There’s so much to consider for your website to rank well. The goal here is to have your website stand on the same level as that of competing websites, and even better.
For you to achieve this, you’ll have to drive traffic in. Having a lot of visitors is a good indicator that you’ve made a good and robust website. The strategies that can drive you towards this level of success are those in line with digital marketing.
A bigger move towards local links now exists in the world of digital marketing. From the renewed emphasis on location-based products and services, you might even think the global marketplace is retracting. While that’s certainly not the case, there’s no denying that local businesses are finding ways of making the web work for them. And local links are integral. This strategy is also what’s referred to as link building. With the right link-building strategies, your website can drive more traffic in, making it more effective in its pursuit of better rankings and profits.
In the following article, we’ll be discussing the 10 best ways to grow your local link inventory. But first, let’s tackle a question that comes up a lot in digital marketing circles.
When marketers speak of “building links,” they’re essentially talking about building relationships. And if they’re not, they should be. These links are those websites that you trust as authorities in the niche that your business belongs to. You know that connecting with these websites bring in many positive returns for your business, such that you choose to associate your site with these websites that you’re linking to.
According to SEORUS SEO Sydney experts, link building is one of the major defining factors in how traffic is accessing your site. If a high-authority website links to your page, that means they trust your site enough to be sending all their traffic to you. Search engines like Google like to see that your site is trusted by others; creating these good relationships is a great way to showcase this.
It’s a really big deal. And it helps you in a variety of ways. Before we show you how to do it, understand that these are the reasons why it’s necessary.
There are few ways for anyone to find you online if someone isn’t linking to you, especially with how advanced search engines are these days.
If nothing else, you want someone linking to you so you can get their traffic to your page. When you’re a location-dependent site, that means local links.
Websites that link to you are essentially telling their audience, “This person is an authority. You should listen to what they have to say.”
It’s a form of word-of-mouth. If you build the link honestly, it boosts your reputation in ways that can follow you for years to come.
Linkbuilding helps you get your name out. Getting your name out creates impressions. Impressions lead to reputation.
Having your name and brand out there to as many people as possible, as many times as possible, is how branding takes hold. Well, that and delivering a product or service worth the customer or client’s time.
A well-earned link will do more for your notoriety than an expensive ad campaign ever could. That’s because the page getting the link creates organic traffic (i.e., the kind you don’t have to pay for).
Now you know why link building is important. And you’ve probably got a feel for why local links are important. So let’s talk about how to win them.
This bit of advice may seem a bit contradictory since we’ve already spoken of quality links. (And we’ll be speaking more about them in a moment.) But at day’s end, it’s really not.
Quality links are your objective. But to find those quality links, you’ll have to put yourself out there to as many sites as possible. It’s a neverending process if you want to stay relevant.
As you go this route, cast a very wide net. Think of anyone you can in your local area who has online influence and any way of connecting with what it is you have to offer. Then, make your pitch.
Before you even consider the “what is a link” question posed above, you should recalibrate your priorities. You’re not in the link building business. You’re in the branding business.
Linkbuilding, local or otherwise, is nothing more than a means to an end. If you want to gather quality links, think of any method you can, online or offline, to build a solid branding initiative.
Before companies are willing to link-local, they want to know you’re a part of their community. You can solidify your standing in this regard by creating quality hyperlocal content.
What is hyperlocal content? It’s the type of content that’s visible to anyone who lives in or around your area.
Hyperlocal content isn’t cookie-cutter. Transplant it to another city, and it could be completely irrelevant. But in your city, everyone will grasp it immediately.
To get started, do some research. Figure out which events and organizations you want to get involved with and start spotlighting them on your website and social networks.
This requires taking NAPs. No, not the sleepy kind but the personal information kind. NAP stands for:
And it probably wouldn’t hurt to throw an email in there as well. Having your contact information up-to-date on Google My Business, Facebook, and other online directories will send a message to search engines that you’re an active and viable business in the location you’re targeting.
Another local link step you should be taking is to gather up your link profile. The Google Search Console tool is an effective way of monitoring this.
It allows you to see where all your traffic is coming from and which pages are ranking best. You also get to see which pages are ranking consistently across multiple sources. This can help to inform future content.
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Do put your own spin on it.
Check out what your competitors are doing and who’s linking to them. Look for gaps you can fill in or unique insights you can bring to the conversation.
Whichever local SEO services you use, make sure they understand the importance of white-hat link building strategies. Many will promise you page-one Google in a week, but the reality is they’re using underhanded strategies that Google’s AI is too smart not to catch.
When they do get caught, you get penalized. And that’s a hard penalty to recover from.
It may not have anything to do with online marketing. But join your Chamber of Commerce. Get involved in Facebook Groups specific to your area.
Community involvement does not go unnoticed. And the notoriety you get from it will manifest in the forms of local links as well.
Social media is great for spreading the word quickly and is often free-of-charge. But all that data belongs to Facebook and Twitter and [insert network-of-choice here].
The most complete insights you’ll receive come from your website. At least, they do if that’s where you’re trying to send your audience. So, even if you also inherently have a strong network of followers in your social media sites, focus also on driving activities to your website. In so doing, you’re able to achieve the purpose of link building, which is to bring more visitors to your website, and not on your social media accounts. Neglect at your own risk.
Some companies place unrealistic expectations on their marketing help. They expect the agency they hire to work miracles despite having limited knowledge of the specific industry the company covers.
Let’s be clear. You are the expert, not your marketing company. So work with them to make sure your content and target audience are where they need to be. Henceforth, even if you are to hire an SEO agency or an expert link building agency, such as Caffeine Marketing Reading, to help you out with this function, it’s still beneficial for you to participate in the entire process. That way, you know for certain that the links being used are those that speak for your brand’s image and the niche that it belongs to.
The global marketplace is great, but your home base offers you the most immediate opportunities. While the competition on the Internet is getting even more stringent for websites, there are also many ways for you to rise above the competition. These are all in relation to the proper digital marketing strategies, one of which is link building. To take advantage, start building local links to your site and watch your online and offline process grow along together.
With these tips, you’re one step closer to having good link-building practices on your website.
Best of luck! And for more tips on how you can build your business, check out more of our blog posts.
