Local link building plays a crucial role in boosting the ranking of your local business or your client’s business on Google. When it comes to local SEO, both organic search results and map pack studies consistently highlight the significance of links. To achieve higher rankings, acquiring quality backlinks is essential.
What Is Local Linking Building?
Local link building is a process that involves building contextually or locally relevant links on a website. The goal of local link building is to increase traffic to a website and help it rank higher in local searches.
How Many Local Links Will I Need?
Local search isn’t about having tons of links. You’ll find that businesses with over 150 referring domains rarely rank on the first page of local search results in Ahref’s Keywords Explorer.
Keywords Explorer can also be used to gauge the level of competition for keywords that you are targeting. You can see the number of links on the SERP overview by scrolling down.
How to Create Local Links
Local link building is no different. It requires hard work, persistence, creativity, and research. Start with these nine local link-building tactics:
- Other ranking sites can provide links to your site
- Find out what links your competitors are using
- Reclaim lost links
- Create local content
- Find local listings
- Other local links opportunities
- Claim Unlinked Mentions
- Purchase companies or their websites
- Add internal Links
1. Other Ranking Sites Can Provide Links to Your Site
This tactic is sometimes called Barnacle SEO. Search for relevant keywords in Google, and then try to obtain links from the sites that appear in the search results.
Look for aggregators or directories. These sites are often used by people who are looking for companies. Signing up and adding your company is usually enough to get you listed. It’s a simple and quick way to get your business in front of decision-makers and gain direct value.
2. Find Out What Links Your Competitors Are Using
You can find many contextually and locally relevant links if you check the overlap between your competitor’s sites. LinkIntersect makes it easy to check. You can add both your website and those of your competitors to the tool to see which websites link to them (but not you).
You’re more likely to find directories and links that are specific to your niche. These directories include information such as business data, your name, phone number, and address.
3. Reclaim Lost Links
As websites change, you may find that links to old pages no longer exist. You can recover lost links by redirecting old versions to current versions. How to do it?
- Paste your domain into Ahref’s Site Explorer
- Go to the Best by Links report
- Add a “404 Not Found” HTTP Response Filter
We usually sort this by “Referring Domains.”
4. Create Local Content
Content creation is a process that involves finding topics for your audience and then creating and publishing content on those topics. Consider creating local content that is relevant to your business and useful to your audience. Topics such as ‘what are the most common pests in your area’ or ‘what is the best type of grass to grow in your area’ can be discussed.
It is unlikely that such content will naturally attract a lot of links. Email outreach is a good way to obtain links.
5. Find Local Listings
Link Intersect has already shown us some of these possibilities. You can choose from a variety of citation services, but for the US, you should start with the ones that rank in your area. These services are often used to feed data from their sites onto other websites. They are considered important citations.
Main US Aggregators:
- Data Axle
- Localeze
- Foursquare
Other Major Players:
- Google My Business
- Bing
- Apple Maps
- Yelp
- Yellowpages
- Dunn & Bradstreet
- TomTom
6. Other Local Links Opportunities
This is any link from another website that is focused on your region. You can find many different opportunities, and I will be writing a second article on how to do this.
Now, let’s list some opportunities.
- Colleges and Universities (e.g. job postings scholarships, club sponsorships, discounts, & alumni links)
- Sites and directories specific to cities
- Local magazines, podcasts, and news
- Sites devoted to the state or its surroundings
- Local community groups
- Sponsorships available for a wide range of events (e.g. sports leagues and races, charity meetings, meetups, etc.).
- Local awards
Existing relationships can be leveraged. You can use testimonials, case studies, or affiliations as examples. This could be through connections made by churches, business groups, or people. If you are looking to organize local events such as expert roundups, ego bait is a great way to attract people.
7. Claim Unlinked Mentions
Unlinked brand mentions occur when other sites discuss your company or the people who work for it but do not hyperlink back to your website. This tactic will work best if your niche is one that receives news coverage, such as lawyers or your business.
8. Purchase Companies or Their Websites
Local mergers and purchases are more common, but they can still happen. You may even come across a company that is selling its existing website or has let one of its domains expire. You can choose to have two sites that rank well or just one. These opportunities are rare and only available at the local level. I have only done this a handful of times in my career.
9. Add Internal Links
You have control over your website, which is also locally hosted. Internal links can be a very powerful tactic for link building. When creating content, make sure to include internal links that connect relevant pages within your website. This not only helps with search engine optimization but also encourages visitors to explore more of your site and increases the chances of them finding valuable information. By strategically placing internal links throughout your content, you can guide visitors to other relevant pages and enhance the overall user experience.
Final Thoughts
We’ve found that people often overlook these fundamental tactics in favor of more exciting or trendy strategies. However, it’s important to remember that these basic tactics form the foundation of a successful online presence. Skipping them can be risky and rarely yields significant results. As your company grows and establishes a strong foundation, you can explore more innovative and creative approaches to enhance your online presence.”
So, if you’re looking to boost your local SEO in the Florida Panhandle and surrounding areas, Turn to LUX Digital Marketing, the experts in local SEO.
We specialize in helping businesses like yours achieve higher visibility and attract local customers. With our proven strategies and tailored approach, we’ll optimize your website, improve your search rankings, and drive targeted traffic to your business. Don’t miss out on the potential growth opportunities in your local market.
Contact LUX Digital Marketing today and let us elevate your online presence to new heights.
Services We Offer:
- Search Engine Optimization
- Web Design
- Google Maps Marketing
- Most importantly, ranking you number 1 on Google!
