Let's face it: Local link building is hard. Even if you have the budget and resources needed to earn or build links it will take time. Having a strong link profile is essential to your website's success in search engines.
If you're new to link building and want to develop a more in-depth understanding, check out this great resource from MOZ on link building here.
In this guide we will look at 11 practical ways you can start earning links for your local business, which will make an impact on your bottom line today.
Who should care about local link building?
When I talk about local link building I don't mean that these links are for local businesses exclusively. If you're trying to boost the authority of your website, one good way is to get links from locally relevant sources. This guide is for all types of businesses who want to increase their site's link authority.
Since local business types vary from fast food restaurants, to ski rental shops, to law firms, and everything in-between, the tactics below are applicable across the spectrum.
About these links
Some of these links are harder to get than others. While it's easy to start with the low hanging fruit, you should put a plan together to go after the harder ones. These are the links your competitors won't get because they're just too darn lazy. This is how real businesses set themselves apart in the customer's eyes and the search engine's eyes and build a brand that's worth remembering. Aim for quality over quantity and don't settle for crummy links.
How do you define a good link?
I recently read an article by Eric Enge from Stonetemple that summed up what type of links you should be looking for pretty nicely. In this article he mentioned three key points to help define the type of links you're looking for. They were:
- Links that will drive direct referral traffic
- Links that build visibility with your target audience for your brand
- Links that build your reputation
The link building methods I'll be covering today will achieve at least one of the goals each. I always think it's important to "think outside of the link" and the above three points make that practical. In addition to getting the link for an SEO benefit, will it actually drive relevant traffic? If so, that's a great link to chase. The same goes for links built that place you in front of your target audience and links that build your reputation.
Keeping this in mind, lets build some links!
#1 Create controversy and get in the news
Creating a controversial story may seem hard at first glance, but it reminds me of this quote from Peter Marshall "If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything." If your clients don't have any controversy or a cause to believe in, then they aren't real people.
You can't agree with 100% of the people 100% of the time and you just have to find out what that is. Some companies like Spirit Airlines seem to do this quite often, but the little guys can do this too with minimal investment.
Using this method you can get links from places like:
The Wall Street Journal, The Denver Post and other local newspapers, Lexis Nexis
Actual case study
We were recently working with an attorney who was looking to earn links at a decent scale. We proposed a scholarship contest. While scholarship links from .edus are cool, we like The Wall Street Journal and high authority news site links even more. After speaking with this client, who is a DUI attorney, we discussed how everybody talks about how destructive driving drunk is, but rarely do people admit to the habit.
From this idea, we came up with the concept of a Scholarship for Colorado students who admit to drinking and driving.
After the scholarship information was published on the site, we reached out to our local newspaper, The Denver Post, and informed them of the scholarship. From here, they went on to interview our client and write an article on the topic titled "Scholarship for Colorado students who admit to drinking and driving" that links to the scholarship page.
Once the Denver Post article was published, it was easy to get other major publications to cover the story, including The Wall Street Journal:
How you can do this
Step 1: Develop an idea that strikes a chord with people. Think about issues that are universally familiar and tend to be polarizing in some way.
Step 2: Develop the on-page asset needed to support it. In this case we opted for the scholarship.
Step 3: Once the asset is created, pitch it to a local newspaper.
Step 4: If the story is picked up by a newspaper you can then pitch it to other major publications like The Wall Street Journal. Many websites have contact forms and areas to submit a tip. Something simple like "Hey I thought you guys might find this funny" with a link to the news publication article will do the trick since it adds credibility.
Step 5: Share it on social media with groups that might be interested in the topic.
Step 6: Consider paying for some exposure on Outbrain to widen the audience.
PRO tip: Don't skimp on the content, graphics, or any step in this process. This will be fruitful if done right but will fall flat on your face if you try to take shortcuts.
#2 Easily get contest nomination links
Almost every city whether big or small has some type of local business awards. The awards might be run by a small local newspaper with a website, the chamber of commerce, or even another organization. In addition to these "Best Of" type awards, there are also awards based on age like Top 40 Under 40 or by type of business including Best Restaurant or Best Law Firm.
The trick is to find the opportunities that are a good fit for your business and get listed. Sometimes you have to win to get mentioned and other times you just need to get nominated.
