What is local link building?

Local link building is an important SEO service that small and medium-sized businesses need.

Local SEO is designed to help boost the visibility of a business’s website to those doing a local search of their areas, and local link-building is a form of link-building designed to help improve their SERP results when people are locally searching for a specific area.

Local link-building is an excellent way to reach a wider local audience that is looking to work with local businesses.

Why is link building for local SEO important?

One of the things that makes local link-building so important is that it is one of Google’s ranking factors. It is not the only one that they use, but it is an important one.

If you have been having issues with your local SEO strategy providing you with the results that want, then you could be missing local link-building in your strategy.  

Overall, this service helps with the overall SEO level of your website, and it is designed to help generate organic traffic driven locally.

It is one of the best ways to get backlinks from other local websites from businesses in your community that has already established their Domain Authority or DA.

Finally, when people use search engines, it is a way to prove to people searching locally that your website is valuable and should be looked at for consideration for whatever they were searching up.

How many local links do I need?

Compared to other types of backlinks, you will find that you need significantly fewer local backlinks compared to backlinks from other sources. However, this does vary depending on where you live.

For instance, if you live in a less populated area, you might only need five to ten locally generated backlinks.

Generally speaking, it is rare to see a website with more than 150 local backlinks, and that is because it takes fewer local backlinks to increase your ranking in a local search engine.

The number that you need could also vary depending on your industry and how many other local websites in your industry you have to contend with.

If you are unsure, you can easily check out other websites in your industry on SERP to see how many you need to contend with.

23 Ways To Build Local Links

Now that you have a brief understanding of what local link-building is and how important it is to a local SEO strategy, here are a few ways that I found work well for generating these types of links.

Each one can be done separately or you can do multiple ways to increase your chances of getting quality local backlinks to your website faster.

However, it is important to remember that although local backlinks tend to happen faster than other backlinks, there is still no guarantee that you will get fast backlinks.

You need to remember that building any sort of links takes time, and you want to make sure that you get the right backlinks that will give you a better standing with search engines.

Here we go!

1. Get links from local business directories

One of the best ways to build local backlinks is by visiting different local businesses’ directories. You can reach out to these local businesses and create a relationship with their owners.

This could help you to get links from these businesses, and you could offer to provide backlinks to their businesses. This can help your overall standing when people locally search for the business.

By reaching out to these other businesses, you will not only get links, but you can nurture relationships with these other businesses. This can help to increase your business in other ways, as well.

After all, word of mouth and building links can be entwined together to make an overall marketing strategy to help increase your business in the eyes of locals in your area.

2. Local press - local newspapers & news sites

Your local press is an important part of your community, and they can reach a variety of people in your region that might be interested in your business but not be aware of it.

By reaching out to your local newspaper and news sites, you can gain traction and perhaps a backlink in their business section.

This would help with giving you a credible backlink to a site that is used by local customers and create exposure for your website and business at the same time.

Plus, newspapers and other like media are usually considered reputable backlinks, which can help your website not just in your local link-building campaign but also in general link-building campaigns, which is a win-win on all link-building fronts.

3. Get featured on local review websites

Every area has some sort of review website that features different businesses and their products for local consumers to browse. This can make or break any business.

These types of local review websites generally provide insight that caters to what most people want. The best way to do this is to contact the creators of the review website and inquire on how to get them to review your website.

This was when coming up with an excellent pitch will be useful. You should make sure that your pitch is positive and well-detailed on what makes your business or product special in the local area.

Getting featured on their local review website can help to provide a relevant backlink to help improve your local link standing when people use a local search for businesses or products like yours.

4. Get links from other ranking sites

Getting links can be an easy thing to do, but you still need to make sure that the links you generate and receive are from relevant and high-ranking websites.

After all, the wrong kind of link can hurt your local link-building campaign instead of helping it.

Therefore, whenever you go to other local websites in search of link prospects, you should check their ranking.

If they do not have a decent SEO ranking, it might be beneficial not to pursue a backlink from that website. You want to focus only on pursuing backlinks from websites that have decent rankings both locally and non-locally.

It can only assist your ranking by getting links from these particular websites. Therefore, these are the websites that you should focus on getting links from to help make your local link-building campaign successful.

5. Steal your competitor’s backlinks

All is fair in love and war! The same applies to tactics in the business world. One of the best ways to improve your local link-building campaign is by looking at competing websites in your area that could draw away from your local links.

There is a simple solution to this. You can steal the backlinks that they have procured from other websites.

How do you do this? That is a simple matter. You can go to competitors' websites and check the local backlinks that they have received. Once you have done this, you can contact the generator of the backlink and pose your website as a replacement for their backlink.

The best way to do this is to provide a detailed pitch that will make your website stand out more than the website that currently has the backlink, thereby effectively stealing the backlink for your website.

