This article is your guide to local SEO link building, where we will explain its importance in improving your local search engine optimization (SEO) performance. If you’re a business owner, marketer, or SEO enthusiast looking to boost your online visibility and attract more local clients, this article is definitely for you.

After reading this article, you will have a clear understanding of the strategies and techniques needed to create a strong local link profile and rise in search results. Whether you are a small business looking to attract local clients or a large enterprise with multiple locations, the information given here will provide tangible value and contribute to a significant improvement in your local search engine performance.

Why is Local SEO Important?

Let’s start with a definition of local links. Local link building in SEO is the process of creating contextually and locally relevant links on websites, directories, forums, etc. The goal is to drive relevant local traffic and users to a website and help those sites get better rankings for local searches.

Developing a business requires a solid strategic approach and careful planning. Over the past couple of years, the number of searches for local places with the “near me” indicator has increased by 130%. “Near me” searches are becoming increasingly popular because people searching on the go often want to find a company, store, or office as close to their current location as possible.

For example, if you own a coffee shop in London, local website optimization will involve optimizing your site to appear in search results for keywords like “best coffee shop in London” or “coffee shops in London near me”.

That’s when you need to focus on different aspects of SEO to grow your business. Link building is a critical aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) because it helps increase the visibility and credibility of your website. While many website owners focus on getting links from authority sites, local link building is often overlooked. However, it can be just as valuable, if not more so, as it helps to establish your website as an authority in a specific location.

10 Tips to Boost Your Local SEO

Now, as we’ve dealt with the basics, let’s dive into practical tips for local SEO backlinks that will help you build a well-considered strategy and increase visibility of your brand.

1. Get links from ranking sites

The importance of links and their ranking has already been described above, so let’s focus on practice. Look for aggregator sites or directories (listings, crowds). When people make purchases for a company, they tend to use such sites. You can usually get on them by simply registering and adding your company. This is a quick and easy way to make sure you are included in the review group and get immediate business value.

Get links from other ranking sites.
Get links from your competitors.
Restore lost links.
Create locally relevant content.
Get local quotes.
Add internal links.

2. Building relationships with local websites

Developing relationships with local websites is crucial to the success of your local link-building strategy. The following tips can help you with this task:

Participate in local events and organizations. This way, you meet other local website owners and develop relationships.
Reach out to local websites. Offer to collaborate on content or provide resources that will be valuable to their audience.

3. Analyze local links

There are many factors and criteria to consider when analyzing links. Here are the main things you should take into account:

Relevance of a website with links. The website that links to your business must be relevant to your industry or niche. For example, if you run a coffee shop, getting links from food bloggers or local restaurant directories may be more valuable than links from big IT websites.
Authority of a website with links. The authority of a website is determined by factors such as domain age, local SEO backlinks number, and content quality. A link from a high authority website may carry more weight than a link from a low authority one.
Site GEO. If your business operates in a specific location, links from websites in the same area can be especially valuable. This helps search engines understand that your business is relevant to local searches.
Anchor text and link URL. The anchor text and link URL are important for search engine optimization. It’s better to use relevant keywords in the anchor text and link to a suitable page on your website.

4. Optimize your website for local keywords

To get started with local search engine optimization, make sure your website is optimized for keywords and phrases that potential clients in your area are searching for.

To optimize your site for the right keywords, you need to do your research:

Find out which keywords are the most popular and relevant to your business, and then create valuable and engaging content for those keywords.
On each site page, make sure to include a specific keyword and use the SEO checklist to optimize your page properly.
Pay attention to the tags. Home page title tags are crucial for targeting the right keywords.
Remember to target local businesses with well-optimized pages.

5. Create only high-quality local content

With all your efforts at building an effective link building for local SEO, you shouldn’t forget about content. As more and more people use search engines to find what they need in their local area, it becomes vital for businesses to create content that speaks directly to their target audience on a local level.

Ways to create high-quality content:

Know your search intent and call to action

Before you start writing content, you should thoroughly research your search query. Understanding the keywords and phrases your audience is interested in will help you create informative content that meets their needs.

Use proper formatting for readability

Proper formatting helps to highlight headings, subheadings, key phrases, and other important content elements. This enables you to grab the attention of readers and let them quickly understand what they will find in your content.

