Building citations is overwhelming and time-consuming work. New sources of potentially incorrect information appear all the time, and business owners are finding it difficult to keep track of all of them. The biggest problem for every citation building strategy is inconsistent and incorrect information. And one of the problems can be submitting correct info to the biggest data aggregators. However, can you cover all of the citations? The question that bothers many website owners is: do data aggregators fix all citations? And this guide will give all the answers. Let’s find out everything about how data aggregators work, and can they be the solution to incorrect data online.
The basic info on data aggregators
Firstly, let’s see what’s a data aggregator and how it works. In real life, you have Yellow pages. On the internet, you have data aggregators. Basically, these directories contain information about businesses and spread them to other services and websites. They are easy to use and sign up for, and any business can submit information on these websites. Their biggest advantage is that they provide business information to numerous sources, in a quick and easy way. Even though many experts argue on the differences between manual and data aggregators submission of citations, these main aggregators are very important for every citation building strategy. And by submitting your correct information there, you get the chance to be found quickly and efficiently.
The main data aggregators
The number of data aggregators is a huge time-saver for business owners. There are only a couple of main directories, so submitting your information there will not be such a problem. Therefore, when submitting the NAP information and other details about your business, be sure to visit the main data aggregators:
- Acxiom
- Neustar Localeze
- Factual
- Infogroup Express Update
All of these websites will require you to submit correct information about your business and necessary documentation. Once you’re done, you can expect your business’ name to spread all over the internet.
Why fix citations?
As we mentioned earlier, inconsistent and inaccurate information is one of the biggest problems of every citation building strategy. As many different sources add details about your business, the chances of adding it incorrectly increase. This leads to users’ confusion, misleading and less attention to the actual business. To avoid these problems and direct all the users to the right place, you need to submit correct information everywhere. Furthermore, it is essential that this information and formatting is consistent at all locations, especially with all the main data aggregators. Even the slightest differences can lead to confusion, so you better avoid that.
So, do data aggregators fix all citations?
The truth is that data aggregators share information with most of the online locations. However, they don’t distribute business details to absolutely all citation websites. Adding your information to data aggregators will fix most of the problematic citations, but it will not cover all of them. For that reason, manual submission is necessary sometimes. The main scenarios where data aggregators don’t do their job are the following:
- certain citation cites don’t trust data aggregators, or they simply trust other sources better. The reason is that these directories often buy or lease information from multiple sources, to get a more complete directory;
- data aggregators won’t change claimed and verified listings – once a business listing gets claimed or verified by the owner, data aggregators won’t make any further changes. The reason is that the website where a citation is located may lock it to prevent any unnecessary changes.
So, if you wondered if data aggregators fix all citations, there’s the answer. They are not capable of covering completely everything, so you might need to do some work on your own, or simply hire an expert to help you out.
The best citation building strategy
As you can’t rely only on one way of building citations, it’s best to mix different techniques for better results. You should submit the most important details about your business to main data aggregators, as they will reach out to a lot of different directories. The next step is the manual submission of citations, and we will share some of the main tips for doing it on your own.
Manual citation submission
Manual citation submission means you go to certain websites and submit business information by hand. Depending on the website, this process will include several steps, and you need to do it carefully so you can submit the correct information. This might a time-consuming job, so if you’re busy with running your business, letting someone experienced do it might be the right thing to do. When opting for manual submission by an experienced expert, pay attention to the following factors:
- relevance of directories – it is essential to cover the most important directories in your niche and generally popular citation sites. That’s why the personalization of directory lists is one of the main advantages of manual submission. You can pick where to list your business and hit the most relevant websites;
- duplicate citations – removing duplicates is also one of the most important steps in every citation strategy. It’s best to get duplicate removal services, so you can be sure that the cleanup has been done properly;
- the cost – the cost of citation services varies among companies and depends on several factors. Be sure to investigate and get the best deal for your business.
Go for the balance
Submitting citations is the game of balance between time and money you spend on the process, as well as the efficiency. As we’re sure that it’s not possible that data aggregators fix all citations, you will need to do some additional work. Use multiple approaches to get the tailored strategy according to your business needs and goals, to be sure you’re choosing quality over quantity.