6. Create industry studies

One of the best ways to get any sort of link to your website is by providing up-to-date data/statistics that journalists/bloggers/website owners need to find when they are writing a new article.

I've used this "statistics page" strategy to build high-quality links for my local SEO clients' websites which have helped them rank for competitive keywords like "commercial cleaning"

If you're interested in learning more about this link building strategy, schedule a strategy session with me today.

7. Reclaim lost links

Websites are always changing, and this can cause you to lose links to other websites that you had previously gotten. Therefore, there is only one solution to this.

Regularly, it is important to check all of your backlinks and make sure that they are still working and heading to the proper places.

If you find that some of your links have been lost, whether it is due to your website’s changes or the website that it went to, you should reach out to the other website and reclaim the link to ensure the best results for your website and the one it is linked to.

8. Create locally relevant content

Whenever you start looking into local SEO and link-building, you need to understand that your website will need to have some sort of locally relevant content for local link-building to be effective.

It could simply be the products or services that you provide in the local area that sets you apart from your competitors.

If you do not have any of this type of content on your website, then you will need to create it to make gaining local links easier.

After all, if your content speaks to consumers locally, then other local businesses and websites will be more likely to link to your website over a competitor’s website that doesn’t provide this type of content.

9. Pursue other local link opportunities

When you are locally link-building, you should be looking for all local link opportunities. You should broaden your thinking about local links to make sure you are creating as many local link opportunities as possible.

Pursuing local link opportunities that reach outside of your industry and niche can help, but it is important to make sure that they are linked to relevant content on your website.

This could mean that you might need to create special pages on your website to ensure that the link is to relevant content, but it will help to pull local interested consumers to your website.

Therefore when you are searching for prospects, you need to consider all local link-building opportunities.

10. Build backlinks from unlinked brand mentions

Whenever you are looking for local links, you can get them from unlinked brand mentions on websites that might not be locally centered. This could be the best way to get local links and relevant links for your other link-building campaigns at the same time.

Brands can overlook local link proposals, but they are an excellent way to get a step up on your competitors. Building backlinks from brand mentions that have not been linked yet locally will gain your website credibility, which is the point.

11. Add internal links to pages throughout your site

Whenever you are creating your website, it is important to make sure that you are constantly thinking about ways to improve your website.

One way to do this is by making sure that you have several internal links throughout all of your pages that will link to other pages.

This will help you to make sure that when you get a local link, people who follow this link will be able to easily navigate through your website to find the most relevant information to them.

This could even help get additional local links from other websites.

12. Do broken link building

The longer you have your website, you will realize how often they change, and other websites will change as well. One way to build local links is by doing broken link building.

What is broken link building? This is when people change their website or websites that they were linked to change and therefore when you click on the link it no longer works.

You can help yourself and other websites by finding these broken links.

You can build on these broken links by contacting the owner of the broken link and offering your website as a replacement.

However, it is important to make sure that you have relevant content on your website that can replace the broken link.

13. Get links from local influencers/bloggers

In every community, there are bloggers or influencers that you should reach out to. Their opinions can help to build positive links for your website and products in the eyes of the local public.

These people generally have different niches that they explore, and you can reach out to them to get a link to your website for the particular niche that you provide information on.

It is just important that you provide relevant and quality detailed information when reaching out to these prospects.

14. Create a local resource page on your website

If you want to create a positive image for your local community, then you need to know what people in your area look for. You can do this by creating a local resource page on your website that will give substance to areas other than just your business.

It will show that you are informed about your community and it will open up various ways to make new local links for your website.

Make sure that your local resource page has quality information that will be beneficial to anyone looking for things on your website.

15. Take advantage of scholarships

Looking to the future is one of the best things you can do as a business person, and your website must do the same. Therefore, you should show interest in different local scholarships and take advantage of these to help build local links.

They will provide you with an excellent source to reach out to younger demographics, and they can easily lead to links that go beyond local link-building as well, which will always be a positive thing for the future of your website.

16. Offer to write for local newspapers

Generating content for your website is always an important thing to do to obtain links to your website. However, it is not the only place where you can write content.

You could contact your local newspapers to see if they would be willing to let you write content for them on your particular niche.

Being on good terms with your local newspapers is excellent to allow you to build local links.

You do not have to directly link in your content, but it will allow you to make connections with the right people to ensure that you have the right people considering your website for links when the need arises for a source.

Plus, writing content for local newspapers will also allow you to keep track of what sort of information journalists might look for in a source link, which will allow you to ensure that your website is capable of providing this.

17. Build a useful tool

If you create a useful tool for something that relates to your website's industry, then you can promote it to build backlinks to your site.

However, it is important to make sure that the tool you create will be useful for those that come to your website. It should provide some use, whether it is practical or for entertainment.

It should be something that is unique to the niche of your website and that people will be willing to use, which will have them create links to your website to allow other people to use it as well.

