Local link building is crucial, especially for those businesses that have just started. A study done by Semrush indicated that 92% of the dominating websites had at least one backlink.
By establishing high-quality local backlinks, there is a high chance that you outdo your competitors. The thing is that most of the local businesses are not spending their time or money to establish a link building strategy.
In today's article, we will dive into what local link building is and some of the best local link building tips to generate more leads to your website.
What is Local Link Building?
Local link building is an SEO tactic through which you link your online business to other locally relevant businesses to improve your rankings. Local link building, when done rightly, assists you in making connections with reputable local press and local directories.
These links, in combination with your locally relevant content, will make your business rank on the GMB (Google My Business) listing. Consequently, you gain more traffic that produces more leads.
Local linking holds significance because the more quality backlinks a page has, the more it appears in top search results. Backlinks are a key ranking factor of Google. These links are assumed to be votes of confidence by Google for the website getting links.
Each vote indicates to the search engines that your content is valuable. So, if you want your site pages to appear in top search results, you need to start with your local link building journey right away.
How do Local Citations Differ from Local Backlinks?
Both citations and backlinks are used to enhance your online presence. When other websites make use of them, your site gains an advantage.
Citations refer to your business information on sites other than your own. The information includes your name, address, and phone number. The Google My Business Listing profile uses this data as proof that you own a valid and reliable business.
To get the most out of your link building tactic, you need to consistently use the same information in the citation as you use it in your GMB account.
Although citations can also include links, they're different from links.
The citations can't be placed on your site. They are only a piece of information that represents your business.
Whereas links can be placed on your site in the form of internal links as well as backlinks on other websites. Links are most of the time made clickable by users, while that's not the case with citations.
Links help in citations when you mention the website address. Links assist both types of businesses, online and physical. On the other hand, citations only improve online businesses.
Why is Local Link Building Important for Any Online Business?
- Improved Local Traffic
Consumers won't be able to opt for your business if they fail to realize it exists. Enhancing your local SEO strategy can get you access to those customers. You need to show them that you have the expertise and services they are looking for.
By improving your Local SEO link building strategy, you attract the local audience, which is already an admirer of your product. For instance, you can generate content only for a particular region.
You can choose to focus on news, concepts, and thoughts of people of a specific location.
- Improved Brand Awareness
About 59% of consumers tend to buy from familiar brands. The more people are aware of your website, the more likely they will come to it and buy.
Unluckily, it takes up to five impressions to start creating your brand visibility. People need to come across your business consistently before they can remember its name.
Greater rankings will help your website to be seen by more consumers, allowing your brand visibility to elevate. It will become easier for you to stay in your customers’ minds.
- Credibility and Trust
Customers look for brands they can rely upon. If you are unable to show them that you are a trustworthy resource, they will head on to your competitors instead.
Showing up on other sites can help you win more credibility. It will give a message to the customers that other highly credible sites support your work. This will make them trust you.
Gaining credibility and trust can drive more traffic to your website and result in more conversions.
- Gain Competitive Edge
As a general rule, you have to always remain ahead of your competitors and thrive to gain more revenue. In local link building, you also need to consider competitor backlink analysis.
It includes creating a link building strategy better than your competitors and keeping an eye on their backlinks.
Competitor backlink analysis involves looking for the resources of their local backlinks and gaining the same backlinks.
This will bring you equal to their level, but to win, you also have to recognize and avoid their poor backlinks. If you succeed in getting more authoritative backlinks than your competitors, you will gradually increase your search engine rankings.
7 Effective Strategies for Local Link Building
There are many strategies out there to help get effective backlinks. But today we will dive into 7 most important and high-yielding ways to get higher search engine rankings.
- Sponsor Local Events
Sponsoring local meetups and events can help you get a good number of backlinks. Before or during an event, the number of visitors at the event site is increased. If you sponsor such events, it is likely that the same people come across your business and redirect to your business.
You must keep checking local city papers, which include local event calendars. It will help you in finding sponsorship opportunities.
Another way is to use Google to find sponsorship opportunities; try running searches like these:
- (city) events
- (city) event calendar
- Get Local Press Mentions
Connecting with local blogs and newspapers is a bit difficult, but it is a great tactic to get more backlinks. To initiate connections with a local press, begin by searching for websites where your business has been mentioned and request them for a link.
Contact the editor and send him a short email asking him to adjust the text. This will build a link between that particular blog and your site.
- Build Citations
Initiating your local linking game with citations gives remarkable results. The purpose of building citations is to make your business information appear in as many resources as possible.
There are unlimited free directories where you can create citations, such as Yelp and NextDoor.
Make sure to do thorough research about the directories you choose before you proceed further and build links. They must be by your business and get a considerable amount of traffic.
Always look for directories that give free listings. If you find a directory that demands charges, then ensure that the listings are worth the charges you are going to pay.
- Build Local Business Relationships
One of the best ways to create backlinks is to build strong relationships with other local companies. When you change your focus from buying links to creating relationships, you will naturally attract opportunities that will help you create more links.
You can do this by:
Reviewing your contacts - You can surely find amazing linking opportunities with the help of people who are already on your phone contact list.
Partnering with businesses who offer services similar to yours - If you are an estate agent, you can easily make links with mortgage brokers.
- Connect with Local Experts
Making relations with local businesses is another helpful strategy to dominate your local market and get backlinks.
A great step you can take is to start working with local businesses that are relevant to you. For instance, if you own an online pet store, you might collaborate with a local vet and generate blogs for him.
Partnering with such local business experts assists you in creating quality content. And when your collaborators share your content on their sites, you get more backlinks in return.
