7 Crucial Link Building Strategies for

Local Businesses

One of the most essential aspects of SEO is acquiring a robust portfolio of high-authority links: other reputable websites linking back to yours.

For one think, these link opportunities lead crawler bots to your site, allowing search engines like Google to find it.

Quality links also tell search engines that your site is an authority in its field, which in turn tells Google it’s a good place to send its users.

If you are like a lot of local business owners, you might not know how to begin acquiring these kinds of link opportunities or even what kinds of links you should be looking for.

NewSunSEO provides Long Island SEO services to many companies to the local area and beyond for anyone trying to boost their website rankings onto Google.

What is a Backlink?

A backlink is a link from another website to your own website. Backlinks offer relevant referral traffic to your website and tremendously boosts your domain’s authority in the eyes of search engines. Basically, It gives your website more visibility.

What is a Local Backlink?

Backlinks come from many sources. Some pretty common sources include blog posts and social media profiles. Local backlinks are a bit different than regular backlinks because they usually come from sources in your service area or local target market. You can get local backlinks from a many sources like local business directories, newspapers, blogs, etc…

Local Linking Basics

If you are tasked with establishing links for a local business, the first thing to understand is which types of links will be most beneficial. Your ultimate goal should be the Google three-pack: the three businesses listed at the top of the search results page, right beneath the local map. To do so, your businesses needs to draw organic search with geotargeted keywords: gluten-free bakery Portland, dog groomer near me, house painters Myrtle Beach, and so on. You’re trying to reach local customers.

To this end, many local businesses are better off linking locally. It can be difficult for small businesses to produce content that will attract links from sites like the New York Times, and it’s probably not necessary. If you can find opportunities to speak to your local audience and earn a link to your site from another reputable local site, you will be moving in the right direction.

Besides, if you own a roofing business in Myrtle Beach, drawing traffic from New York City won’t do you much good anyway. There’s no reason for a business to be discouraged if they’re unable to draw links from big publishers, especially at first.

Why are Backlinks Important?

Earning local backlinks can help to make your business as a go-to resource in your area. It helps you to make new connections in your community, which can lead to new business.

Why Are Citations Important?

Citations

Citations are an easy way to start getting noticed. Citations are just online references found on directories like Yelp and Yellowpages, as well as a mention of your business NAP (name, address, and phone number) outside of a formal directory, perhaps in a local article or on a blog.

The first thing a business should do is audit all existing citations for accuracy; make sure the business name is the same on all of them and all the contact information is current. You can then start building citations with a tool like Yext or Moz Local.

 

10 Local Link Opportunities & Strategies

1. Make Social Media Profiles

Social media profiles can really help a business grow in this day and age. Using platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google sites is a great way to connect with customers/potential customers outside of your website, and makes it easy to create a backlinks to your website. You can just add your website’s URL.

2. Find Local Online Business Directories Look for local online directories in your community that locals refer to when searching for specific businesses or services.

3. Locate Industry-Specific Directories

 A backlink from a niche directory can give you traffic to your website, and provide  pre-qualified leads.

 4. Connect with Local Newspapers, Forums, & Communities

 If you can offer what they need to be a part of their publication, you will show the publication that you can benefit their audience, which will better your chances of getting a backlink.

 5. Find Sponsorship Opportunities

This includes Charities, events, really anything.

 6. Get in Touch with Influencers

 Because they have a good following, this type of local link building trick can help to increase visibility in your community and reach out to potential customers.

 7. Be Creative

Local businesses are competing for a limited number of customers in a limited area. Further, you’re competing in keywords that don’t have a lot of search volume (because they’re limited to your area). The good news is there are resources right in your area that you might not have considered but that can be very beneficial. Consider building links with places like:

• Local newspapers or other media that showcase local businesses
• Local bloggers
• Local events pages
• Tourism pages that list local businesses for visitors
• Other local businesses who are not in direct competition – related fields are good, though. A masonry company and a roofer can benefit from exchanging links.
• Local charities or volunteer organizations – exchange goods or services for a featured post

Any reputable local business or organization can help put you in touch with local customers and help you promote your business.

Learn From Others

One way to get ideas for links is from competitors who are doing well. Do a local search for the business you’re in, like landscaper Myrtle Beach, and take a look at some of the sites that appear at the top of the search results page. You will need to use link analysis software like the Free Backlink checker by Ahref, but you can see the links they’ve acquired, and this information will help you gauge how your own link portfolio compares – and give you some ideas of links to pursue yourself. Acquiring the links these tops businesses have brings you one step closer to being able to compete with them.

The next natural step, of course, is to eclipse the competition by acquiring more links than they have. Using the link analysis software to get an idea of what to aim for.

Link building and link analysis isn’t a one-time task. Businesses should monitor their directory listings for accuracy and consistency, and they should always keep an ear to the ground for unique opportunities to build more links.