Get links from places like:
Chamber of commerce, news publications, and major publications if you're good enough :)
Getting a link from the Chamber of Commerce like the example above is very relevant as it only serves businesses within that city. It's also a plus for informed local shoppers.
How you can do it
The best way to find these potentially lucrative links is to do a Google Search. You need to start by coming up with a list of potential sources. Since these are generally city or state specific, it's a good idea to use one of these search strings:
Here are some ideas to get the wheels turning in your brain:
- "Nominate a business"+"STATE NAME" (Example: "Nominate a business"+"Colorado")
- "City Name"+"Nominate a business" (Example: "Los Angeles"+"Nominate a business")
- "best of STATE or CITY"+"nominate" (Example: "best of Colorado"+"nominate")
- "best BUSINESS TYPE"+"nominate"+"city" (Example: "best restaurant"+"nominate"+"denver")
- "AGE under AGE"+"GEO MODIFIER" (Example: "30 under 30"+"Denver")
- "nominate"+"young entrepreneur" (Example: "nominate"+"young entrepreneur)
Once you have curated a list of awards you want to try to apply for you can then send your pitch to each of these websites directly. Typically they have nomination forms that you would fill out or a certain procedure. If you can't find out how, don't be afraid to ask!
#3 Get eco-friendly links
Is your business green? Does it operate according to low energy standards or are you at least on track to be green? Why not help out the environment and get a link out of it as well? Now while you probably won't show up on Newsweek's America's Greenest Companies 2014 for doing this, there are a lot of offline benefits to being green as well. I already mentioned saving the environment, but did you realize there are eco-friendly shoppers? Some shoppers do the majority of their business with companies that are eco-friendly and I suspect this will just continue to soar.
Get links from places like:
Mostly business directories and local news organizations who promote green businesses.
How you can do it
With this industry there are some low hanging fruits, but just like all link building, you should be smart about your approach. While it might be tempting to go out and get a link on a directory, I would personally spend time scrutinizing it to make sure it's a strong website that's human-edited and controlled. If you don't find it reputable, nobody else will (including Google). That's why it's best to focus on local opportunities such as your local newspaper or community directory.
Make sure to familiarize yourself with the Green Terminology here. Once you have a good idea of what you're looking for, you can conduct some easy searches such as the ones below to find directories. Again, please be sure to scrutinize them.
Search for directories by using search phrases like:
- Eco-friendly business directory
- Green business directories
#4 Sponsor a meetup group
While of course we're talking about links here, I always like to see the other side of a link and the actual benefit it will give you. Did you know you can sponsor meetup groups and get a link as well as get in front of your potential customers?
Meetup.com is a powerhouse website that connects like minded groups of people together through events they call meetups. If you have a good grasp of your target audience and you know where they hang out, you can get in front of them more easily.
For example, let's say that you're a bike store. Would it make sense to sponsor a local meetup biking club? Yes!
How you can do it
Sponsoring a meetup group does require the group owner to accept your sponsorship and terms. Your goal however is to get your business name, logo, discount, and link in the ad as shown in the example. If you're ambitious and a local store you could ask to have your NAP displayed as well for Local SEO purposes.
Step 1: Start by determining what type of groups might appeal to your audience. I have included some tricky examples below:
- Attorneys - Maybe sponsoring a cycling- or driving-based meetup with the safety approach
- Doctors - Sponsor a healthy living meetup
- Airsoft or Paintball Store - Sponsor a singles group by offering an event
- Construction - Sponsor a charity group or a new homeowners' group
That's enough to get the wheels turning. Write these ideas down and proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Turn to Google to make your search easier! Use the search strings below to only search the meetup.com website with the keywords you're looking for:
site:meetup.com state+keyword or site:meetup.com city+keyword
Step 3: Click through the results and find a meetup group that seems to fit the bill.
Step 4: Show up to the next scheduled local meetup group. Network. Meet the group owner and see if they're seeking sponsorship's.
Step 5: Negotiate and get your site up!
#5 Host a community event
If you want to do event link building check out my local event link building post here or Kane Jamison's event link post here. While those posts go more into how you can really promote an event and build some awesome local links, I want to talk specifically about how you can get listed on your city's website by hosting a community event. The thing I like most about events is that you get to give back to your community and help people. Not even a link feels as good as that.
The only real requirements for this one is that you host an event where the entire community is invited and get a blessing from the town. In the example below you can see how a church in my town of Parker, Colorado was able to get a link by hosting an Easter Egg Hunt.
