As consumers continue to search for local businesses online, the importance of having a strong presence in local search rankings cannot be overstated. With "near me" searches seeing a 500% increase year over year, and 81% of consumers turning to Google for information on local businesses, it's crucial for digital marketers to make sure their content is visible to their target audience. (Brightlocal -Local Consumer Review Survey)
Enter local link building. By strategically building high-quality links from local sources, you can improve your visibility in local search and reach consumers who are actively searching for businesses like yours.
In this guide, we'll dive into the ins and outs of link building tactics, exploring how it works, why it's important, and how you can start building a strong link profile that propels your content to the top of relevant search rankings. Whether you're a local business owner, marketer, or SEO professional, this guide is everything you need to know about links for local SEO.
What Is Link Building for Local SEO?
Local link building for SEO refers to the process of acquiring links from local sites and sources in order to improve your business's visibility and search rankings for locally-based searches. These links act as "votes of confidence" for your website, signaling to search engines that your content is relevant, trustworthy, and valuable to users. By building links from local sources, you can help increase your website's authority and relevance in local search, making it easier for consumers to find your business online.
Why Link Building for Local SEO Matters?
Backlinks for local SEO are critical for businesses that want to reach local consumers. As more and more people turn to the internet to find information about local businesses, having a strong presence in local search rankings is essential for driving traffic and attracting customers. Link building helps to boost your website's authority and relevance in local search, making it easier for consumers to find your business online. Additionally, by building relationships with locals and sources, you can gain valuable exposure and visibility, helping to increase your online reputation and reach a wider audience. With the right strategy and approach, local backlinks can be a powerful tool for driving traffic, attracting customers, and growing your business.
I wrote a full article on how to rank your local business using Local SEO here.
Is link building still relevant to SEO 2023?
Link building is one of the oldest and most well-established practices in search engine optimization (SEO). Over the years, it has been the subject of much debate, with some experts claiming that it's no longer necessary in the modern SEO landscape. But despite these criticisms, link building remains an important factor in determining search engine rankings, even in 2023.
The reason link building is still relevant to SEO is simple: it's all about trust. Search engines use links as a way of measuring the trust and authority of a website. The more high-quality links a website has pointing to it, the more likely it is to be considered authoritative and trustworthy. As a result, search engines are more likely to rank that website higher in search results, making it easier for users to find.
However, it's important to note that the quality of links is just as important as the quantity. Simply having a large number of low-quality links pointing to your website can actually harm your search engine rankings, rather than help them. That's why it's critical to focus on building high-quality, relevant links from trusted sources, rather than simply trying to acquire as many links as possible.
One of the main challenges of link building in 2023 is the changing landscape of search engines. With Google constantly updating its algorithms, it can be difficult to know what strategies will be effective from one year to the next. However, by focusing on building relationships with other websites in your industry and creating valuable content that people want to link to, you can ensure that your link-building efforts will continue to be relevant and effective in the years to come.
Link building is still a critical component of a successful SEO strategy, even in 2023. By focusing on building high-quality, relevant links from trusted sources, you can improve your website's search engine rankings and reach a wider audience of potential customers. So, if you're looking to improve your SEO in the coming year, don't overlook the importance of link building.
Link Building for Local SEO Strategies
Here are some strategies for local link building strategies:
1-Claim local business listings:
In today's digital age, more and more consumers are turning to search engines to find local businesses. As a result, having a strong online presence is essential for any local business looking to reach new customers and grow its customer base. One of the most important strategies for achieving this is claiming local business listings and citation building.
Local business listings(AKA Local Citations) are online directories that list local businesses and their contact information. Some of the most popular local business listings include Google My Business, Bing Places, and Yelp. By claiming your business listings, you can make sure that your business information is accurate and up-to-date, and that it is easily accessible to potential customers.
In addition to improving your visibility and accessibility, claiming local business listings can also improve your search engine rankings. Search engines like Google use local business listings as a way of verifying the existence and location of a business. By claiming your listings, you can ensure that search engines have accurate information about your business, which can help you rank higher in local search results.
Claiming your local business listings is also great to increase your local pack ranking.
