Local link building
-
Hi,
I am looking to ask for peoples experience on getting local links and the best and most successful approaches made.
Let's say we have a local sports physiotherapist and wants to engage with local sports clubs, running clubs, etc.. What are the best methods for an agency to deploy to try and build relationships and links. Our client may have treated some of the local sports club members but as an agency we may not have the specifics.
What success have Marketing agencies got with emails, telephone, site visits etc in order to assist with building good quality relevant links.
What success do you have with offering discounts to build links or promoting competitions and offering guest blogging at a local level.
Are there other tactics, such as linkedIn or engaing on other social channels.
It would be nice to find out others experiences what ever the business sector for building local links.
Many thanks in advance to all those who contribute.
-
Miriam,
Love the answer, some great info hidden in those links , Cheers.
Also I love the "Happy thanksgiving" message. Being in the UK it obviously means very little to us apart from for some strange reason we have decided to adopt your "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" .
All we do over here is have a few fireworks on the 5th November to remember some chap who tried to blow up the houses of parliament ages ago, no Turkey till Christmas for us Brits
I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving anyway
-
Instead of calling or sending mails I would try to figure out how to get in touch with the local business trough meetups or small business networks in the local area.
Most places has a business network for the area and meetings where you can show up and show you commitment for the local area. and that way gain trust and be endorsed by the locals though out the area.. that way you can build up a strong business relationship with the local community and also gain more then just a link.
Most sports clubs have a sponsor network that you become a part of by being a sponsor or helping them look good, this is the perfekt way to get in there and start making relationship that you can build on. Remember its all about getting your foot inside the door.. the rest is easy.
-
Happy Thanksgiving, Smartcow!
You might find some little gems here:
http://blog.ahrefs.com/local-link-building-guide-2014/
http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2301740/link-building-101-local-link-building#
http://www.whitespark.ca/blog/post/8-local-link-building-tactics-beyond-business-listings
I hope some of the tips in the above will get some creative ideas going for you!
-
There is no absolute truth, you have to see what example works better for each case.
Yes, i think starting with a research on targeted businesses/clubs will be the best idea, then you can try to apply some of these cases.
I let you my bible:
Call them - Get them on the phone. Make them hear your voice and know that you're a real person. I did it with some clients and i got great results.
Sometimes a good comment on a blog that makes a difference can help you build the relationship you want.
Interviews-Normally companies like to be interviewed, so take the advantage of this and make some. Remember to give them a mention when you gonna share that content on your social networks, they will be happy to share it.
Random acts of kindness - Whenever you can, be nice to people. It might just payoff. Always be on the lookout for helping those in need. These random acts can turn into lasting relationships.
Give a crap - Actually care about people. Show them you're not just a bot with a picture, but that you're somewhat human. If they share on Twitter that their daughter just graduated, congratulate them. Something as simple as that can open up your chances to build a relationship in the future.
Participate - If someone is conducting a survey or testing something, get involved and participate. Those are great chances to start conversations with new people.
Local meetups - Whether you find one or start one, meetups are a fantastic way to get to know people close by.
User group meetings - A great way to get to know people who think like you is by finding those who use the same products or services like you..
Conferences - Seriously, go to them.
G+ Hangouts/Skype - Be the first person to use a Google+ hangout! But seriously, that or Skype is a great way to meet face to face with someone without actually meeting face to face (if that makes any sense!).
Twitter RTs, Responses, & DMs - If you want to get to know someone on Twitter, first retweet them a few times. Then respond a couple times to a few of their tweets, then continue the conversation as direct messages. Finally, ask to email (because 140 characters is never enough), and now you've got the ball rolling.
Answer questions - Answer questions on Twitter, Quora, and anywhere else people hang out. People ask questions all the time. These external opportunities are a great way to put you on their radar.
Note: don’t think of it as a short-term input & short-term output, especially if you’re a marketing agency. More so, realize that these relationships can be tapped into for multiple links (i.e. for different campaigns, clients, etc.), as well as for other marketing opportunities (i.e running a joint-contest).
Regards
-
Shakar,
Thanks for the advice. So would you say that engaging openly and socially is better than connecting by email and telephone?
I would suspect that you are spot on.
I would guess that we start with a bit of research on targeted businesses/clubs and then write about them either socially or in blogs. After a while if a natural engagement has not occoured then get in touch more personally to build a relationship.
what do you reckon?
-
Many thanks for that, great idea and will suggest we target one or two local clubs.
What is your experience of gaining local links through email, calls, begging, blackmail etc.... OK not blackmail but you get my drift
-
Hi there,
What I would do would be to start contacting them by facebook, twitter or other social networks. On twitter mentions work very well especially if you have written an article that you talk about them.
Buil relations, not backlinks- Instead of focusing on getting more and more backlinks, try to focus on creating relations.
being proactive in a community – actively commenting and participating in discussions
social media interaction – sharing valuable content and commenting on the topic in social media
creating content – it’s always good to add new value or fresh thoughts to the community
Hope it helps you.