So not only are they getting exposure from people in their town (their target audience), they're getting the link and mentions here too. If the event was hosted at your office or business location, then you can get the added superior benefit of your NAP listed on their website!
If it's a county-wide event, you can get listed on the county website and if the event is public safety you might be able to get the Fire Department and Police Departments on board as well. Plus this can come with the added benefit of news coverage.
Get links from places like:
Your city's website and major community news sources
How you can do it
The first thing you need to do is figure out what type of event you want to host. Depending on the size of your town and the size of the event, it can be a big deal. I'm a bit of a event fanatic so for me it comes easy. Don't be afraid to start small though as long as you're creating and providing a productive resource for your community.
Some potential ideas include:
- Trash Pickup Day - Host a trash pickup day where the meeting place is your business or you sponsor the bags.
- Toy Drop off for Needy Kids - Host a toy drive or drop off for kids in need.
- Seminar - Host a seminar in your area of expertise that will be the most beneficial to residents. If you like this idea then also try starting a meetup group (see #4 above).
Step 1: Figure out the event type.
Step 2: Get the town on board with the idea and schedule a date at least 60 days out.
Step 3: Create the details page on your website with all pertinent event details.
Step 4: Make sure it goes up on the town's website with your company event page linked.
Step 5: Promote the heck out of it using the event promotion guide here.
Pro tip 1: Invite local press to your event to cover it. Be sure to meet and greet them and get to know them. More on this later.
Pro tip 2: Invite the local Boy Scouts or other community organizations as well. If their name is attached to the event, you might get more exposure and more link opportunities.
#6 Sponsor or donate to a local club or organization
Sponsorship links can be a slippery slope, but there's also a place for them. Over the years I have given back to a number of causes I support and have been an active member in charities and nonprofit organizations. Chances are you or someone you know is a part of one right now.
There are a lot of clubs in almost any community. Have you ever heard of the Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Lions Club, etc. These are commonly found in many communities and they typically have state, district, or chapter websites.
Below is a quick example I pulled from the Los Angeles Rotary Club sponsors webpage:
But don't stop there. While the major clubs are popular, there are also a lot of other potential sponsorship causes and organizations. This is commonly touched on so I'm not going to go into too much detail, but here are some easy search stings you can use to find some opportunities.
- "city inurl:sponsors" (Example: Los Angeles inurl:sponsors)
- "city inurl:sponsor" (Example: Los Angeles inurl:sponsor)
- "city intitle:sponsors" (Example: Los Angeles intitle:sponsors)
- keyword donations (Example: Safety donations)
After you have explored these opportunities simply reach out to the organizers and see what type of commitment they're looking for.
Pro tip: Don't be afraid to promote your sponsorship. If you're giving to a good cause, let the community know!
#7 Student, teacher, and alumni discounts
If you've done link building research you may have heard of the university discount link building where you can offer a discount to the students and faculty of a university. That has a place and it might be a good place for local links if you have a university nearby. But did you realize there are other student discount opportunities as well?
Typically when I look for opportunities locally I open my eyes a little wider and look for other opportunities like:
- K-12 Schools. These can be goldmines and aren't really talked about much.
- Organization discounts. Organizations have students too. Take the Colorado Symphony for example.
- Alumni discounts. Sometimes these organizations also offer alumni listings for free.
Get links from places like:
Organizations, schools, K-12 schools, educational websites
How you can do it
This is another scenario where we will turn to Google and seek opportunities:
- site:.org "student discounts" - Looks for organizations that offer student discounts
- site:.org "high school"+"student Discount" - Checks for offers available to high school students
- site:.edu "staff discounts" - Searches .edu domains for staff discounts (colleges and universities)
- site:.edu "student discounts" - Searches .edu domains for student discounts (colleges and universities)
Pro tip: Don't be afraid to add geo modifiers. Remember that anything in "" will search exactly so plurals should be searched separately.
#8 Create and promote a local resource
So you want to send good local link signals and showcase you're the expert of a local area? What better way than to create a community resource page on your website? Not only will it attract potential links with the proper marketing, it's also going to show that you're the expert in your area.
The good thing about creating a local resource is that you or the local operator running that location probably already has a good idea about the city in general. Even if they're not the most familiar with the area, some research can solve that.