Make sure your business is listed in all relevant local directories and listing sites, such as Google My Business, Bing Places, and Yelp. We use a building citations tool such as Brightloacl to get our client's businesses listed in all the directories and maps with a click of a button.
2-Guest blogging:
Guest blogging is a popular link-building strategy that involves writing blog posts or articles for other websites in your industry or niche. By including a link back to your website in your guest post, you can build high-quality backlinks that can improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
When it comes to guest blogging for local SEO, it is important to focus on local websites and blogs that are relevant to your industry and target audience. This can help you reach local customers and build your reputation as a local expert in your field.
Getting started with guest blogging requires research to find local websites and local blogs that accept guest posts. Find sites that align with your industry and target audience, have high engagement and readership, and are well-respected in their niche.
Once you've identified potential opportunities, create a valuable guest post that offers value to the site's readers. This can come in the form of helpful articles, insightful analyses of local issues, or thought-provoking opinions.
Through writing quality, relevant content for local websites, you can position yourself as an authority in your field and build high-quality backlinks that enhance your search engine rankings and reach your local market. Don't reach out to local bloggers for the sake of backlinks because they will now and might charge you to decline your request, what you need to do instead is offer value in your content.
3-Sponsorships and partnerships:
There are some ways to improve your local presence and increase brand recognition while gaining valuable local link building opportunities? Consider hosting special events or campaigns!
There are a variety of options to choose from, such as sponsoring a local sports team, hosting a charity fundraiser, conducting a workshop, running a contest, or even offering promotions like a product demonstration or seasonal discounts. Whatever you choose, make sure it aligns with your business model.
To advertise your event or promotion, it's important to reach out to your local community. Start by researching local news outlets such as newspapers, radio stations, and Facebook groups. Identify which outlets best align with your target audience - for example, with 96% of 18 to 25-year-olds and 87% of 55 to 66-year-olds checking social media daily, online platforms could be a good starting point.
Once you've found your target outlets, draft a concise press release that highlights the key details of your event or promotion, along with a URL for a backlink. Don't forget to incorporate relevant keywords - tools like Ubersuggest can assist you in finding the right keywords to include.
4-Content marketing:
Having a blog is crucial for local SEO and link building. By creating and sharing valuable local content, you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry, build consumer trust, and drive traffic to your website.
Blogging is a powerful tool for attracting potential customers and keeping them engaged with your brand. A recent report by Demand Gen found that 60% of buyers read blog posts in the early stages of their purchasing process. so for it, blogs are easily shareable on social media, which means more visibility for your business and leads to more opportunities for backlinks.
To start your local blog, it's important to focus on creating quality content that meets the needs of your target audience. This content should be well-researched and engaging so that readers will be more likely to share it and link back to it.
One way to acquire backlinks is to pitch your blog content to link roundups. Link roundups are collections of the best new content in a particular niche, and they can be a great way to get your blog in front of new audiences. Additionally, by actively promoting your blog on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, you can increase the visibility of your content and build business relationships that can lead to more backlinks over time.
By focusing on creating valuable content and building relationships through your blog and social media presence, you can establish yourself as a local expert and acquire backlinks naturally, helping to improve your local SEO and brand awareness.
5-Local press coverage:
Building local backlinks through your local press releases and media coverage is a fantastic technique to leverage brand awareness and boost your online presence and visibility in your community. When you write for your local newspapers and appear on TV, or radio station shows, locals will see you as an expert in your industry and that will may grow your business and reach more potential clients as well.
The news outlet needs to share news or content to catch the reader's attention, not boring news, and information which is why you will need to focus on a story. A story that will showcase your expertise and understanding of the industry, local place, or your own professional life. These can be including trends and local events.
Once you have your story or article ready, announce it locally to various media sources and invite them to reach out to you to provide new insights or information for their reports. This could mean offering story concepts, answering media inquiries, or just serving as a resource for articles or topics.
The key here is to get media coverage, when you do so, you will need to make the most of it because that doesn't happen often. What you will need to do is promote your business, not in a desperate way. make sure to mention your business, and website, during your interview or through your article. This will help you build your online presence and expertise in your industry doing so will help boost your business to generate more online traffic, foot traffic, and more leads.
