introducing: ibuildcitations - cloud object storage · 90% of local experts say accurate citations...
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IBUILDCITATIONS.COM
Introducing: iBuildCitations
Citations Audit and Directory Listing Service
Nathan Ferguson
September, 2016
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This document is an overview about the iBuildCitations service. It explains about Citations and contains a number of FAQ’s. We reserve the right to change any detail contained within this document without notice. Please contact support with any questions. Copyright 2016 iBuildCitations.com
iBuildCitations.com | Overview 2
Overview __________________________________________________________________ 3
What are Citations? _____________________________________________________________ 3
Overview of the iBuildCitations Service _____________________________________________ 4
5 ‘must know’ facts _____________________________________________________________ 4
Manual Submissions ________________________________________________________ 6
How is each submission handled? __________________________________________________ 6
What happens if you find my listing already on a directory? _____________________________ 7
How do we handle removal of duplicate listings/citations? _____________________________ 7
Can we just submit Manually to sites or via Data Aggregators? __________________________ 8
What Countries Do We Cover? ____________________________________________________ 8
Business information, access rights and IP ___________________________________________ 9
Can I buy extra citations for an existing campaign? ____________________________________ 9
Can I have a list of directories and citation sites you list on? ____________________________ 10
How do you handle telephone verification? _________________________________________ 10
How do you verify new submissions/listings? _______________________________________ 11
Do you guarantee that submissions will result in live listings? __________________________ 11
What information do you submit to directories? _____________________________________ 12
Do you offer new submissions and claiming of existing listings?_________________________ 12
How much does it cost and how do I pay? __________________________________________ 12
Local Data Aggregators _____________________________________________________ 13
What are Local Data Aggregators? ________________________________________________ 13
Aggregator Distribution Network _________________________________________________ 13
After submitting to a Local Data Aggregator can I update my information at any time? ______ 14
Do I need to re-purchase Local Data Aggregator submissions every 12 months? ____________ 14
How do we submit to Local Data Aggregators? ______________________________________ 15
Which countries do Local Data Aggregators work in? _________________________________ 15
How much do Local Data Aggregator submissions cost? _______________________________ 16
Key Question: What happens if I stop using iBuildCitations Service? _____________________ 16
Key Question: I've seen ad's for directory submissions for around $20. Why such a difference in
price? _______________________________________________________________________ 17
What to do next.... _____________________________________________________________ 17
iBuildCitations.com | Overview 3
90% of local experts say accurate citations are Critical or Very
Important to local search ranking
86% of local SEO experts say quality of citations is more
important that quantity of citations
- Expert Local Citation Survey 2016
Overview
What are Citations?
Citations (aka Local Directory Listings) are a key part of local search
optimization. A citation is a mention of your business on a 3rd party website –
typically a local directory, event site or review site. These mentions contain
your Business name, Address & Phone Number (NAP) but they can (and
should) contain much more detail such as a description of services, working
hours, images etc…
Having lots of citations which all display the same, accurate info about your
business helps to improve your ranking in local search results. Accuracy &
‘quality’ of your listings is considered the most important factor – sheer
quantity of citations has value but is trumped by quality.
So cleaning up inaccurate data, merging duplicate listings and creating new
listings is a critical part of local search optimization.
However the act of manually going through each site to find, update or add a
listing yourself is very time consuming and repetitive. But there is help at
hand!
iBuildCitations.com | Overview 4
Overview of the iBuildCitations Service
We have partnered with an industry leading company which has been building
citations for over 5 years. With an in-house team of 30 submission agents &
managers. We submit direct to site and have a database of 1,600 citation
sites. We also submit to the top 4 aggregators. We have smart & easy-to-use
interfaces for setting up campaigns, selecting citations & detailed reporting.
We operate in 10 countries – and offer clean-up of existing submissions and
new submissions.
With over 300,000 submissions completed for more than 5,000 businesses and
lots of repeat customers. We have a big enough team to deliver citations at
scale but also maintain focus on quality of citations delivered.
5 ‘must know’ facts
We submit direct to each site & claim your listings (currently around
1,600 sites)
We select the top sites for your country and industry
1 time cost – no recurring charges
Guarantee that 70% of submissions go live in 4 weeks of submission
We operate in USA, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands
(Holland), Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, Ireland
iBuildCitations.com | Overview 5
Citation quantity & consistency have a big impact on your ranking in local
search.
We're experts in Citation Management and able help you with all aspects of
improving your local listings -
Clean-up & fix your existing listings
Remove duplicate listings
Build new niche & high value listings
Our Citation service is trusted by over 1,800 agencies for their citation work
and our in-house submissions team handles 30,000 citations every month.
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 6
Manual Submissions
How is each submission handled?
Our submissions are all done manually by our dedicated citations team who
handle all campaigns. We have a very tried & tested approach to submissions
and deep knowledge of the directories and citation sites we use.
