We’ve just released the 2023 annual SEO mad scientist test report, which includes our previous updates on this custom signals test.
Dive deep into the world of SEO, covering everything from Faster Indexation of Citations to AI replacing SEO work.
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How Referencing Keywords in Citation Descriptions Can Impact Rankings
The primary focus of the original test was on insulation terms. But insulation is included in the brand name, and therefore the listing. This slightly clouds the test results for terms including “insulation”.
However, we did find correlations between other terms that were included in the citation descriptions, but not referenced in the listing.
“Can Foam”:
We were ranking for both “can foam service” and “can foam service Littlestown, PA”.
When we search “CanFoam service Littlestown, PA”, our test listing, homepage, and the can form page is ranking at the top.
We also see some of our signals that referenced the “can foam” ranking. This term is not included anywhere in the listing, yet the listing still appears in the SERP. This demonstrates a strong brand association with the service, which was likely supported by our signal creation.
We can definitely say that the citation references were the driving force behind the rankings though since there was a dedicated page for it, and the term was mentioned in other parts of the website.
Soundproofing Littlestown:
We did find one service term used in citation descriptions that wasn’t mentioned on the homepage of the website or the listing – soundproofing. Month 1 is the only month we didn’t reference soundproofing terms in our citation descriptions. All months after that there were at least a few citations referencing soundproofing.
When we searched “soundproofing littlestown” our homepage and GBP listing were ranking. There was a strong brand association with this service. But there was also no soundproofing page on the website.
All citations built linked to the homepage, which could explain why we were seeing the homepage rank for a term that wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the homepage.
However, we assumed one of the 3 service pages that mentioned soundproofing would be ranking above the homepage…
fiberglass insulation page – 3 references
- 1 mention in a paragraph
- 2 mentions in a structured list
cellulose insulation page – 6 references:
- 4 mentions in paragraphs ad
- 2 mentions in the structured list
mineral wool insulation page – 3 references
All mentions were only in structured lists or paragraphs. There was no mention in headings, URLs, page titles, or other prominent references.
We did see other keywords included in citation descriptions also ranking higher, but those had dedicated pages on the website. Soundproofing was one of the only ones we could find that didn’t have a page, which is why the results were so interesting.
While we didn’t have comparison data for the GeoGrids, organic rankings showed a correlation with the citation descriptions.
More testing is needed to better isolate the impact of citations on rankings – both local and organic. There are too many influencing factors in this current test.
Watch the full video update here to see analysis on additional keywords and deeper insight into potential explanations: https://youtu.be/HbkibqF8XLs
Happy testing!
The SEO Mad Scientist testing team
💰 Better Understand SEO Campaigns w/ Algorithm Annotations & Robust Data Views 💰
The SEO Vault: Episode 222
For all you data lovers out there, our latest episode of the SEO Vault (Episode 222) is a must-listen.
Mike shares insights on custom GPT applications and some interesting real-life use cases. Plus, learn how you can add algo update annotations, SEO product annotations, and custom annotations over your Google Search Console data.
Lastly, we discuss the results of our Custom Signals test. The results showed the citation descriptions have some impact on local rankings.
Catch the episode on your preferred podcast platform or watch it here.
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