Data Aggregators/Networks will automatically strip off certain 'special characters' used in business names, such as:
Neustar: Doesn’t accept these characters for business name
|
~ |
| |
= |
^ |
# |
[ |
{ |
} |
] |
% |
™ |
® |
© |
( |
) |
Infogroup: Doesn’t accept these characters for business name
|
| |
% |
™ |
® |
© |
@ |
They do this to standardize business names, and because these characters are not supported by many of the directories / mobile apps they provide data to.
Will having special characters removed from My business name affect my citation quality?
No, we don’t believe that it will. So long as the business name itself contains the correct letters, then Google is able to match and verify business names without these characters.
It is ideal to have 100% consistency in your business name, but you shouldn’t be overly concerned if there are small differences.
For citation consistency, the most important data points to make accurate are:
- Phone number
- Zip code
- City
- Street address
To view evidence of this, please see at the results of our recent ‘Expert Local Citation Survey' that supports this opinion.