Experienced Local SEO’s no doubt already understand the tremendous importance of citations for ranking well in Local Search. Below are my recommendations for where to acquire citations for Canadian businesses after a qualitative (though fairly extensive) review of Maps.Google.ca results across a number of industries, provinces, and city sizes. Additional valuable guides have been published by Jim Rudnick and Dev Basu.
1) YellowPages.ca
Please note that ALL individual listings on Maps.Google.ca now seem to display “Business listings distributed by YellowPages.ca™ ” at the bottom of each Listing Details page (here are a couple ofexamples) — so that’s where I’d start. It appears that all that’s required is a business line registration with the Canadian Yellowpages. Note that PagesJaunes.ca appears to be the same company & also frequently appears as a citation.
2) 411.ca
Probably needs no explanation. Sign Up Here
3) ShopinCanada.com network
This standard, well-optimized business directory seems to appear awfully frequently, especially in less-competitive niches. Perhaps comparable to Marchex’s OpenList in the US. Sign Up Here
4) CityDirect.info network
Similar to ShopinCanada and Marchex’s OpenList, each individual city in Canada (at least the major metropolitan areas) has its own directory. Sign Up Here
5) Canpages.ca
Their interface looks a little dated, but apparently their information is pretty good…because it seems to show up quite a bit. Sign Up Here — Update — Greg Sterling relayed today that CanPages has acquired ZipLocal.
6) ZipLocal.com
The process for submitting to ZipLocal is a little convoluted, but you can visit their homepage and click “Add a Listing” in the footer.
7) WebLocal.ca
Looks like a fairly new, but well-indexed, entrant in the Canadian Local Search space. Sign Up Here
The process for FoundLocally is a little easier, but you’ve got to find the proper city first. Here’s a direct link for a Calgary business submission
Citation Sources not Specific to Canada
1) Yelp Canada
Probably doesn’t need a description…here’s where to sign up for Yelp for Canadian Business Owners
2) BBB.org Canada
BBB requires an application for accrediation — fill one out by contacting their Vice President for Business Relations
3) Hotfrog Canada
Hotfrog got a somewhat surprising number of mentions in the recent Local Search Ranking Factors results. Here’s where to submit for Canada
4) iBegin.com
Ahmed Farooq is well-known for his involvement in the Local SEO community & iBegin is a great place to submit your business listing (free of charge)