Get links from places like:
Hotels, travel websites, news organizations
How you can do it
Start by coming up with a list of ideas. Locally-based ideas can vary greatly. Here are a few to helps the mice turn the wheel:
- Best of Local Guides - Best restaurants in the city or county, top bars, top microbreweries (I like beer, OK), top city attractions, top things for singles, top things for families, a perfect day trip for families, etc.
- Local Calendar Creation - Create a local calendar of popular events by topic. High school football calendars, movie premiere dates, HOA meetings, and more.
Once you have the idea, you can move onto the creation of the asset. Notice my use of the word asset. If I'm going to spend the time to create this piece, I want to make sure it's a linkable asset. That means that it should be substantial and also look great. If the content is weak, you're going to get a weak appeal.
Once you have built your guide, the real key is promoting it and getting the exposure you need. Make sure to share it with relevant audiences such as Facebook and Google Plus groups. If there are town groups such as "You know you grew up in CITY, when..." those might be a good place to promote your resource.
Figure out where your community members hang out and post it there. Sometimes even city or town run pages will be willing to post or promote your piece. This is just another reason why you need to create a quality piece of content and not just do the bare minimum.
#9 Get manufacturer and wholesaler links
This is an easy one that is often overlooked by small businesses. If you operate a retail business or sell a product that somebody else manufactures, then you have a link opportunity. Many product manufacturers want to show their customers where to buy their products. This might be a store locator or it could just be an authorized reseller list. Either way you need to take advantage of it. This is an opportunity that even local businesses can take advantage of quickly.
One of the reasons we have extensive client intake forms is to address this issue. A lot of times clients will say that they're listed without actually knowing. It's best to find out for yourself by getting a complete list of all manufacturers they represent. If they have a website you can get a link.
Get links from places like:
Larger manufacturing companies
How you can do it
Even small stores might represent products from 100+ different manufacturers. Even if they don't buy manufacturer direct they can still get a link from the manufacturer just by asking.
Step 1: Create a list of all of the brands the client carries and whether they buy direct or from a wholesaler.
Step 2: Visit each manufacturer and distributor website. Find out if they have a store locator or somewhere where they list where you can buy their products.
Step 3: Reach out to those that do from a company email address including all pertinent information (include NAP!) and the link to your website or store location.
Step 4: For those who don't list this information, outreach to them and ask them if they are willing to set it up. After all it will only help you both sell more products.
Pro tip: Some websites will only display your Name, Address, Phone Number. But if they don't link to you don't be afraid to ask. A lot of times they can make the change and add your link.
#10 Build relationships with local influencers
If you want to earn links that will really set you apart from the rest of the herd, you need to start thinking about building actual relationships with influencers. Finding influencers and getting connected can be hard; you have to be real while doing it. These people can range from your local competition, to politicians, to journalists. Finding and connecting with them requires some work, but it's worth the payoff.
Get links from places like:
Niche publications, your competition's website, local news media, government websites
How you can do it
The reality is, while some of this research and networking can be done online, at some point, you're going to have to get out of your office and interact with real humans!
For our example, let's look at how we might go about forming a relationship with a member of the local media. First off you will want to find a list of press associations in your area. This might be city based or state based. The easiest way to look for these is just to search for them in Google by typing in your state name + press association or press organization.
Once you have the list of the organization(s) you want to work with, check out their membership fees but more importantly their events and conferences. These are the real goldmines. Many of these organizations have an annual conference or event that you can attend. This is where you can usually expect to meet the people with the most connections. It's important to speak with them in person, exchange contact information, and express your willingness to contribute. If you have an intriguing idea for a specific writer, for example, someone who always writes about tech news, you may be able to pitch a problem you see in your industry that exposes consumers. Your job is to figure out what interests them and offer to help in any way.
#11 Leverage business relationships
In many cases small businesses may already have complementary businesses that might be willing to give a link to your website. In fact, it might make sense from a referral standpoint too. If you use or refer your business to another type of business this is a great opportunity.
Get links from places like:
Other business websites
How you can do this
Getting these opportunities are as easy as curating the list and doing the outreach. Here are some examples for different business types:
- Attorneys can get links from: Process servers, investigators, and other services they refer business to
- Mortgage Brokers can link to recommended realtors and vice-versa
- Doctors can get links from schools (emergency clinic references), insurance companies, and other doctors.
Another way to go about this is to approach like-minded companies that offer services you don't and you don't plan on offering. For example if you're a greeting card store you might be able to get links from gift stores.
