Unstructured Citations

Unstructured citations are informal mentions of a business’s Name, Address, or Phone number (NAP) that appear naturally within the body content of a webpage, rather than in a formal directory listing. Examples include a local news article profiling the business, a mention on a neighborhood blog, or a sponsor listing on a local charity’s website. While unstructured citations do not follow a rigid format, Google’s algorithm is highly sophisticated at extracting the NAP data. Acquiring high-quality unstructured citations from hyper-localized publications is a massive competitive advantage, signaling deep community involvement and driving significant local prominence.

Unstructured Citations Simplified

Unstructured citations are anytime a local newspaper or blogger mentions your business’s name and address in an article. Google loves these because they prove you are an active, important part of the local community, not just a business that filled out a profile on Yelp.