I’ve written my fair share of research papers over the years, and as anyone who’s written a research paper knows, you’ve got to cite your sources.
But what does this have to do with digital marketing, or business generally? Plenty.
You see, just like an academic paper, Google and other search engines want citations, what is also sometimes called “mentions” of your business coming from other pages besides your own website. Something that mentions, or cites, your business.
It adds credibility, just like those citations in research papers.
Examples online might include yellow pages directories, local chambers of commerce, or even local business associations, which cite business names and addresses, even though they often don’t link back to your website.
With many such sites, you’ll also find the term “web-references” used. But it’s the same thing. A citation.
Why Are Citations Important?
They’re a key thing in the algorithms of all major search engines, like Google, Yahoo, or even Bing. The more citations you have, the higher your business will rank in searches. So, in short, they’re important for driving organic traffic to your website.
Citations from portals like Superpages.com and other well-indexed and established local business directories increase certainty by search engines that your company’s contact information and categorization are correct. Basically, citations confirm to search engines you’re a legitimate business trading from this physical address.
They’re especially important in niches like plumbing, electrical repair, painting contractors, and other such service providers who generally don’t have their own websites. If search engines don’t have any other information, they’ll use what they can find.
Citations validate that a business actually exists. With chambers of commerce, local business indexes, local online newspapers, or even popular local blogs, it tells search engines – and the people doing the searching – that you’re a genuine business. After all, it’s pretty hard to fake being a member of a chamber of commerce.
Citations – and even better, links – from websites like these improve local search rankings enormously. You can even find your business in the “More About This Business” section on Google Place Page, where there will be a fairly complete list of citations, though it’s likely it won’t list every single citation of your business on the Internet.
Using Local SEO in Indonesia
Just like with the United States or any other country, citations matter for businesses in Indonesia, whether they actually advertise online or not. For those looking at doing business online in Indonesia, it’s the perfect time to think about business directories and citations for your business. At the moment there’s little competition online – sometimes none, depending on your digital niche.
Indonesia’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the G20, and with the fifth largest population in the world, its economy is quickly building infrastructure to allow businesses to compete in the digital world. While other countries have long since reached saturation points for most online businesses, those reaching out digitally are finding an eager audience of savvy Indonesian consumers ready to embrace the Internet economy.
For those already active in the country, it’s a great time to trade. There currently is an overabundance of citation opportunities that include Indonesian classified listings and business directories, along with a few you’d not expect.
And we’re going to share this proprietary business directory list with you at the end of this article.
Citing Businesses in Indonesia
While it may seem like a lot of work to list your business in all the various directories and listings, you can have someone else do this work for you. This list of citations will give you a good start, but if you’re going to manage them yourself there are some things you should understand first.
Most native directories are in Bahasa Indonesia, which is the primary language throughout Indonesia as well as the language people visiting these sites will best speak and understand.
(As an aside, the “Bahasa” simply means “language” in many languages throughout South and Southeast Asia, and comes from the Sanskrit word for “spoken language” or “speech.” Regardless, Google can translate it.)
The majority of opportunities for citations will be in classifieds. In Indonesia, these tend to be the most widely read citation types. Free Indonesian business directories will only take you so far, so if your business lacks the attention it deserves, try these local Indonesian classified citations.
Remember, however, that many of these classified citations will expire by a specific date, so make sure you’re finding places where it won’t be deactivated too soon.
Many bigger and already established sites like Facebook, Foursquare, Yellow Pages, and others that operate internationally will have relevance locally as well. Even if it’s not a native citation opportunity, those links below are still relevant, because they should be on your list in any case.
When operating in a foreign market, knowing what advertising resources you’ve got available is a necessity. And wouldn’t it be nice if someone were to do the homework for you?
Well, look what we have here! Below are 23 links to sites where you can make citations for your business, listed by domain authority, but also with their numbers for trust and citation flow. Except for those last few.
And they’re all free. Funny how that works out.
Website Link DA TF CF
https://www.facebook.com 100 80 85
https://foursquare.com/ 93 82 69
https://www.here.com 93 60 62
http://tupalo.com/ 67 40 42
http://www.brownbook.net/ 66 36 47
http://www.2findlocal.com/en/id 65 16 18
http://www.iklangratis.my.id/ 59 0 20
http://indonesia.angloinfo.com/ 56 20 32
http://www.yellowpages.co.id/ 50 34 39
http://www.gps-data-team.com 48 26 43
http://id.zipleaf.com/ 36 13 26
http://ta.opendi.co.id/ 36 0 0
http://www.hotfrog.co.id/ 33 8 21
http://panpages.co.id/ 31 15 33
http://www.expressbusinessdirectory.com/ 31 18 43
http://www.gbgindonesia.com/ 31 16 28
http://www.indonesiayp.com/ 29 3 22
http://seputarjakarta.net/ 22 0 27
http://www.tuugo.net/ 22 7 8
http://indonesiabizlist.com/ 17 0 0
