Research into citation and it's effect on ranking

[NeilPursey]

Hi

I'd like to know if there has been any research into citation (brand mentions on external sites) and how it has / hasn't effected ranking, particularly Google Search?

If any body can point me in the right direction, that would be great.

Thanks

[sferrino]

If you are referring to a Google Local Listing you should check out the just released 'Local Search Ranking Factors':

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

If you are referring to a standard website, not a local business, if there is not a link to the site, but only a citation, it is hard to say. How is it a citation? Does it have a text link that is not a clickable link?

[NeilPursey]

It's not a local listing but a editorial mention. So for example, if someone interviews you and inserts your company name into the editorial but has no link back to your company website. This is referred as a citation. aka, brand mentions

[sferrino]

Ah ok, thank you for clarifying. What you want to do is watch this SEOMoz webinar by Rand which discusses exactly what you are looking for:

http://www.seomoz.org/webinars/what-signals-could-make-you-a-brand-in-google

[NeilPursey]

Thanks but this still  doesn't provide any raw data proving that citation on 3rd party websites actually helps with SEO.

[sferrino]

If your looking for numbers to prove that a text reference to a company on a website causes a site to move up in the SERP, then no I do not believe you will find it.

On the other hand, if you are wondering if a citation on a site causes people to type in a company name in a search box which in turn causes a spike in search traffic, which evidently will cause a movement in the SERP, then yes it does. This is what trending is based on.

Are there numbers to support this? Yes, but those numbers are based on what it is, where the citations are, whether there is a buzz about it, etc, etc,. Every situation will be different and unique.

SEO is about creating more traffic, so in essence if someone reads a post about company XYZ and searches for it by name, there is an increase in traffic.

This is probably not the statistical data you are looking for, and I'd love for someone else to chime in if they have supporting evidence to back up the contrary.