinks are a highly important element, but citations are also said to be becoming more important year by year.

Let’s take a look at what kind of SEO effects Citation actually has.

Citation SEO effect

Although citations do not have a direct SEO effect, they are thought to have an indirect effect on SEO.

Google stated in 2014 that “SNS signals have no direct SEO effect.”
Quote:Are pages from social media sites ranked differently?

If you only focus on this information, some people may think that Citation has no SEO effect.

However, it may not be a direct effect, but it may be an indirect effect.

In fact, in local SEO, Google includes popularity as a ranking factor.
reference:Improve your ranking in Google’s local search results – Google My Business Help

Considering this, it would be natural to think that citations do not directly affect rankings, but indirectly.

Therefore, in addition to backlinks, citation countermeasures can be said to be an important external countermeasure.

However, although citation is a system in which reviews on the web are evaluated, in reality, efforts outside of the website also affect citation.

For example, elements such as:

• Quality of our own products
• Own customer service
• own company quality

It is no exaggeration to say that countermeasures against citations begin with daily corporate activities, as the activities that these companies carry out in real life are reflected in actual word of mouth.

In order to get good citations, try to provide good support for users.

In the next chapter, we will explain tips for acquiring citations.

Before knowing the specific method, there are some things you should know, so please refer to them.

Tips to get citations

There are some tricks to getting citations.

Here are three things you should be aware of.

I will introduce specific ways to obtain citations later, but first, keep these three tips in mind as you work on countermeasures against citations.

Tip 1. Choose a name that is easy to remember

The first is to choose a company name or service name that is easy for people to remember.

Search engines basically determine the target of citations based on text such as company name or service name.

Therefore, in order to be judged as a citation, it is desirable to include the company name and service name in reviews and posts.

However, if your company name or service name is difficult to remember, your name may not be included in reviews or posts, or your name may be mistaken.

If this happens, it will be difficult for your citation to be evaluated.

Therefore, the company name and service name need to be easy to remember.

Tip 2. Unify the spelling of names

Another thing about names is that it is important to standardize the notation of company names and product names, whether in real life or on the web.

By standardizing the names, you can help people remember the correct names, and you can prevent people from using different spellings.

If the names listed in reviews and posts are the same, it will be easier for search engines to evaluate them correctly, making it easier to get citation effects.

When using media that includes company names and service names, as shown above, be sure to use the same name.

Tip 3. Increase contact points with users as much as possible

The third thing is to be conscious of increasing the number of points of contact with users as much as possible.

It is important to have a consistent name and name, but if you do not increase the opportunities for users to come into contact with information about your company and services, citations will not be created.

By increasing the number of points of contact with users as much as possible, it will be easier for them to remember your name and services, and you will be able to choose them when making a purchase.

If you don’t know about the company or service or have no experience using it, it will be difficult to generate reviews and posts.

Therefore, having contact with users is important not only in the context of citations, but also from a marketing and branding perspective.

Specifically, increase your contact points with users through the following methods:

In this way, by having more contact with users in various ways, not only in real life and on the web, word of mouth and posts will be generated, and citations will be more likely to be evaluated.

In the next chapter, we will explain specific ways to obtain citations.

Two ways to earn citations

There are various ways to obtain citations, but we will introduce two methods that are particularly easy to obtain.

I will explain each in detail.

Method 1. issue a press release

By issuing a press release, it is easier to generate citations.

As the name suggests, a press release refers to a release (report) made to the press.

By issuing a press release, you may be able to get journalists to publish articles and news.

If you have an article or news published, there is a chance that it will be seen by more people, and you may be able to get citations.

However, you can maximize the effectiveness of press releases by issuing them regularly.

Be careful if you only use it once, as it may not be as effective.

Method 2. Encourage reviews by registering on user submission sites

Registering on user-submitted sites is also important for gaining citations.

Due to their characteristics, user-submitted sites are more likely to generate word-of-mouth and posts, making it easier to obtain citations.

Check to see if there are any websites where your company can register that have user postings on a daily basis.

There are a surprising number of user-submitted websites, including some that are generally well-known as shown above, and others that are only known to people in the industry.

Check to see if there are any user-submitted sites in your industry and register.

However, even if it is a user-submitted website, you cannot obtain citations just by registering.

This is because citations can only be earned through word of mouth.

Once you have registered on a user review type website, the next step is to carry out activities to encourage reviews.

Specifically, there are methods such as encouraging users who have used the service to leave word-of-mouth reviews, and installing SNS share buttons on the homepage to reduce the hassle of writing reviews.

However, there are some things to keep in mind when acquiring citations.

We will explain this in detail in the next chapter, so be sure to check out how to tackle citations from now on.

Points to note when acquiring citations

There are some points to note when acquiring citations, so you need to check them before taking measures.

I will explain each.

Points to note 1. Do not make or perform your own work.

As with backlink countermeasures, it is no good to create your own countermeasures against citations.

Search engines are said to check not only the number of citations, but also who is writing the reviews.

Therefore, citations will be more effective if the information contained in the reviews is reviewed by someone with authority.

Because of this system, it is difficult to receive reviews even if you write reviews of your own work.

I don’t think you will be penalized by Google for quoting your own work, but it is a waste of resources, so please refrain from writing reviews based on your own work.

Note 2. May work negatively

Also keep in mind that citations can have negative effects.

Citations can be thought of as an element for checking how a specific company or service has been objectively evaluated.

If there are many negative reviews, the citation rating will also work negatively, and if there are many positive reviews, the citation rating will work positively.

As mentioned above, try to be helpful to your users even when not on the web.

How to check citations

There are various ways to check citations, but here we will introduce three typical ones.

I will explain each.

Method 1. Search for company name or service name on SNS

Searching for company or service names on SNS is a typical way to check citations.

Word of mouth and reviews are likely to occur on SNS, so be sure to check them.

In particular, X is a great place to check citations, as it’s easy for even the slightest opinions to be shared.

Although you can check citations by searching within the native app or browser app, we recommend using the search command to investigate in more detail.

Method 2. Take advantage of Google’s search commands

When checking citations other than SNS, use Google’s search command.

Search commands are provided to perform more detailed searches than normal searches.

By using search commands, you can display only specific sites in search results, or prevent web pages containing specific keywords from being displayed in search results.

Typical search commands are: It is as follows.

Although it doesn’t have a useful tool like Twitter’s search command tool mentioned above, Google’s search command is also very useful and makes it easy to find citations, so please give it a try.

Method 3. Check your company’s reviews on user-submitted sites

Check your company’s reviews on user-submitted sites as well.

More detailed reviews about products and services, and reviews about niche industries, may be difficult to generate unless you use a portal site.

Therefore, search for your company name or service name on the portal site and check if there are any reviews about your company.

[Summary] Not only backlinks but also citation countermeasures!

Although citations do not have a direct effect on SEO, they may have an indirect effect.

Citations should also be considered important not only for SEO, but also from the perspective of branding and customer satisfaction.

Therefore, it is desirable to take measures against citations as well as backlinks, which tend to be important in external measures.

Why not take this opportunity to work on countermeasures against citations by referring to the tips and specific methods for acquiring citations introduced this time?

If you have any other problems with SEO, please feel free to contact us at Xscore.