Local Link Building

Links are the part of local SEO most small businesses skip, because "link building" sounds like something agencies do with spreadsheets and guest posts. Local link building is different. The bar is lower, the sources are ones you already know, and each link does double duty: it feeds prominence for the pack and authority for your service pages under it.

Why local links count more than they look

A link from the Croydon Advertiser has a fraction of the "authority" of a national newspaper by any tool's metric. For a Croydon business it is worth more, because it confirms the business is a real part of that place. Google's local algorithm rewards relevance of the linking site to your location and industry, not just its size. That means the sources below — none of them glamorous — are the ones that move local rankings.

The sources, in the order we try them

1. Organisations you already pay

Chamber of commerce, Business Improvement District, trade association, franchise network, professional body, industry accreditation schemes. Most have member directories with a link. You are already a member; check the listing exists and is complete.

2. Sponsorships

Junior football teams, school fairs, charity runs, village fêtes, local theatre programmes, community radio. £200–£500 a year buys a genuine relationship and a link from the club's sponsors page. Choose ones with an actual website.

3. Suppliers and partners

Manufacturers list stockists and approved installers; software vendors list partners; franchisors list franchisees. If you sell or install someone's product, ask for the listing.

4. Local press

Local newspapers and hyperlocal sites are short of stories. A new hire, an award, a charity day, a milestone, a comment on a local issue — with a photo — gets covered. Ask for the link explicitly; many outlets will include it if asked and omit it if not.

5. Local guides and "best of" lists

Blogs and sites that list the best cafés, gyms, dentists in a town. Find them by searching "best [category] in [town]", and email the ones you should be on with a reason.

6. Events and venues

Hosting or speaking at a local event, offering your premises for a meetup, running a workshop. Event listings on Eventbrite, the council site and the venue's page all link.

7. Community and council

Council business support pages, local enterprise partnerships, high street directories, "shop local" schemes. Slow to get, worth having.

8. Unlinked mentions

Search your business name (in quotes) and find pages that mention you without linking — press, suppliers, customers' sites. Ask for the link. Highest conversion rate of any outreach.

What to link to

Mostly the homepage, some to the location page, occasionally to a service page where the context fits (a supplier's stockist listing linking to your product page). Do not force anchor text; "Smith & Sons" is what a real link says.

Content that earns local links

Most local businesses do not need content marketing. If you want a page that gets linked naturally, make it local and useful: a guide to parking near the high street, a map of your area's dog-friendly walks, an annual survey of local prices in your trade, an explainer on a local planning issue. One good page a year is plenty.

What to avoid

• Buying links, link networks, "guest post" marketplaces. They are detectable and the penalty affects the whole domain.
• Directories that exist only to sell links.
• Reciprocal link pages ("our partners") on your own site linking to unrelated businesses.
• Anchor-text stuffing in any link you do control.

How many and how fast

Three to five good local links a month is a strong programme for a single-location business. Most competitors in the pack have almost none, so the bar is low. Consistency over a year beats a burst.

Local link building is included in the Premium plan and available as an add-on to the others.

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Part of the complete UK local SEO guide.