Conclusion
Although good link building takes time, thought, and a good amount of effort, it's easy enough that anyone can do it. With so many different options and ways you can earn links, this is just a small sample that you can use to start gaining new ones today.
Please feel free to share your favorite link building tips. The more the better!
Historical photos of local areas often play well with local authorities, influencers etc. Admittedly, this tends to get more social media traction than real, permanent links...
Good call Daniel. I have used this in the past with some success.
Great ideas! In my own experience, I've also found that businesses can work directly with local bloggers to do something really fun and engaging. For example, some friends of mine (The NEPA Wingmen) have a wing review blog and podcast series. For March, they're doing a Wing Bowl (similar to a March Madness bracket) where local businesses can compete against each other for the title of best wings in our region.
The response they've gotten so far is overwhelming and really a testament on how just building relationships can help with both online and offline promotional efforts. Businesses are really excited to participate in the wing bowl and have been encouraging votes (and driving traffic). In turn, the wing bloggers have been featured in print articles, interviews, social media, etc. and they've been giving lots of love to the businesses competing. All in all, it works for everyone!
I know there's always so much fear around the whole "working with bloggers" thing, but for a local business, it can be a really great way to reach new people or strengthen brand awareness.
Mandy,
Thanks for your idea. That's a good one and it's super creative. I bet not a lot of people are doing it. I really like the way you leverage local bloggers for this one. The wheels are turning!
Great article, I loved it! This is one of the better articles I've read on local SEO. Just curious what your thoughts are on local for medical companies? Are there medical industry specific things that can be done to rank better locally?
Hydrate is a great example. They specialize in IV Therapy and I'm not sure what sorts of content relevancy tactics should be done to increase their overall keyword reach (specifically locally).
Thanks!
Hi Casey,
Fantastic article! This article represents real world strategies in the local link building space. As we all know, local link building can be a daunting task. Earning links through content for local businesses can take a very long time, so hitting the phones and sending emails to contact your local news source or your manufacturer is a must in the beginning stages. Many of these strategies are great ways to earn or acquire links within the first several months of starting your local SEO efforts.
Casey, thanks for contributing content in the local SEO category on the Moz blog. We local search marketers thirst for it!
Hey Casey, you have opened my eyes, I have a green online printing and me had not occurred to find links directory of green businesses. All our products have the option of recycled paper and stamps have it certified. It was a great idea to me. Thank you very much.
Great to hear! I hope you can find some good links.
Thank you very much for the post. Specially for those running their business in metropol cities needs local links and potential customers.
Hi Casey! Thanks for putting together this post. I know I'm a little late to the game—but I wanted to get a refresher on building a backlink profile. Your tips were extremely helpful and I can't wait to implement them.
I think one of the most important takeaways is that backlinks are all about quality and not quanity. You could have a million crummy backlinks, but have only a few quality backlinks is much more valuable.
Thanks again!
Hey Casey,
You listed out some great ideas and the best thing is they all are very practical. Working with local brands is always fascinating as they give you more freedom to try out things.
Recently, While working for a local university client, we did something that got us quality links within weeks. What we did is, searched for the high educational blogs that are operated by one person. Luckily, this university client has an active student group on Facebook. I contacted the admin and pitched the idea and told him to follow my pointed out bloggers on Twitter and start interaction. I assumed that, an educational blogger who is managing whole site himself, usually don't have a good sense of web design and graphics.
With the help of my designer, I created 4-5 headers images that compliment their website themes and sent to the students with the intention of building strong relation with those bloggers and get the link via image credit to the Uni's site. This tactic got succeeded and it's been a year now and we still have this client :)
(Sorry, couldn't explain the complete process, just realized that I'm writing a comment) :p
Cheers,
Umar,
That's a great idea! Human outreach and relationship building is always the best way to earn links. Sounds like you found a good approach for this!
Casey,
I was lucky to had those energetic and enthusiasts students who helped me out. Without them, it would be extremely difficult :)
I'm going to use that too. It follows the rule of deliver value first and they will return the favor.
Great article packed with fantastic linking tactics, Casey.
Another tactic that has worked great for us, and you touched on it a little with Chamber links, is attaining links from the Better Business Bureau, Rotary Clubs, Lions, Clubs and American Legions. These links work great because they are local to the community, drive targeted traffic and help build brand loyalty.
