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Local Link Building Done The Right Way
Link building is an important part of every SEO campaign strategy. It essentially transfers authority to a specific website or domain and endorses it for improved rankings. However, local link building, can puzzle even veteran digital marketing professionals.
What is local backlinking?
Local link building is the practice of obtaining links or building link structures with other websites. For local links, it involves obtaining backlinks from websites that are in the same service area as the campaign you’ve launched.
Local link building offers many advantages over other links, especially because they target a more specific and relevant audience to your campaign. This benefit can overall improve the results generated from the campaign.
For example, a local real estate agent has a better chance of getting improved results for their campaigns when their local link-building strategy targets local real estate attorneys, construction contractors, and architects. This strategy can bring more local business and visibility to their website and improve conversion rate. The same level of success may not be recorded if the realtor targets other real estate market players in other states.
Why do you need local backlinking to compete
SEO pages backlinks have become an important factor among many online businesses looking to rank better in Search Engine Result pages. Aside from what we have mentioned, there are other advantages of paying attention to your local backlinking needs. They include;
Ranking on Google Maps
Backlinks and backlink acquisition are important factors to consider when planning on ranking your Google Business Profile in the 3-Packs and expanded list. Most local businesses and agencies have come to understand the importance of obtaining local backlinks to push their brand relevance and build local authority within the areas they operate.
By acquiring local links, you’re essentially pointing Google to your location and telling it how much of an authority you are to have been linked back to by other stakeholders in the industry you’re operating.
You can also tip the scale in your direction by obtaining backlinks and local citations from local directories. These local citations may simply include Name, Address, and Phone Number, but it signals information consistency across the board and tells the search engines what to do with your local profile when targeted keywords are searched for.
Beware of Low-Quality Links
While local links are important to boost your local relevance and authority, you must also understand that not all links benefit your strategy. Low-quality links can harm your SEO campaign, sending the wrong signals to your business and business profile.
It is important to evaluate all possible link sources before acquiring backlinks. Ensure that you consider the intent behind the link acquisition before obtaining links. For example, a realtor may acquire excellent links from a construction engineer but not the same from a demolition contractor.
Other than the quality of links, be aware that some websites are not properly indexed or look spammy. These websites may harm your link-building and SEO strategy more than you may expect.
How to Get Quality Local Links
Local link-building combines a variety of distinctive yet disciplined practices, strategies, and skills. An expert at link building will consider all the many aspects of the one link they aim to build to ensure it delivers the required outcome. Important link-building skills include content creation, networking, psychology, and good old-fashioned marketing tactics.
Getting quality backlinks can be a lot of work; however, it pays off in the end. Below are some tips on getting quality local backlinks for your online business.
Research and monitor competitors
Your competitor’s backlink profile says a lot about them and can explain, to an extent, why they are better than you are in the search engines. Using their local backlink analysis, you can determine new opportunities that could be explored to better them at the game.
Please note that quality backlinks will often set the difference between a website ranking in the top 5 and another struggling to break into the first page of SERPs.
Pay attention to the types of backlinks your competitors have and are targeting. Decide which of the backlinks are worth pursuing and analyze the number of broken links they have that can be engineered to your advantage. Determine whether there are any local directories the competitor has missed, understand their targeting verticals and check areas they may have skipped, etc. The more you understand the concept around your competitor’s backlink strategy, the better positioned you are to beat them.
Local link outreach
As stated earlier, link building combines skills and strategies toward acquiring links that point back to your online property. A great way to do this is through local links outreach. Outreaches depend on the level of connections you can build and how deep your research ability is.
Creativity is also an important consideration in building a strong local link outreach. You want to show the connection that you are better than others and worthy of being linked back to. You must also be open to getting “No” as an answer, especially because many companies need to trust you before linking back to your online resource for any reason at all.
Put your creativity to work and brainstorm all important verticals you can explore. Once you’ve mapped out a strategy, get on the phone or the computer to reach out to the identified potentials. Be sure also to target the obvious link-building opportunities, as these options are likely to be more familiar and receptive.
You can also perfect your link-building strategy by being an active member of the community you serve. With this, you create brand awareness and open up more opportunities for like-minded professionals to seek you out for link exchange arrangements.
If the strategies above yield little, consider working with local influencers in the community. Local influencers usually have a wider pull and relevance, making it easier to get your brand name out there and paving the way for better backlinking opportunities. Please be advised that local influencers usually often only work for a fee. You should set a budget for securing their time, attention, and services.
