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7 Local SEO Link Building Tips To Dominate Local Search

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for a while, you already know about the importance of on page optimization and what it could do for your website or your client’s website, but one thing we haven’t really talked about much is the sexy and controversial topic of link building for local SEO.

Local SEO Link Building Tips

There are a lot of myths in local SEO and SEO in general, there’s also a lot of debate about certain techniques to use and when it comes to local search it can be a bit confusing. We know building citations are important, but that isn’t exactly a link building strategy.

Today we’re going to clear up some confusion and dive into these 7 tips that will take your ninja SEO knowledge to another level.

Tip #1 – Forget About PageRank, Domain Authority & Page Authority

When building links, these seem to be the metrics everybody is looking at but when it comes to local search most of it doesn’t even matter. If you’ve been following this blog enough, you already know what I’m going to say. Right now, the biggest 2 factors in the local results are location relevance and industry relevance.

PageRank hasn’t been updated in well over a year so it’s pointless to focus on that when building links whether it is for local SEO or organic.

Domain authority and page authority are metrics created by Moz and may be a useful metric when building links for organic search but we have to remember that Google does not use Domain Authority or Page Authority, it is simply a guess in how Google determined PageRank.

Worrying about these things for your local business or your client is not beneficial.

When it comes to local link building, I would take a PR N/A, or super low domain authority that was local or industry relevant instead of a non relevant high PR and high DA backlink. Relevance is what matters here!

Tip #2 – NoFollow vs. Dofollow vs Who Freakin Cares?

This is a hot topic and constant debate in SEO circles. Does a nofollow link help you rank? Some very respected people think that they don’t help you rank, some very well respected people think they DO help you rank, so what do you do?

Some will even say that Nofollow links can hurt you and get you penalized, but why don’t we hear the Google Web Spam Guru talk about that for a minute to clear things up:

Some of the best links I’ve generated over the years have been Nofollow but generated massive traffic and even leads which turned into revenue. Just based on that fact alone, you shouldn’t ignore a nofollow link.

However, it isn’t just about traffic and leads. Local search is a bit different than organic and a lot of people seem to forget that when it comes to building links. The 7 pack seems to have a higher level of immunity than organic search when it comes to algorithm changes, updates, etc.

We know that nofollow doesn’t pass PageRank but it doesn’t mean they can’t help you rank, especially when it comes to local. A nofollow link is STILL a link and if it is on a relevant site to the industry or location you’re targeting then it certainly can help you rank. The people against this line of thinking are the ones that usually aren’t doing any kind of local SEO and haven’t seen the effects first hand.

 

Tip #3 – Using Press Releases To Generate Links, Traffic, and Branding

Press releases are a great tool and one that I used a lot when I first started on a more broad and national scale. I suppose it is no longer effective to use press release syndication and wheels of press releases for mass link building purposes but it does bring back good memories. In fact, using that method allowed me to rank for “Web Design Company” back in 2010 and 2011.

Not anymore though, Matt Cutt’s from Google said press release links should be nofollowed, I guess because a lot of people were using press releases to spam the hell out of their sites.

However, there’s some good news when it comes to press releases, and that good news is that it can still greatly benefit local SEO. I’ve seen evidence that even free press release submissions can generate a jump in rankings in local search but I understand correlation is not causation. There are also indirect benefits of press releases.

These benefits include:

  • Additional inbound link opportunities
  • Local media syndicating the press release
  • Local media writing an article based on the press release
  • Branding and visibility
  • Additional citations

I’m sure there are more benefits of using press releases but these are the 5 that came off the top of my head and tip of my fingertips. Just make sure your press release is about SOMETHING newsworthy.

Tip #4 – Testimonials, but Not What You Think!

Sometimes, actually the majority of the time in life you have to give a little to get a little. This technique is a perfect example of that.

Testimonials, and reviews are things that almost every business has or wants more of. What businesses in your area have you been happy with? Do they have a website?

Provide a testimonial for them to use on their website and ask for them to give you a link back to your site in return. While it may not be industry specific, it sure is location specific and relevant. These types of links can be of incredible help.

The better optimized their site is, the better! Even if it isn’t optimized but has a location specific domain name that is good for you!

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Tip #5 – Sponsorship Opportunities

I think a lot of sponsorship opportunities provide a bad ROI when you think of events, but if you do this right, it isn’t just about the branding you get from whatever event or thing you’re sponsoring, you can also get a good backlink.

Student groups and clubs

A lot of schools, grade schools, high schools, colleges will have sponsorship opportunities for super cheap, maybe even $50 and you can get listed on their website as a sponsor. Particularly useful with .edu domain names. Just one of these and that can make a big difference when it comes to ranking.

City events

Different municipalities have various events through the year, parades, art festivals, etc. They also have various sponsorship opportunities. For one client we ended up getting them linked from a .gov domain for $10 and it was over 2 years ago, the link is still in tact. The keyword was Doctor, in a very populated area and to this date, aside from citations they only have 6 backlinks and ranking #1.

Animals Rescues, Shelters

Rescue groups are always looking for money, they desperately need it and they are almost always willing to link to you in exchange for a few bucks!

Tip #6 – Contests and Giveaways

Who doesn’t love a good contest? Free giveaways? Sign me up! Not only is this technique good for traffic, branding and possibly lead generation, it can generate some decent links to your website from local bloggers, even media.

Want to get maximum effect out of this? Announce an event, contest or giveaway and create a press release around it.

The contest or giveaway could be something related to the business, or unrelated. For example, a friend of mine launched a giveaway contest, he is a Dentist and gave away 4 St. Louis Cardinals tickets for opening day as the grand prize and a free cleaning package to 2 runner ups.

It may take a little bit of creativity to decide what to require submissions to do in order to register for the giveaway, and how to market it, but a little outreach to local bloggers or doing press releases for the giveaway can generate additional local links.

Tip #7 – Launch Your Own Event or Fundraiser

This one may be difficult if you deal with clients across the country, but since I know there are business owners reading this blog and not just consultants, I figure I can get away with this tip.

Fundraisers and events seem like a daunting task. I guess they are, but it doesn’t have to be that bad.

Another dentist not too long ago put on an event offering free dental work, fillings, extractions, etc. No invisalign or anything crazy like that but just basic dental work. This ended up being covered by multiple newspapers, major local news stations, websites, blogs and radio stations in the area. Links of course were given but the impact went far beyond SEO purposes.

An HVAC contractor also launched his own event/fundraiser/giveaway thing. He put together an air conditioner drive to take people’s old window units that they donated, and he would go to different houses in need of air conditioning, bring the unit and install it for free.

A carpet cleaning company teamed up with a local school and an electronic recycling company for a fundraiser. The carpet cleaning company didn’t really have anything to offer except being the broker here, and organizing the fundraiser. What happened is the local school did a lot of the marketing of the event, put a link on the website to the carpet cleaning company, letters were sent to parents letting them know about the event and also included the carpet cleaning company’s number and business information.

Parents, kids, family members and friends went to the drive on a weekend, bringing in old laptops, desktops, washers, dryers, different electronics and the school got paid by the pound of electronic waste. The electronic recycling company ended up profiting, the school raised money, and the carpet cleaning company had the benefit of inbound links but also direct promotion to the school’s parents. Ended up making a killing from that little fundraiser that he basically brokered and did nothing else for!

Be creative.

Want to learn more about local SEO? Watch my free Local SEO Training webinar.

That about sums it up guys, do me a favor and let me know your thoughts on these ideas. Have you used any of these tactics, are there any you recommend? Let me know in the comments below!

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