Does Your Website Need Co-citations?

What are co-citations?

Co-citations are indirect references, or “mentions” of a website that don’t necessarily contain a link. Think of them as another type of indication that two websites are related in terms of relevancy and authority. If Site A and Site B are both cited by Site C, they are “related” in the eyes of Google, whether or not they link to one another. The more co-citations one website shares with another, the stronger the bond is between those two websites and the more authoritative each one will appear to Google.

How do you earn co-citations?

Any content that is relevant and shareable is also a good candidate for earning co-citations from others. Focusing on those attributes that make your content relevant to your industry and shareable with those in your audience is all you need to do; from there (in theory, anyway), the co-citations are going to take care of themselves.

For those who need a refresher about what makes relevant, shareable content, that would mean creating content that:

• Ties into current events in the industry
• Is important to the concerns of the audience
• Goes along with what others are already talking about

Any marketer who is up on trends in their specific industry niche and is willing to produce content about it can earn a co-citation for his website. One important tip is to choose topics that the audience cares about, but has not already been covered exhaustively by others. Being ahead of the curve is the key to earning co-citations.

Why do co-citations matter?

Every webmaster should want co-citations, because Google values them heavily now. As most who are savvy with SEO know, anything that indicates authority is something Google values – and co-citations are a great indicator of authority in an industry.

As always, content is king; when you produce high quality content, you increase the chance of earning co-citations that will improve rankings. This is a service that SEO companies like Crest Media, an experienced Los Angeles SEO company with a proven track record, can provide.