- Connect with Local Influencers
Making connections with local influencers is another helpful method to increase your visibility. Most of the time, local bloggers and YouTubers are in search of opportunities that can help them generate content.
You can send products as a present to these local influencers. When these influencers promote and feature your service on their high-ranking social media accounts, you will surely obtain more backlinks.
- Create Locally Relevant Content
Local business content assists you in attracting the audience of your interest when you combine it with tactics as well. Now, think about the locally focused content people in your region would be interested in. For example, if you live in Washington DC, you can focus on region-based keywords, like “Best restaurants in Washington DC.”
A Link Building Case Study
Link building, when done right, can invite unlimited traffic. But it can create a catastrophe for you if you don’t have a good link building strategy. Now, let us walk you through the inspirational case study of Priyank Soni.
Priyank is an SEO service provider at Legiit. A business owner approached Priyank for assistance in SEO. He complained that his blogs are neither ranking nor he is gaining customer attention.
Priyank, using his expertise, found the underlying issue, which was the use of low-quality backlinks. The first thing he did was the on-page and technical SEO.
He noticed that the site had not been optimized from the beginning. He worked on technical SEO and improved the SERPS.
Secondly, he made content silos to enhance topical authority. Lastly, he did link building. He acquired high-quality backlinks that redirected to the client's website.
Results
Hats off to Priyank; the client witnessed the output within two to three weeks. It progressed from 1.8k organic traffic to 2.7k. But the real magic happened after March 2022 when the traffic reached 5.1k and never took a downturn.
Want same results for your local business? Get in touch with Priyank before your competitor.
What are Link Building Services?
Link building services are a crucial component of any SEO strategy. They help you gain local backlinks from some high-ranking and authoritative websites.
These services are frequently used by websites that aim to improve their SEO. Many freelancers and SEO companies offer these services.
How to Choose the Right Link Building Service for Your Website?
A link building service usually gets you access to other websites and asks them to link to the content present on your website. These services involve reaching out to influencers, posting guest blogs, and marketing content.
Furthermore, link building services use brand mentions and press releases to help you get more inbound links from high-authority referring domains. This can help you boost your local search rankings.
Not all link building services are trustworthy and reliable. It requires forethought and research before selecting a service for your business. You need to make sure that the service is effective and worth your money.
- Have Clear Goals
Before you begin researching a link building service, you have to set clear goals. What are your desired keywords? What are your desired sites? How much budget do you have? When you find answers to these questions, it will become way easier to select a link building service for yourself.
- Go Through Online Reviews
A great way to find out whether a service is reliable or not is to go through its reviews online. You can see case studies and certifications on their website. Only choose a link building service if it holds a bunch of good reviews.
- Check Pricing
No doubt, the fee of the link building service is a key factor. Try looking for a service that asks you for a transparent fee that coincides with your budget.
You also need to go through the features it provides. Some providers charge per link per hour and per task. Some service providers offer discount long-term contracts. You need to opt for a service that will fulfill all your needs and expectations.
- Ask Queries
Begin by communicating with them and observing their dealings with you. Ask them any queries you have. You need to see whether they are professional or not. They must be responsive and cooperative.
Figure out whether they will come up to your expectations or not. Good customer service is a must in any link building company.
What are the advantages of using a link building service?
- Get to Page One on Google
The main goal of making new links is to improve the search engine optimization rankings of your website. Link building services ultimately do this job. They show you the right way by which you can create content you desire to rank higher with.
The concept is quite simple. The more links you own for a particular keyword, the more rankings you get from search engines for that specific query. The highly authoritative sites will attest to you as the search engine spider creates results for the questions of the audience.
- Drive More Traffic
A link building service can help you get more audience from other credible sites with the help of local backlinks. It means that you can acquire a greater number of customer attention when the keywords on your site are connected with other high-authoritative sites.
A fine local seo link building strategy helps you keep your connections forever. When readers on other sites click on the URL or look for keywords, they are redirected to your business.
In this way, you end up with increased traffic on your website, which can lead to increased potential customers
- Save on Marketing Costs
Investing a few pennies in a link building service is way cheaper than other types of marketing. In conventional marketing, you invest a huge amount of money with the uncertainty of getting an equal return.
But that’s not the case with link building services. Here, you invest in obtaining links and get backlinks provided that they are authentic. It is simple and easy to monitor your campaign to check if it generates results and make adjustments to it.
How Much Does a Link Building Service Cost?
Link building costs differ concerning the type of company you select and your objectives. Usually, a one-time service will cost from 500$ to 5000$. On the other hand, per-month service can range from 1000$ to 20000$
What are Some of the Best Link Building Services?
A few of the top link building services are:
Whitespark
Creates tools and offers services that assist the client in boosting search results.
SEOBuilder.com
Provide top-quality link building services like GMB posts, citations, and citation cleanups.
BrightLocal
Helps to drive more traffic and rank higher for search results.
Legiit.com
On Legiit, you have access to some top-notch local link building & citation services. These services can fulfill all your backlink needs, such as Google and Amazon cloud backlinks, press releases, blog comment links, and much more.
Check out premium quality local link building services recommended and featured by Legiit as "Legiit Checked" (tried and tested for Legiit itself) and "Service of the Week" for your boosting local SEO link building of your business. Thank us later.
FAQs
Q. How important is link building for SEO?
There is almost zero or no possibility of getting top rankings without link building. Your site may have fancy graphics and high-quality content, yet you won't be on Google’s top results if you don't have local backlinks.
No doubt, it is applicable if you work in middle or high-competition niches with a 90% competition rate.
Q. What are some link building mistakes people make?
Most site owners make the mistake of doing everything on their own. Another mistake they frequently make is hiring incompetent persons who do more harm than good to their sites.
Up & Coming Talent
Download