Below are the key steps we take for each campaign:
Identify appropriate citations for your business, we do this by filtering our
citation database using your ‘Location’ and ‘Business Category’ to return
appropriate citation opportunities, then we look to see where you’re already
listed online
Create unique campaign email account for verifications
Check to see if your business is already listed on a directory
Submit business details to directory
Click link in verification email to complete submission
Capture details in report & grab profile URL if listing is created instantly
Provide customer with details of campaign report
Provide customer with details of email account(s) & passwords used
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 7
What happens if you find my listing already on a directory?
We always look to see if you have an existing listing before we submit to a
directory.
We do both an automated look-up & manual (‘human’) look-up so we double
check everything.
If we find a listing and the core information is correct then we will skip it and
submit you to a different (‘Replacement’) directory. This means that you
always get the same number of submissions you paid for.
How do we handle removal of duplicate listings/citations?
We handle the removal of duplicate listings (citations) in 3 possible ways –
1. Create account, claim listing and delete it (directly or request to site
editors to delete)
2. Submit a removal/update request via web-form. We give evidence of
duplication and cite your website/Google My Business listing as proof of
incorrect data.
3. Email site editors to request removal/update of listing. We give evidence
of duplication and cite your website/Google My Business listing as proof
of incorrect data.
If we don't get a reply from site editors then we may use a final tactic of
claiming a listing and altering the business details so there is little connection
to the business so it ceases to become a duplicate. But this is a last resort as
it's not helpful for users or the directory.
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 8
Can we just submit Manually to sites or via Data Aggregators?
We can submit to sites Manually and/or via Aggregators. Both options are
available.
What Countries Do We Cover?
Currently, we have top citation / directory sites available for:
USA
UK
Canada
Australia
South Africa
Netherlands (Holland)
Germany
Singapore
New Zealand
Ireland
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 9
Business information, access rights and IP
Who retains the IP over the information submitted?
You (our customers) do. We simply take the information you provide to us and
submit to the directories on your behalf.
Who retains the access rights to the directory profiles created?
You (our customers) do. We give you the login details for each profile so that
you can access yourself if you need to.
Do you give us access to the email account & directory profiles created?
Yes we do. We give you the login details for the email account so that you can
access it yourself if you need to.
Can I buy extra citations for an existing campaign?
Yes you can.
You may purchase additional citations each month or as you want them.
We keep record of where we submitted to in the last campaign, so it’s easy to
know which directories to select next.
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 10
Can I have a list of directories and citation sites you list on?
We can’t supply the full list because it’s pretty valuable to us! But we can show
you an indicative set of directories so you know they types of sites we use.
How do you handle telephone verification?
We don't directly handle telephone verifications.
This is because typically telephone verification requires the co-ordination of
calls and passing of codes directly with business owners/clients. Meaning it
really needs direct client contact to make it work smoothly.
Also a lot of our customers prefer for us to operate as an invisible partner in
the background.
So we found that the best way for us to handle directory websites that require
phone verification, is to complete the account creation & data submission
steps, then pass on the details for you/client to complete the phone
verification step.
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 11
*NB: if you prefer not to be bothered with phone verification, we can select
only directories which DO NOT require this.
How do you verify new submissions/listings?
We create a unique email account for each citation campaign. We then create
user accounts on each directory using these unique email accounts.
Any verification emails are sent to these unique email addresses and we click
on the verification links in the emails to complete the submissions.
At the end of each campaign we add the email account details to the report
which you can access.
Do you guarantee that submissions will result in live listings?
We guarantee that 70% of submissions/updates will result in live listings within
4 weeks of submission. If we don’t achieve 70% then we will submit to
additional sites until we achieve at least 70%.
Why not 100%? – We don’t control the publishing policies of the directories we
submit to so we are unable to guarantee listings. However we do prioritise
directories which offer instant or fast listings and those which are high value
sites. When we show you the list of appropriate directories for your business
we put these sites at the top.
iBuildCitations.com | Manual Submissions 12
What information do you submit to directories?
We submit main business contact details, business address details, a
description of services, working hours, payment methods and up to 4 images.
Do you offer new submissions and claiming of existing
listings?
Yes we can do both of these. New submissions are very straight forward.
Claiming or editing of existing listings is more complicated and the approach
depends on the directory in question.
Some directories allow email verification for claiming listings while others
require phone verification. If we are unable to claim a listing then we will
submit an ‘edit’ to the listing via other means provided.
How much does it cost and how do I pay?
Our Citation service is standalone. No monthly or subscription fees.
Per campaign - Single Location
When you set up a campaign you have the choice of how many submission you
want.
We have set campaign sizes of 30, 50, 75 & 100 submissions.
Update: Please See End of Document for Ordering information.
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 13
Local Data Aggregators
What are Local Data Aggregators?