Local links are difficult to attain and the process can get drawn out but the payoff is worth it. Thanks for the article!
it's a very good post about the ideas for business promotion...one of the ways you said promoting to local places could be in form of online business directory....Ephonepages is Canadian business directory helping small and medium sized businesses to get exposure...
Hi Casey! Thanks for this! Do you have any tips on how to get clients on board with these ideas? How do you make them see the value of doing these things?
One of the better local articles I have read in awhile, Casey.
The DUI scholarship article is genius.
Job postings are anotherway to get local links. Recently I was able to get a high quality .edu link from a well-known University that has a job posting board on one of its sub-domains.
Thanks Ben! Yeah Iv'e done the job postings before and used them as citation sources as well.
Awesome post Casey! And for all the haters out there, why the heck do you even comment on articles you don't like? Don't you have anything better to do?
Overall, great list! These links not only help your SEO but are great for driving traffic and generating awareness among your local audience. I probably would stay away from being controversial though...
Really great! Getting links is usually difficult for small local business, so this post is very valuable.
Now we need another one about how to get good reviews ;-)
First off, THANK YOU! This is an amazing article and such a great resource. I was so excited to share it with my team when I saw it.
I was curious about your section on manufacturer/wholesaler links. Majority of my clients are plastic surgeons and medical spas, so their manufacturer/wholesaler links would be from sites like Botox or Juvederm. It is very common for these sites to have a "Find a Doctor" locator where you input a zip code. However when you input a zip code, the results page that displays cannot be found/crawled by a bot (the url has a "?" in it. Click here if you'd like to see an example) and therefore Google's bots won't be able to find the link from the site.
If that is the case, do you think it is still worth our time to go after these types of links? I see the benefit from a referral traffic standpoint, but would it really be considered link building still? I'd love to get your two cents on this, thanks again!!
Another epic post Casey! Thanks for all the great ideas. Off to share now.
Wonderful Article, getting links as suggested is still not easy but I sure if you have the patience, skills and persistence, it's going to pay back in the long run!
Needless to say it's a excellent idea of link building, you have a power full brain to write this wonderful blog!
Great Post about Local Businesses to Get Links it should be implemented by every SEO Firms or agency's.
Awesome! Thank you Casey Marez. Amazing article.Great and super creative ideas. Eye opener!!! the market research firms can rely upon this excellent article to get really quality links without any second thought.
Really appreciate all the good tips, thanks so much..
So many great ideas, although there aren't many local news or companies that would like to promote/cooperate with your small business. In that case, I believe that building relationships with local bloggers and/or influencers could raise your brand awareness and give you a few quality links.
Hello Casey:
I have a tshirt printing business. I sell in Spain exclusively (at the moment) and for me is very important to have good links. Excelent article.
See you
Awesome tips... I am midway through an audit of my client with their 100 + list of wholesaler companies looking for link opportunities on their websites, so I am happy to see that this is something that you would recommend... I run an agency www.smarwebsolutions.com.au and I am always looking to demonstrate to my clients that our link building strategies are very smart and that linking building these days is more about developing meaningful relationships with other companies..
Thanks, great idea.
Excellent ideas presented for local SEO, i like the idea of reaching out to suppliers and asking for a link.
Awesome post. Thanks for all the site footprints as well. Super knowledge being shared here. Gold!
Great post about link building!!!
Very good idea what the green business . I wrote it down!!
Thank´s.
Great article, very useful resources, like in all of your articles Casey, the level is really high and the quality of the content is awesome. I did put on practice you green tip, not success yet, but i see is coming, Thanks a lot.
Just saying, you are one of my references, kind of my hero!!!
I really appreciate that you mention the ways to get backlinks for local business. Thanks
Very well put article. Really gives a lot of ideas on building links through various channels. Thanks for the post!
REALLY thank you for this useful article !
Hey Casey, that's an exhaustive list of rich sources to acquire natural links by creating context rather than looking to plant a link for free. SEO's worth their salt must learn to work hard and create value in order to earn links in a natural process. Your post is a great starting point!
I find supporting chamber of commerce or local small business networks a great way for local businesses to grow. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, it accompanies a high quality link and also you meet local businesses in the area.
Really great tactics but they can be a killer on time if you don't plan ahead
Thank you!
nice tricks dude..
