Consumers desire to establish relationships with local businesses.
Google reports that searches for “near me”, including “near me,” are on the rise by 500% year-on-year.
81% of consumers used Google in 2021 to find information about local businesses.
What does this all mean for digital marketers
If you want to reach local customers, you must ensure that they can find you online. Your content must rise to the top in relevant Google search results.
This can be done by using the power of linking, specifically local SEO.
Let me explain how and why local link building works.
What is Link Building for Local SEO?
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to your website. These links are also known as “backlinks”, “inbound links”, or “incoming links” and help drive traffic to your site.
Local SEO refers to optimizing your website for customers in a particular area.
The process of building backlinks for local SEO is done with two goals:
- Your visibility in local organic searches can be improved
- Attracting more customers from your local area who are most likely to buy from you
Link Building for Local SEO is Important
Three main reasons local link-building is important.
Google first considers how many backlinks you have in order to determine your page rank. Your chances of getting a page one ranking are higher if you have more quality backlinks. More than 67 percent click on the first five search results.
Link building for local SEO is a second way to drive highly targeted search engine traffic directly to your site. Targeting the right traffic will increase your chances of attracting people who are serious about buying.
Link building for local SEO can be a great way of increasing your brand's visibility. On average, it takes seven brand impressions for someone to take action (the marketing “Rule of 7”, as it is commonly known). You can nurture prospects with better brand visibility.
Link building for local SEO Strategies
Are you ready for your backlink building journey? These are my top six backlink building strategies.
1. Find Links from Travel and Local Review Websites
Research shows that 98 percent of consumers have read reviews online about local businesses, and 85 percent are searching for high-star ratings.
Also, positive reviews are essential for your local link building efforts. Here's an example: Nine new Kansas City restaurants.
Each listing contains a backlink as well as contact information:
Visit Kansas City, a website dedicated to travel, also lists popular restaurants in the area.
You want customer reviews that are like this? Encourage customers to leave reviews.
Kansas City magazine representatives visited restaurants based upon existing customer reviews, rather than accepting cold pitching.
- Customers should be able to leave reviews on Google, Yelp and other popular platforms.
- You might be able to offer incentives, such as a kayak company offering a discounted session for reviewers.
- You can highlight customer testimonials on social media platforms. They make great User-Generated Content and encourage others to share their thoughts.
Link building for local SEO can often involve manual outreach. You can pitch local websites to see if they will list your business.
Make sure to send a professional pitch and include any relevant business information.
2. To get PR links, hold special events and promotions
You want to increase your brand awareness and build your local presence while also sourcing local links building opportunities.
You might consider holding campaigns or events.
You might be looking for event inspiration?
- Sponsor a local team in sports
- host a charity fundraiser
- Organise a workshop
- Organise a contest
You could also offer promotional offers like free product samples or seasonal discounts. It all comes down to what is most beneficial for your business model.
After you have chosen an event, promotion or other activity, it is time to promote it.
- You can find local newspapers, radio stations, Facebook groups, and other news outlets by doing some research online.
- Based on your target audience, decide which outlets you want to reach. 96% of 18- to 25-year olds and 87% of 55- to 66-yearolds use social media daily.
- Write a brief press release. Include details about key events and a URL to the backlink.
- Include keywords in your press release. Ubersuggest will help you locate relevant keywords.
3. Register in the Local Business Directory
According to research 94% of consumers have used a business directory at minimum once in the past year to find out more about a company.
Target directories are a great place to find local opportunities for link building. Get your company listed in these directories. These directories are very popular:
- Bing
- Foursquare
- Yelp
You want to search for niche directories or local directories? Google is your friend. If you search for “local small business directory Colorado”, the first link will be to the Colorado Business Directory.
Follow their guidelines when you are ready to pitch a directory. You should include your opening hours and website details, along with a brief description of your business.
Each detail can help a directory verify your company which could increase your chances of being accepted (and acquiring backlinks).
4. Make a blog that covers local topics
Are you a blogger? Start one, and make sure you focus on local topics. This step is more time-consuming, but it's worth it for building links for local SEO.
- Blogs allow you to share your expertise and knowledge which can increase consumer trust and encourage them to choose your brand instead of other brands.
- A Demand Gen Report found that 60% of buyers read blogs during the initial stages of the buying process.