6-Customer testimonials:
Customer testimonials and reviews are valuable for building trust and credibility with your audience, and can also help you improve your visibility and credibility in local search results. By asking your satisfied customers to leave reviews of your business on local directories such as Google my business, you can help boost your online reputation and establish yourself as a trustworthy, high-quality local business.
I talked about how to handle online reputation positive and negative here
To collect customer testimonials, you'll need to make it easy for your customers to leave reviews of your business. This can involve asking for reviews in person, sending follow-up emails, or using software to collect reviews from your customers.
One software that can help you collect more 4 and 5-star reviews from your customers is ReviewsBooster.net.
ReviewsBooster.net allows you to collect, manage, and publish customer reviews across multiple platforms, including Google, Facebook, and other local directories. The software also provides a simple, user-friendly interface that makes it easy for you to track and respond to reviews in real time, helping you build your online reputation and reach new customers.
Customer testimonials are an effective way to improve your visibility and credibility in local search results and build trust and credibility with your target audience. By using software like ReviewsBooster.net to collect and manage customer reviews, you can help grow your business and reach new customers more easily and effectively.
I will not talk about it much because I wrote a full article about it here: Are Online Reviews Important For Local Businesses?
7-Influencer outreach:
Having high-quality, localized associates whose relationships can improve your reach via their popularity and scope. Never undermine these connections due to the possibility that they will gain you more web traffic and increase your sales. Those associates are called "influencers"
The next step is locating influencers who reflect your brand and values. Look for individuals who share your interests and values using various database programs and social media platforms.
Once you've got a list, it's time to reach out and make your pitch. Offer unique perks like exclusive discounts or product samples in exchange for their promotion and a link to your website.
Clear communication is key to a successful influencer partnership. Make sure to establish your expectations and goals from the start, including the type of content you want, the channels you'd like them to use, and the outcomes you hope to achieve.
Influencer outreach is a highly effective way to grow your business and improve your local SEO. By partnering with relevant and trustworthy local influencers, you can expand your reach and gain valuable exposure, helping you achieve your marketing goals in a meaningful and sustainable way.
Build Local Backlinks Frequently Asked Questions
1-What is Link Building for Local SEO?
Link building is the process of acquiring high-quality, relevant links from other websites to improve your visibility and rankings locally. The goal is to build a strong link profile that signals to search engines that your website is trustworthy, relevant, and valuable to local users.
2-Why is Link Building Important for Local SEO?
Link building is important and has many SEO benefits because search engines use links as a key ranking factor. The more high-quality, relevant links you have pointing to your website, the more likely you are to rank higher. This can help you reach more local customers, drive more traffic to your website, and grow your business over time.
3-What Are Some Common local link building opportunities for Local SEO?
Some common local link building opportunities for local SEO include content marketing, networking, local press coverage, customer testimonials, influencer outreach, a local blog, and more. Each of these strategies involves a different approach to building links, but the goal is always the same: to acquire high-quality, relevant links that will help improve your visibility and rankings.
4-How Can I Get Started with the process of building links?
Getting started can seem overwhelming, but there are many simple and effective strategies you can use to get started. Some of the best ways to get started include creating shareable content, reaching out to local influencers and press, and building relationships with other businesses in your industry. By taking a strategic and data-driven approach to link building, you can create a strong link profile and grow your business online.
5-What Are the Risks of Link Building for Local SEO?
Mostly there is no risk with link building if it's done correctly but keep in mind that quality over quantity. While improving local SEO via link building can be an effective strategy, it's very important to be aware of the risks associated with it. Some of the most common risks consist of getting penalized by search engines for getting low-quality links, wasting time and resources on ineffective strategies, and damaging your reputation by partnering with the wrong influencers or websites.
In conclusion, building links is a critical component of improving your local SEO and boosting your online visibility. From creating valuable content to networking with other businesses and leveraging local press coverage, there are many ways to build links. Additionally, don't forget about the power of customer testimonials and influencer outreach. By incorporating these strategies into your local SEO strategy, you can improve your online presence and drive more traffic to your business. So, start exploring all the ways to build local links and watch as your local SEO skyrockets.
If you need any extra help with link building for local SEO, reach out to me by
to see how I can help you boost your local rankings.