Link building is an essential component of any local SEO strategy. Whether you operate a brick-and-mortar business or a service area business, link building can boost your rankings.
Finding high-quality and relevant links for local SEO can be one of your greatest challenges. Here, you’ll discover useful tips to help you identify prospects, utilize tools, and achieve greater success in your link building efforts.
## What Is A Local Link?
Traditionally, link building focuses on acquiring links from highly authoritative domains. However, earning backlinks for smaller organizations can be incredibly challenging, especially if your business is not well-known.
For local brick-and-mortar stores or service area businesses, the relevancy of links is critical. Local links are intended to demonstrate that entities with relevance to the local area trust or endorse your business.
Local SEO professionals often concentrate on:
– Correcting NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information.
– Building up a list of citations.
– Creating hyperlocal content.
– Building links from websites in the local area.
These tasks establish a presence within the SERPs for local terms, Google Business Profiles, and organic search results for localized keywords.
When earning local links, focus on:
– Linking back to your location page or the most relevant page corresponding to the backlink.
– Ensuring there’s a CTA on the linked page.
Websites in your specific local area might not have high authority, but they can still be valuable. Focus on the relevance of the site to your small market rather than metrics like DA.
It’s always beneficial to get links from highly authoritative sites. However, local businesses often face limitations, including budget constraints, in producing content that large publishers seek. Understanding these parameters is crucial.
A local business usually operates within a local space, meaning traffic from distant locations might be worthless.
## Start With Building Citations
Citation building, finding general and niche directories, and correcting existing information can help get you started. Citations can place your key business information on decent websites where it may be seen by searchers.
Services that can aid in citation building include:
– Yext
– Moz Local
– Brightlocal
– Whitespark
These platforms are excellent for citation building and auditing. Pay attention to niche directories in their database, as they carry more weight than general directories.
## Where Do The Opportunities Lie? Anywhere You Can Find Them!
Local SEO may require more creativity than SEO for large brands. Local link opportunities may not be as varied as national or global options but can still be valuable.
For example, a sandwich shop could build local links from:
– Local newspapers or media outlets that feature local eateries.
– Local bloggers with followers in the target area.
– Local event pages, tourism sites, downtown directories, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
– Other local businesses with a “Local Partners” page.
– Local charities that offer a featured volunteers page.
– Local organizations or group sites.
Understanding the limitations of your local space can help you think creatively and find effective opportunities.
## Open Up A Link Tool & Start Finding Prospects
Ahrefs and Majestic have long been standards for link research, but Semrush also offers a comprehensive backlink database. Using multiple tools can be beneficial.
To start, identify the terms most valuable to your business and see which businesses rank on the first page of the SERPs. Collect these websites and analyze their acquired links.
Compare the mutual and different links among direct competitors. This will help you identify where your link profile is lacking. By acquiring the same links as your competitors, you can create a level playing field.
## How To Find More Link Opportunities
To move beyond your direct competition, explore other local businesses and their press coverage. This can help you find local writers, blogs, and sites that support local businesses.
Another method is to use Yelp to find highly-reviewed businesses in your city. Analyze their backlinks using a link analysis tool to uncover potential linking opportunities.
For example, the top-reviewed business in San Francisco might have links from various local sources. Use this method with several businesses across different verticals to gather a variety of potential links.
The goal is to find valuable local connections and build them into your link profile.
For more advice and tips on link building, check out resources on effective link building outreach, comprehensive link building checklists, and types of links worth pursuing.
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Featured Image: Paulo Bobita