Local Data Aggregators are organisations which collect data on local businesses
such as their name, address, phone number, opening hours etc.
Local Data Aggregators then verify the data to ensure it is accurate, once this
has been completed they make the data available to Search Engines (e.g
Google) as well as many online directories (e.g YP.com) and GPS services e.g
(TomTom).
Search engines, directories and GPS services then lease this data from the
aggregators. This means they have accurate, verified, up to date data.
Through data aggregators local businesses can make sure they have more
accurate location data across the web for their locations, this in turn helps
them to perform better in local search.
Aggregator Distribution Network
One question we get asked is "Where do local data aggregators distribute my
data?"
This a good question, but one that's tough to give an exact answer for.
Aggregators essentially lease their data to a long list of different sources. This
can be a mix of directories, GPS services and online applications. Because of
the nature of data leasing; the distribution network is constantly changing.
Here's the most recent copy of the aggregator's distribution network, this is
from Q4 of 2015 so certain sites may have dropped out / in since this was put
together - nevertheless this should give you a good idea of what it is you're
purchasing through our aggregator submissions.
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 14
After submitting to a Local Data Aggregator can I update my
information at any time?
This varies for different data aggregators:
InfoGroup - 12 month free updates from point of initial/last purchase
NeustarLocaleze - 12 month free updates from point of initial/last
purchase for all data except for 'Business Name'. This aggregator allows
changes to Business Name for 30 days after payment. All other data can
be changed for free for 12 months.
Acxiom - 12 month free updates from point of initial/last purchase
Factual - perpetual free update (but doing this via iBuildCitations will
incur renewal fee of US$10)
Do I need to re-purchase Local Data Aggregator submissions
every 12 months?
It is advised that you do but it isn't required.
The major benefit of renewing your submission to data aggregators is that your
data retains it's 'trusted' status within aggregator feeds to 3rd party sites. This
means that 3rd party sites see this data as being more 'official' and are less
likely to overwrite it with data scraper/imported from other sources.
Your data won't get deleted from the 3rd parties sites because they buy it from
the aggregators so it's useful to them.
However it does cost to renew your submission to aggregators. The renewal
cost is the same as for initial submission/update.
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 15
How do we submit to Local Data Aggregators?
We have partnered with the 4 local data aggregators and can submit direct to
them via API or through a partner dashboard.
When you submit your data to us we first check for any possible errors or
inconsistencies in the data provided.
We then trigger the submission or update into the aggregators.
Which countries do Local Data Aggregators work in?
We provide the following Local Data Aggregators for the US.
Acxiom - http://www.acxiom.com/
Factual - https://factual.com/
Infogroup - http://www.infogroup.com/
Neustar - https://www.neustarlocaleze.biz/
While, currently, only Factual is available for Australia, Canada, Germany,
Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom,
United States
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 16
How much do Local Data Aggregator submissions cost?
Here's what our pricing looks like for Aggregator submissions: (in addition to
our Manual Submission service)
Aggregator Cost per submission US$
Acxiom $25
InfoGroup $25
Factual $10
Neustar (Localeze) $25
All 4 (Bundle) $75
For US based businesses, we provide submissions to the big 4 US aggregators.
For non-US based businesses, at this stage, we only submit to Factual (https://factual.com/)
Key Question: What happens if I stop using iBuildCitations
Service?
As 95% of our submissions are direct to site rather than into aggregators, the
majority of listings are claimed & ‘owned’ by the customer so data remains
intact in future. But for any aggregator listings, after 1 year the feeds from
aggregators into 3rd party sites lose their ‘managed’ status.
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 17
Key Question: I've seen ad's for directory submissions for
around $20. Why such a difference in price?
These types of services use software programs to submit only new listings.
There is no manual auditing and no checking for existing, duplicate or incorrect
listing information. Accuracy is questionable and you most likely don't get
access to be able to make changes afterwards. Such services may only submit
to the aggregators, and probably do not verify listings to make them active.
There are numerous concerns for using this level of service. Use at your own
risk. It will probably do more harm than good in the long run for your business.
What to do next....
Our Citation service is standalone. No monthly or subscription fees.
Per campaign - Single Location
When you set up a campaign you have the choice of how many submissions
you would like.
We have set campaign sizes of 30, 50, 75 & 100 submissions. You can order as
many as you need. If you require, or prefer more than 100, have multiple
locations etc, contact support with your request.
iBuildCitations.com | Local Data Aggregators 18
We have set campaign sizes of 30, 50, 75 & 100 submissions.
Click to Order:
$190 for 30 submissions
$275 for 50 submissions
$375 for 75 submissions
$450 for 100 submissions
Values in US$ Currency
Factual Aggregator Service is included with any package.
Please connect with us if you have any questions. Kind Regards, Nathan Ferguson.
email: [email protected]