Are you struggling to get your business to the top spot in organic search results? Do you not show in the local map results for those in the vicinity?
There are many possible causes; however, one of the most significant issues I come across when companies have difficulty ranking well is that they don’t have a good backlink portfolio! Recent algorithm changes may have emphasized how good your website’s content is, i.e., Does it show the authority, expertise, and trust ( E-A-T ) however, links remain an essential factor to get your website’s pages to rank high.
How Are Backlinks?
A backlink can be described as an external link that connects a person from a different website to your site. Google uses these links as a voting system that decides which areas and what content to display to users when they type in a query. There are two kinds of links, which are Dofollow and Nofollow. When a website hyperlinks to you via a DoFollow link, it’s basically communicating to the search engines and users that “we believe that this material is quite excellent, so go have a look”. A nofollow hyperlink is utilized when you don’t want to endorse another site and provide them with a thumbs-up.
It’s a huge oversimplification, and because seo experts have used link-building in the past to manipulate rankings, search engines such as Google have become more sophisticated about assessing the quality of their link profiles. Quality over quantity in the present and Google examines various factors to determine if your hyperlinks are authentic and relevant.
- Do you have links that originate from sites that are in a similar field or particular niche?
- Do you have links that originate from trustworthy websites?
- Do the text anchors of your links appear natural?
- Are your links relevant ? And provide an added value to the user?
Backlinks
What is the difference between traditional Backlinks vs. Local Backlinks?
One of the major distinctions between normal backlinks and local ones is that sites will typically attempt to get backlinks with websites that have the highest domain authority , whereas local businesses typically benefit more through local links, even if they have less authority. A link that comes from a local business is extremely relevant and can also have the benefit of increasing publicity for your company with the local market. It’s not the sole goal or benefit when you run a local link-building campaign.
How do I build more Links for My Company?
A great question. There have been a lot of articles written about the subject with a broad selection of suggestions, such as one article by WhiteSpark, which outlines seven simple local link-building strategies you should employ. I will distill my piece down to five “low-hanging the fruit” opportunities that any local business should take advantage of.
Local Citations
Maintaining a consistent NAP ( Name Address, Telephone # ) for your company across the most popular sources is an important element of an effective local SEO strategy, so you must remain on top of it. But, it’s an effective link building technique. What, aren’t links on local citations not followed? The majority of the time, the answer is yes; however, there are many websites that have dofollow hyperlinks that pass “link-juice” to aid in ranking better. Remember that many local SEO professionals rely heavily on this method to build links, and the link from local citations isn’t enough to meet your objectives.
Local/Niche Directories
Whatever your location or what kind of company you have, there are certain directories that will be of interest to you. Like local citations it’s not an excellent strategy to distinguish your site from the competition, but it’s an effective option to begin the process. In the case of an Edmonton company, here are a few local links that you can get
- Edmonton Made
- B2B Connect Edmonton
- Find out if your local league’s website lists local businesses
- Contact the local association for business
- Edmonton Find
Local Business Relations
If you’re a local company, there’s a high probability that you have connections with other business owners from the local area. If, for instance, you offer a home-based service such as furnace repair, you may be in contact with other home-based service providers such as handyman or cleaning services, which can be linked to your.
Competitor Research
The top-ranked competitors of yours likely have links that are good, therefore doing some research is a good idea. It’s possible to utilize free tools for competitive analysis such as SemRush as well as Moz to discover your competitors’ top links and then create an inventory of potential targets that you may be able to obtain for yourself.
Local Sponsorships
Do you have a business that supports the local team of peewee hockey or your favorite local charity? A majority of these organizations have websites that point to resources and supporters which are beneficial for businesses. You could try using a Google search like this ( [edmonton] inurl:sponsorships ) to find some of these local opportunities but the best options often won’t be found here. Get involved in your local community and find some ways you can help out.