18. Host and promote a local event

Regardless of whether you live in a small town or a large city, everyone loves local events, and you can get a lot of local links to your website by hosting your local event.

You can either use a local historical moment for your event or you can be creative and create your event that centers around the niche of your business.

This will also allow you to market for your business in person and online and prove that you are a supporter of local businesses and traditions that can gain you a lot of additional local links from newspapers, bloggers, and businesses that appreciate your efforts.

19. Create an infographic

Infographics are an excellent way, to sum up, a lot of information in a single graphic that can also be used on other websites, to sum up, the information on your website. This is why creating your infographic can help to grab your local links.

They are more fun and interesting than mere text, and they are often used by bloggers and different media outlets.

It makes it easier to post an infographic to their website and link it than a whole lot of text. Plus, it can save space on their website while still giving you a link and recognition for the information that your website can offer.

20. Build a microsite

To create a microsite, you need to understand what a microsite is. These are websites that are designed to center on a specific topic or subject that is a subset of a much larger topic.

It is a way to focus specific information to gather local links.

For instance, if your website deals with selling clothes, you might create a microsite that focuses on a specific article of clothing to provide better information.

Then you would reach out with this microsite to get a local link, and on the microsite, you would link to your home website.

It is one of the best tools possible that you can use to help generate local links for your local link-building campaign.

21. Donate to local shelters

Local shelters are used to house those who are less fortunate, and it is an excellent organization to donate your money, time, and resources to.

You can use this to create a local link, which will help in your overall local link-building campaign.

22. Donate to local food banks

Food banks are one of the most charitable things in any community, and one way to get an easy backlink is by donating food to your local food bank.

Not only will this help your community, but it is an excellent way to gain traction for your business and allow people in your local community to know that you care.

This can easily increase the positive image of your business, and many food banks have a website, which can gain you a backlink to their website.

23. Claim your Google My Business listing

Whenever a business is searched or is presented somewhere online, Google creates a My Business listing for that business. They take as much information about the business as possible that they can verify and put it on the listing.

It is an excellent way for people to find your business and information about your business.

However, Google does not always have the correct information, which can cause some issues.

Therefore, by claiming your Google My Business listing, you can verify a business like yours and edit the information that will appear on Google for your business.

Now, how do you do this? Follow these simple steps to claim your listing and start using it to your benefit.

1. Go to Google Maps on your smart device or online
   
2. Type in your business name in the search bar and choose which is the right business
   
3. Look under the business profile and click on “claim this business”. If it is the correct business, you will click on “I own or manage this business”. If it isn’t the correct business, you will click the “I own or manage another business”.
   
4. Go through the verification options and follow the steps and this will allow you to claim your listing
   

How To Make A Local Link Building Campaign

Once you have chosen the methods that you want to use for building your local links, you will need to come up with a campaign strategy to implement them to make sure they will work for you to the best of their ability.

After all, having a well-thought-out campaign strategy can make or break your local link-building efforts. So, you need to make a plan and stick with it and make sure to adjust your plan accordingly to get the desired results.

This is where I am here to help you. Here are four easy steps for you to follow to help ensure you get positive results from your local link-building campaign.

Step 1: Find link prospects

The first step is quite simple, but it can be the most time-consuming of the four steps. You need to take the time to research different link prospects to make sure that they will positively benefit you.

After all, not every type of backlink can help your website. Some can hurt your website's overall rating, and when it comes to these, it is important to reject them as a prospect.

You can conduct your local search for websites that are related to your website in some way, or you might visit local websites of businesses that you already have some sort of contact with and use them as a prospect.  

It is important to remember that this can take time, and it should not be rushed because it is one of the most important parts of an excellent local link-building campaign.

Step 2: Create an outreach email

Although you might already have a business email, when you are starting a new local link-building campaign, it is important to create a new outreach email that is meant specifically for that purpose.

It will allow you to keep all of your correspondences for the campaign, which can help to ensure you do not miss any sort of information about your campaign.

It will also allow you to make sure that you do not miss other important emails that are business-related but have nothing to do with your campaign.

It will keep everything separated, which can help with organization, and it will allow other people in your company to help you keep track of the campaign without relinquishing access to your private business email.

Step 3: Find prospect’s contact information

After you create your outreach email, you should go back to all of the prospects that you found and look for the different contact information of each one. This will allow you to organize which prospects can be reached and by which way they can be reached.

This is important because if the prospect link doesn’t have any sort of contact information, you will not be able to successfully reach out and contact them.

Step 4: Reach out to prospects

Finally, you will take the contact information and the newly created email and reach out to each prospect to try and secure a local link. It is important to remember that you need be extremely detailed in your outreach email.

After all, you need to make a good impression on the prospect to secure a link to them. It is the best way to ensure your local link-building campaign will be successful.