Thanks for the 11 tips! Im agree with every points but some of them you don't get it without cash. For example you don't get any link in Germany from clubs or organization if you don't pay several hundred euros per year ;) I think the best way, even though it is also not easy, is the creating a interesting news with controversy or getting a relationships, ideally the same theme.
Thanks for the post and the insight Casey. I think all of these points make good sense and demonstrate that there are truly no shortcuts in doing a good job. In summary network and keep doing everything you can to build your company its best. Many times when you are good enough the links simply follow.
What a great article on creative link building for small businesses! Some of the best local link building advice I've ever read. Honest, Concise, & Effective, great work Casey.
Great tips Casey! I think SEOs are solving the student loan bubble with all of these scholarships ;)
Great post..Thanks for sharing !!
Not all links equally affect the positioning of my page . How can I know the value of a link? Is there any tool?
Nice post on local business to get links.....It takes some time and effort but it definitely work. I have also used some of these techniques, and find good result. Thanks Casey Meraz
Hi Casey - thanks for the mention in the article, and glad you found the link guidelines helpful. Great ideas in this post as well.
Thanks for coming up with them Eric. I appreciate the feedback!
Terrific article - thank you...!
Quick question - does the number of links from a high-quality site matter?
Put another way, once a good link is established (with a chamber of commerce, for example), is it worth the (significant) effort to host presentations etc. that lead to additional articles/links from the same site?
I run www.OKAY.com - a real estate firm in HK/China ("O-Kay" means "Home" in Cantonese) and we're keen to improve our high-quality SEO presence. Thanks in advance...!
Hey Josh, Thats actually a cool domain that you have. I think Yes the more articles from the same site also definitely helps in SEO.
Hello Casey,
Those were some really amazing techniques for link building. Especially the one on how you got WSJ to get you the link. Thumbs up +1 for that.
Hi Casey,
Some creative link building techniques here - we have engaged with local contests and have offered advice on newspapers and radio which have generated links. Playing devil's advocate, links from events or clubs that you have sponsored could technically be considered paid links so more risky and whilst local resources would create links the relevance of those links could be questionable (although great for you as a local resource). I always ask myself whether these links could appear naturally without any proactive sourcing, if they could then they are usually worth pursuing.
Either way, your points show how you can be a bit more creative with link building!
Cheers
In my opinion local resources are relevant because local businesses should be actively engaged in contributing to their community. Secondly, in regards to brand sentiment, people don't love local businesses such as law firms the way they love a brand such as Apple or BMW, so local resources are a way for a "boring" business to create something locals actually love. For example, the beaches and pier in my town of Huntington Beach, California were recently covered in white from "snow" (actually hail). This has never happened in the previous 30 years. Thankfully I was on the scene to take almost 40 pictures in the 2 hours window period before it melted. I quickly shared the photo album as a post from the Facebook page of a local CPA and boosted the post for $20, resulting in 240 likes, 24 comments, 189 shares and 11 pages likes. Accounting is boring-- snow on the beach is exciting. Maybe I should write a blog post on social media for boring businesses.
This is true and certainly social media does not have to be necessarily relevant, it is a great tool for increasing exposure and giving 'boring' businesses a personality. What I guess I was trying to say is that local link building is great but if you were to focus on sponsorship with no other link building or earning in relation to your product or service, it may look like buying links.
Definitely. While too much of any one type of link building may look unnatural, I can see why too much sponsorship link building could especially be suspect.
Awesome work Ben. I saw those pictures from your Facebook and I can see how taking advantage of that would have such a big impact. Never be afraid to seize the opportunity!
Great Post Casey!! You are right in all! Congratulations!
Hi Casey,
Have been link building like forever but your post suggested some fresh interesting sources!
Would definitely give it a go, fingers crossed techniques will work for us even as a small company.
thanks for sharing!
Casey great blog as always but many of them hard to achieve, every niche require different approach. Thumb up fpr your hard work !
Thanks Henrich. If the link is too easy to get, then everyone will get it and devalue it :)
Thanks Casey Meraz, Such a nice ideas to get links :)
Hi Casey,
I'd definitely advocate manufacturer and wholesaler links for local businesses; it's one of the first things we do for any campaign. This is mainly because these often can be one of the best sources of referral traffic/conversions for clients, as customers are further down the purchase funnel and have a higher intent to buy.
Craig, yep! The shoppers are already on the manufacturers website and looking to buy at that point. It's an easy but often overlooked source of conversions and links.