Know trending and create a backlog of content ideas

Keep up with news and publications in your industry. Use resources such as news portals, social media, and newsletters to learn about the latest trends. Study what content your competitors publish, what topics they cover, and what formats they use. The audience is looking for relevant and useful information, so knowing the trends helps to attract more readers.

Create unique topics

Unique topics attract more readers’ attention because they differ from common and already-seen materials. Search engines also favor unique content, which increases your visibility in search results.

Target a niche subtopic

Choosing a niche subtopic allows you to avoid direct competition with large companies. You become an expert in a limited area where there is less competition. Moreover, niche subtopics allow you to attract a larger target audience specifically interested in your subject. You can appeal to a narrower and more loyal segment of readers.

6. Use local listings

One of the easiest ways to build local links is to claim and optimize your company information in various local directories and platforms, such as Google My Business, Yelp, YellowPages, etc. This will help to ensure that your company information is accurate and consistent across the web and increase your chances of showing up in local search results.

Example of publications:

7. Use local link-building tools

The best link-building tools for local businesses include: Ahrefs is a powerful search engine optimization tool that can help you find link-building opportunities in your area. It provides detailed information about backlinks, keywords, and competitors.

Moz Local is a tool that helps you manage your local business listings across various directories and search engines. It can help you improve your local search rankings and increase your visibility.
Whitespark is a local SEO tool that can help you find citation opportunities and build local links. It provides a number of services, including local search audits, citation boosting, and reputation management.
SEMrush is a comprehensive search engine optimization tool that can help you optimize your online presence. With it, you can do a website audit, keyword research, competitive and local backlink analysis, etc.

8. Add positive reviews from clients

An easy way to get positive feedback is to simply ask your clients. You can do this in person, by email, or by text message. Your requests should be polite, personal, and brief. You should also provide clients with several options for leaving reviews (e.g., Google and TripAdvisor).

It is also important to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, quickly and efficiently. Negative reviews provide an opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service skills. Always strive to please your clients and turn one-star reviews into five-star reviews by offering free samples or discounts.

9. Optimize Google My Business

To optimize your Google My Business information for local search engine optimization:

Confirm business ownership by claiming ownership of the listing. Add all the necessary information, such as your logo, business hours, acceptable payment methods, the product or service you sell, and images.
Encourage clients to leave reviews of your business online by writing quality content and posts that are announcements about products, events, or special offers related to your business.
Use the Google My Business dashboard to manage your listing and make sure all information is up-to-date.

10. Optimize your mobile apps

Finally, make sure your site is mobile-optimized so that it can be easily found and accessed from any device.

We all know that clients are spending more and more time on mobile devices, but many people don’t realize that the vast majority of that time is spent on mobile apps. Creating an effective and popular mobile app is an effective way to increase brand loyalty and engage your mobile clients.

Conclusion

Now, you know valuable link-building tips for local SEO to improve your business visibility in local searches. The main ones include:

Getting links from ranking sites: focus on links from aggregators and directories that provide direct value to your business.
Building relationships with local websites: participate in local events, reach out to local websites, and offer to collaborate with them to get your business noticed.
Link quality analysis: pay attention to the relevance, authority, and geographic location of links to improve the effectiveness of local SEO.
Optimizing your website for local keywords: make sure your website is optimized for search queries in the local context.
Creating high-quality local content: create interesting and useful content aimed at the local audience.
Leveraging local directories: submit and optimize your business information in local directories and platforms.
Attracting positive client reviews: keep in touch with clients and encourage them to leave positive feedback about your business.
Google My Business optimization: make sure your Google My Business profile is as complete and optimized for local search as possible.
Mobile website optimization: make sure your website is mobile-friendly.

By following these local link-building tips, companies can increase their presence in local search results and attract more potential clients in their region.

Using the local backlink tips and other advice from the article, we’ve managed to increase the monthly number of leads and visitors by over 1,000+ users for a local garage door business in the United States. Thus, after analyzing the competitors’ strategies for garage door repair companies in the US and the client’s website, we identified the main growth points that formed the website development strategy and subsequently became success factors.

Want to learn more? Read our case study.

Feedback from our clients:

Local Link Building: 10 Tips to Boost Your Local SEO