Local citations from business directories in other countries

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi all,

I normally work for clients in my home county (The Netherlands) and with local citation building I focus on Dutch websites or well know .com websites in the Netherlands. My rule of thumb kinda was, if it’s not known in the Netherlands it isn’t worth getting mentioned there.

Since The Netherlands are pretty small and I think Google ain’t perfect I was wondering if it makes sense to list a Dutch business on any .com business listings that are internationally big, but aren’t well known in the Netherlands.

Two reasons that got me thinking this direction:

1. A big well known Dutch company offers a service such as Moz local and did integrate their service with several international business listing websites that I never heard off, since these business directories focus themselves on other parts of the world.
2. Google ain’t perfect and I think they got more budget to identify trustworthy business directories with an international focus or a focus on America then with a focus on The Netherlands.

So I’m wondering if it makes any sense to list a Dutch business on let’s say the top 20 international business directories (although these directories don’t have any brand recognition in The Netherlands).

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Thank you both! This really helps.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Bob,

I think Patrick is on the right track with this. If you have a legitimate connection to these other companies, it won't hurt you to be internationally listed. What I can't say is whether it will help you, but I don't feel that it will hurt you in any way.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Bob

If you legitimately do international business and have partnerships across the world, I would imagine they don't have an issue with it as long as your are staying relevant and on topic with your listings.

I would check these out:
International SEO (Moz)
The International SEO Checklist (Moz)

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Bob_van_Biezen]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your response!

I did read the resources on Moz and couldn’t find an answer to this particular question. Ignore the low quality sites and focus on the top 50 comes the closest to what I’m looking for.

Any thoughts about how Google handles citations of a Dutch business on big international business directories?

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Bob

Take a look at Whitespark. According to their FAQ page, they do citations for Holland.

I would also take a look at competitors and also see what kind of opportunities or partnerships that they are taking advantage of. You can use this resource from Moz on the subject.

Here are some other helpful resources:
How to Have a Successful Local SEO Campaign in 2015 (Moz)
The 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors (Moz)
How to Perform the Ultimate Local SEO Audit (Moz)

Hope this all helps! Good luck!