-
Not long ago I was working on a local project for an Event agency that needed local links. What we did was:
We contacted a local soccer club about making an event (for free to support the team) right there on the stadium. The deal sounded like:
We would setup two Bouncing castle for families with kids, so they could have some fun at half time. We asked if they were willing to announce this service on their homepage and Social account.
The event went smooth and gave us:
- A Post about about the company and the event on the clubs homepage with link
- Mentions in the local news
- New customers from the audience.
- And last but not least a contract for 2 more events at the club
Hope you will find this useful.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Do I need separate local numbers for two fitness locations?
I'm beginning local search work for a local studio that has two locations in the same city. Do I need to provide two different phone numbers in my NAPs for each studio or can both locations have the same phone number? Thanks! Ann
Local Listings | | amws240 -
[Local Search] Do you get penalized by using a Google Voice number for each seperate business location?
My client is expanding and opening up separate locations and I will be getting all their online business listings up and running. The client wants to use a single 1-888 number for all locations, however, it was my assumption that they would need a local number for each location to improve their ranking. Could I suggest using free Google voice numbers that get forwarded to their 1-888 number or will Google discredit us for this?
Local Listings | | aedesignco0 -
Social profile links - markup not working
Hi all, Weeks ago, I implemented the advised social profile markup (below, but with my own details, of course) but I continue to have no success with getting my social profiles onto my knowledge panel. Any ideas? Cheers, Rhys
Local Listings | | SwanseaMedicine0 -
Higher Value: Google Local Listing or .edu link?
A client of mine is putting together a partnership with a local university to offer a certain type of medical test through several of its clinics. They are writing up the contract now and asked me if there is anything they should ask for that would benefit us in our listings. Since we do not have an actual local footprint, my first inclination was to ask for them to help us get verified as owners of "practitioner" local listings at their business addresses (as discussed here). We would provide local numbers that would ring our call center. My thinking is that these listings and backlinks would benefit on searches similar to "medical testing in San Antonio". I have a number of concerns with this track but would love to hear from the community on why or why not this might be the way to go. Another potential option is to ask for a link from the university's website outlining the partnership. Something along the lines of "Our labs have partnered with BIZNAME to provide medical testing in San Antonio to our valued patients." I'd obviously love the EDU links, but I'm hesitant after Overstock's penalty a few years ago to try to set something like that up. I'm not sure which (if either) to ask for in the contract. I'm leaning toward the latter since it seems more in line with a long term strategy, and Google seems to change their treatment of the local listings pretty frequently. However, getting that high visibility real estate in the local listings is really appealing to me. What does everyone think?
Local Listings | | Andrew_Mac0 -
Creating a new Google local business page vs. adding additional locations to an existing Google business page?
We are a service company that both travels to customer locations and serves customers at our business location. The split is about 80/20 (travel vs. serve customers on location). We just opened up a new office in a city about 1 hour away from our main location. The question is, should we create a new business page and account on Google local or should we add the new location to our existing google local account? The new location has a separate website, phone number, email etc. My inclination is to create a new local business account/page on Google. Has anyone experimented with both solutions and tested which option creates more powerful local signals for ranking?
Local Listings | | Vspeed0 -
Combining Law websites to boost local results?
So we currently have 2 separate websites for the 2 areas of law we practice, Criminal Defense and Family. Currently our Criminal Defense website is the one affiliated with our google+ page and so it ranks well in local results, where as our Family website does not rank at all locally. Would it be best for our Family practice if we merged it with our Criminal site? We all work out of the same office and share address and phone number, so I don't believe we can associate the Family website with a google+ page, but I am wondering if each site would show up in Local results for their individual keywords if the criminal site and law site were both subdomains of a main Firm website.
Local Listings | | MyOwnSEO1 -
Does anyone use Moz Local + Yext? How valuable is this for local businesses?
For brands that have a budget to pay $600 / year for valuable backlink directories, would you recommend Moz Local + Yext? I would like to hear some feedback on marketers that use Yext. Thanks,
Local Listings | | ColeLusby
Cole0 -
Local domains vs. subfolders?
I am in the process of rebranding a B2B website for a UK company that has been established on a .net address for ten years. The CMS is Wordpress. The company has previously had localised content on .net/de, .net/au extensions for various regions where they have offices (US, Oz, various Europe.) I am getting varied and at times conflicting feedback from the creative agency, inhouse digital staff, and IT about the best way to proceed with the new website and in particular its future local language versions. Question 1: If we change the .net website to a .com address, will 301 redirects safeguard our SEO real estate? Question 2: we own the .com extension and have been using it for some back office stuff. It was purchased because it was advised that the .net did not carry much credibility in the US, is this correct? Question 3: If we change the .net to the .com which is hosted in the US, will we wipe our search rankings on Google for the UK and non-US locations? I saw this post and wondered:
Local Listings | | LConnect
http://moz.com/community/q/uk-rankings-disappeared-after-us-website-launch Question 4: is hosting the regional site best done on a local domain (we own a bunch) or does that not really matter? Question 5: If we use a WP plug in and just use subfolders for translating and localising content (US, Germany, Australia), what is the best way of serving that content for local PR? Sorry about the many questions 🙂 Guni0