- It is simple to share blog content on social media. More shares will increase your brand's visibility, which in turn will bring you more traffic.
Here's how to get backlinks for your posts once you have started your own local blog.
- Great content is the key to backlinks. Make sure you research your audience and create articles that meet their needs. Your content will be useful if readers link to it.
- Send your content to link roundups. Roundups feature great content within a niche. Authors are always looking to add new content, so there is a chance that they will offer a listing or backlink.
- Social media is a great place to highlight your posts. You can reach bloggers searching for content to link to your content if you have more people sharing it.
- Get active on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and LinkedIn. Establish business relationships and establish yourself as an expert in your area. You'll also naturally gain backlinks.
5. Ubersuggest is an SEO tool that helps you find and target backlinks from competitors.
Why should you be concerned about where your competitors get their backlinks from?
It's simple.
These are the kinds of sites that will link back to your site, so do some competitor research to identify websites you can target for local link-building opportunities.
If you are interested in local SEO, here's how Ubersuggest can help you target competitor backlinks.
Let's say you own a Denver bakery. A Google search will show us that Azucar Bakery is one of the top-ranking local bakeries.
To get started, enter their domain in Ubersuggest. Click ” search”
Go to the main screen and scroll down to backlinks. Click ” Backlinks Overview“.
To load the results, enter the domain name once more and hit ” search“.
Scroll down to the ” backlinks” results. A list of domains linking back to Azucar Bakery will appear.
You can target your competitors by knowing the websites that link to them.
Depending on your business goals and marketing strategy, how you use backlinks will depend on what you do. For example, you might list yourself on Foursquare and target websites that allow product reviews.
6. Ask for links to unlinked mentions of your brand
Brand mentions that are not linked can be a great way to get backlinks from authoritative, high-quality websites.
It's much easier to send out outreach emails to people who already know your brand than to contact them.
It's possible to ask them for a backlink if they are discussing your products and services.
You don't have to follow every brand reference.
Start by scanning the internet looking for brand mentions that are not linked. BrandMentions is a tool that can help you do this.
Next, find the contact for an outreach email. This contact could be the site owner or someone in the marketing department. These details can be found using social media tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
Send your outreach email. Thank them for mentioning you and compliment their company. Explain to them why adding a backlink would benefit their company, and offer them a link in exchange.
Do not ignore brand mentions that aren't linked. Instead, find them, establish relationships with other website owners, then convert them into useful backlinks.
Link building for local SEOFrequently Asked Questions
What is the importance of links in local SEO?
Local SEO is a huge part of local SEO. Links can help you boost your local search rankings. A higher ranking means you are more visible in search results, and your customers are more likely visit your site.
Do I need an agency to help me with my local SEO strategy?
A digital marketing agency partnership might be beneficial if you don't have the resources or time to devote to marketing. However, it is possible to develop your own strategy using the tips I've provided.
How do I get my business reviewed by local publications?
Local SEO link building involves liaising and collaborating with local businesses. Local publications can be contacted directly. You could host an event, invite their representatives, sponsor contests, or reach out to local influencers. All of it depends on what your marketing budget is and how likely you are to reach your target audience.
A blog is a great way to get local SEO backlinks.
Yes! Yes! Make sure to optimize your articles for keywords that are local.
Conclusion: Link building for local SEO
Local link building can be a great way for your SEO to increase search engine visibility and bring relevant traffic to your site.
Although you won't see immediate results, link building is a crucial part of your long-term marketing strategy.
You don't have to use all of the suggestions I suggest, but you should start with the ones that make sense for your company. In the meantime, concentrate on creating high-quality, consistent blog content to increase trustworthiness and build brand credibility.
Check out my consulting services if you require additional help in link building for local SEO.
These are some of the local link-building strategies you might have tried. What are your experiences with these local link building strategies? Please let me know your thoughts below!
————————————————————————————————————————————–
By: Neil Patel
Title: Link Building for Local SEO: 6 Simple Strategies That’ll Catapult Your Rankings
Sourced From: neilpatel.com/blog/8-unusual-link-building-strategies-thatll-catapult-your-rankings/
Published Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2022 14:00:00 +0000
Did you miss our previous article…
https://internetlib.org/?p=4209