Are citations a key ranking factor in local SEO?

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  John Pitcher: A Moz survey of SEOs quoted the number of citations as a key ranking factor in local SEO.
  
  Getting directory listings from town/county directories and niche directories strike me as being fine, but there aren't many of them.
  
  I have seen a list of 50 UK free directories, most of which look reasonable quality and many (not all) have competitors listed there. Will getting my site listed in these UK directories (I'm in the UK) be helpful - or is Google at some stage likely to penalise these links in the same way that foreign directory entries are now penalised?
  
  Obviously, I would use company name as anchor text.
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  Pau Lica: If I were you I'd check to see on what directories did your competitors submit their sites, and then pick one directory that looks decent. I wouldn't go for more than one, especially when we might be on the verge of a new Penguin update. Make sure the directory has a high PR, I'd say 4+ in this case, and the category you want to submit to has at least PR 2. Also, check the quality of the links that they allow there.
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  John Pitcher: Many thanks +Pau Lica ;
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  Pau Lica: +John Pitcher
  You're most welcome!
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  Tim Capper: Hey +John Pitcher ;
  
  I think 1 directory is being overly cautious as mentioned by +Pau Lica ;.
  
  I would look at specific directories related to the business - not general directories. You can usually find around 3 or 4 and these might include, localised business listings.
  
  Another great one people often over look is the local chamber of commerce and local trade organisations.
  
  Putting links aside, these localised and niche listings should also bring a little bit of traffic as opposed to general crappy directories.
  
  A good one for local citations also, is to come up with something newsworthy (charity event, community help, business help ets )  ;and get hold of local press. Once local press prints it, this goes online, bingo ... great link.
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  Pau Lica: +Tim Capper
  
  Yeah... I tend to be overly cautious, especially when I give advice because Google is very unpredictable. Sometimes it's about luck, some get hit for one link, some still rank with exact-match anchor texts from Chinese sites.
  
  I think old-school techniques like directories still work, if done right, and your advice for John is great.
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  Tim Capper: I know +Pau Lica ;in this penguin age you can never be too careful
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  Edwin Jonk: From the expert panel in this weeks SEO Questions hangout on air on 01:14:16 into the YouTube video: https://dumbseoquestions.com/q/are_citations_a_key_ranking_factor_in_local_seo +John Pitcher
  
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  John Pitcher: Many thanks to the panel!