Great article!
Getting links on our site is one of the most basic SEO strategies.The quality of our external links is important as it will affect customer behavior on our site.
Local links seem harder to get. We will follow your advice to get any, because I think very good for my business.
Thanks Casey!
There some very good ideas in this post! thank you
These are great, clever, practical ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Casey! These are some fantastic techniques and many of them I've personally had success with. We created a great resource and attempted to reach out to Universities and other education institutions but unfortunately the response rate was much lower than anticipated. We made sure our outreach did not sound salesy but still failed to get much response. What has your experience been with these organizations and how did you sort of grease the wheels?
Hey Vishal,
Ive done a few link outreach campaigns to Universities and have had some success, however, the response rate was typically low and the success rate (getting the link) was even lower. University links are tough to get for various reasons in my experience:
Some of the success Ive had directly relates to many of the points Casey referenced above. Universities are more likely to add a link if you are providing something for them. Create a resource for them, sponsor an event at the school, guest speak on a topic for a class or most importantly, build a relationship with them. Similar to any other linking opportunity, it is much easier to get a link once a solid relationship is built with the person/institution.
Hope this helped a bit!
Hey Casey, excellent article here. Full of eye opening informative content that I will definitely be implementing in my business. What intrigued me the most was getting quality links from local organizations. I would have never thought of that had I not read this article. Thanks a million
Thank you for the valuable article!Have to add my 2c: this approach is a casual marketing without SEO glance on it.
Vouch for #6! Thank your for sharing your tips with us!
Amazing ideas to build link, the major problem with SEOs who are looking to build natural links to their site is that they never think about them in the context of marketing. They just go all haywire about building links and end up building poor quality backlinks. There can be various ways to build them naturally: organize an event, do something awesome and unusual, build relations with journalists/bloggers etc and you wont have any trouble building links at all.
Some of these ideas are good. It's on the similar lines as like hosting an event and then inviting blog writers who write about your market sector to come along in the hopes that they will then write about the event they were invited to..Not only that but they would then generally leave a backlink to your website.
Some good ideas though so long as each of these sectors are relevant to your business..Otherwise your traffic might not be as relevant as you'd hoped.
You got that right! Not all links will apply to all types of businesses. If a strategy works for all businesses the chances are everyone is already doing it.
Every niche has a different approach and it's always a good idea to explore these and see what works best for you or your clients.
I think these are the best techniques to earning the links for your local business. Somehow, we can use such techniques for global business as well. I have to say that you have done very good job here by sharing such informative post among us.
Like the post, it is thinking out of the box! It not only get you nice links but it might also send in some traffic, going to use this tactics in my arsenal.
great post about local business link building. i think that if we do listing on major local paid directories it works really good. and the google place listing is also really good.
How do you recover a comment you posted and it happened to disappear?
Hello Casey Meraz,
I read your complete blog and I understand that some of the popular news website and blog are very helpful for getting the links for local business (SEO) but I have one stupid question that When I signup on WSJ I have not found the content writing or post content option as same on some other popular new websites, I have not found the option of posting content so please help me and guide the how post any article on press websites or blogs.
When I saw your "nominate a business" examples I was immediately reminded of this oldie but goodie: https://www.optimizesmart.com/10000-search-engine-q...
While that one is a bit more geared toward article marketing, the principles still apply, as you showed above. Hopefully this will stir up a few more link search ideas.
Great article , Very helpful to Have Most Effective in Local SEO strategy . Thanks for sharing it
Awesome article! Lot of practical ideas! Thank you!
great article!!! i will use it for site www.wireinfotech.com
Excellent article about link building and really help me out to increase my knowledge
what a bunch of crap. I can´t stand that non realist strategies. Let´s face the truth, local businesses don´t have interset at all for local newspapers or any other media. If you want to attract links you HAVE TO BUILD THEM!!! Use a tool that allowe you to spy your competence and copy their links and don´t trust stories like this!
Luis, many of these strategies can be implemented today so I'm not sure what you mean about non realist strategies. If all you're doing is stealing competitors links you're just playing a cat and mouse game. When does that stop? Never. It would be silly and detrimental to take a singular approach of stealing competitors links.
Hey Luis, though what you are saying about monitoring your competitor is important, as Casey has said it is very important to look in to other link building activiities as well. We cant solely be playing the cat and mouse game.