No matter where you look on the internet, content is king. Blog posts, videos, ad campaigns, you name it and it gets millions of views per day. But an underrated benefit of this overload of content that we are experiencing is a concept called backlinking. You may not be familiar with this term in name, but you have definitely seen it in action online countless times. The beauty of backlinking is how valuable it can be to local businesses in giving them even more ways to grow. Here are some of the general concepts surrounding backlinks, why they are important, and how you can get them for your local business.  

Backlinking, or local link building as it is also known, is the process of gaining links from credible websites that link back to your website. These credible links to your website raise your authority score on Google and allow your local business to appear higher in the Google search rankings. Think of these links back to your website as a type of endorsement from the credible website. If a credible site links to you, then Google should consider you credible as well due to this high-profile cosign. Local backlinks are very important for your local search engine optimization (SEO) prospects but getting backlinks from national publications can also help you out.

For example, let’s say you are running a local flower shop in Salt Lake City. You are doing very well in your community and Slug Magazine, a local magazine and blog, decides to feature your shop in a new blog post. By linking to your website in their article, Slug Magazine is effectively giving you a backlink that can help raise your business in Google’s search results. Once you raise higher in the rankings, you can link to other local businesses and give them backlinks as well.    

In the current age, the internet is the preferred platform for a lot of things. Most people get their information from it, including local business information when they are interested in a service or product. This is exactly why gaining trusted and high-profile backlinks is important: people will be able to find you easier. The more backlinks you obtain for your business, especially if they are local, the more success you will have on Google.

Some examples of credible sites to get backlinks from include guest-posting sites, social properties, online directory websites, and local news publications. If you do not have any backlinks, you are behind the curve and need to step it up. We have some tips on how you can get backlinks for your local business and raise your public interest in the eyes of potential customers.    

There are many methods for getting backlinks, from getting them naturally or by using software to identify potential opportunities. This list is not comprehensive as new backlink acquiring techniques are being adopted every day, so continue to try new things and see if they work for your business.

Create authoritative pillar content

No matter what industry you are a part of, whether it is well-known or brand new, there can always be new content put out there. But the thing with new content is that you want to put something out that catches the eye. People don’t want to read the same thing over and over again; they want to read a new take on things. The best way you can do this is by writing long and detailed authoritative pieces. These detailed posts can also be known as pillar content because they act as a pillar with branches out to other content.

Focused Engagement has a blog post called “8 Retail Marketing Strategies In A Post-COVID World” which branches out to 8 different blog posts on our website. Because of its wide reach, this post has the potential to gain a lot of backlinks. If you have a good internal linking scheme, this can do wonders for your website and business as a whole.   

Write ultimate guides

According to Brian Dean at Backlinko.com, ultimate guides are a very good method for gaining major backlinks. This is true because when you make yourself an authority in your niche, other sites do not have a choice but to either link to your content, illegally copy it, or attempt to write their own version. These ultimate guides should encompass everything in a topic and help you lead your niche, whatever it may be. Ultimate guides should be more than 3,000 words depending on the topic and sometimes they can eclipse 10,000 words. These take a lot of time and effort to write, but they are well worth it when you get a continuous stream of backlinks.  

See how your competition is doing it

If you happen to operate out of an industry that has many competing companies, you will have no choice but to pay attention to what they are doing. They may be doing things that you have not thought of and could really benefit your business. When they are getting backlinks, you must pay attention to get some for your company to keep up in the race for more business. There are many tools that you can use to track your competitors and their backlinks including the Focused Engagement-endorsed SEMrush.

Reach out to journalists/blog writers

Whether you like it or not, blog writers and journalists have a big influence on the way that your business can be perceived. By sending some quick emails to writers, you can get the word out about your business and potentially have guest posting and backlinking opportunities. Make sure your pitch is concise and to-the-point. You want to make it simple and understandable, so it is not too much to read.

Focused Engagement can help

After reading through this guide to backlinking, the concept may seem a little bit overwhelming. But there is no reason to fear because Focused Engagement can help you with all your backlinking needs and so much more! Check out our services page and contact us today for a FREE audit of your business.