Checklist
Link building for local businesses, one street at a time
Before you pay anyone, walk your own patch. These twelve places can link to you, most of them for free, and a few are worth a paid placement on top.
Why nearby beats big
A link from the local rotary club's page says more about a florist than a link from a random tech blog does. Google reads topic and place from the words around the link, so the neighbours count.
It is also easier. People who already know you will often add a line to a page they control, and that costs a coffee rather than a budget. Start there.
Paid placements come in at the end, as a way to cover what the street cannot. Think of them as the thirteenth item on a list of twelve.
That is the whole idea behind link building local businesses can finish in a month, mostly with phone calls and emails. A first batch of six to eight links from the list below usually takes two to three weeks of odd evenings, and costs under $100 even with a sponsorship.
The local SEO glossary explains any term here that is unfamiliar, and the decision tree checks you have the basics.
The twelve places, in the order we would try them
- Your suppliers and wholesalers: ask for a stockist or partner page entry
- The trade body or guild for your profession, with a member directory
- The local chamber of commerce or business improvement district
- A school, club or charity you sponsor: sponsor pages usually carry a link
- A local news site or community blog: offer a useful tip, not an advert
- Neighbouring businesses that do not compete: a joint 'trusted locals' page
- Events you host or join: market stalls, open days, workshops with a listing
- Your landlord, shopping centre or business park website
- Local colleges that list employers or work-experience hosts
- Awards and best-of lists run by regional publications
- Council or tourism board directories for your town
- One or two relevant paid placements on sites your customers read
Effort and cost, side by side
| Source | Effort | Cash cost | How the link usually reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier partner page | One email | Free | Plain text link with your business name |
| Chamber of commerce | A form and membership | Often an annual fee | Directory entry with a link |
| Sponsored club or charity | A small donation | Whatever you give | Sponsor list, often a logo link |
| Local news or blog guest note | A few hours writing | Free | Editorial link inside the article |
| Paid placement on a relevant site | 15 minutes of filtering | $1 to about $500 | Contextual link inside a written article |
Before accepting any link, ask whether a real customer within your service area could land on that page. If nobody local would ever read it, it is decoration. Decoration is fine in small amounts, but it is not why you ordered.
Where a paid placement fits
Say the street gave you six links and your service page still trails the rivals. That is the moment to look at the marketplace, filtering by niche and language and reading each donor site as a customer would.
We cannot promise a city filter, so use your eyes: does the article mention your region, trade or the kind of problem you fix? If the answer is a plain yes, add the row.
Keep the first order to two or three links. Then wait four to eight weeks and look at impressions for the target page in Search Console before touching the basket again.