There are several strategies that companies can use to build backlinks in terms of improving their local SEO strategies. Improving their SEO efforts means that companies will begin able to generate a lot more website traffic, and turn that website traffic into more sales.
Review websites
According to studies, most consumers tend to read online reviews about different local businesses, and over 80% of those customers tend to look for a high rating of those businesses before they decide to make a purchase. That means companies need to get positive reviews on local review websites because those are the websites that can best help businesses with local link-building goals. To do that, companies should be encouraging existing customers to leave reviews on the right platforms. Those types of platforms include Yelp, Google, and other platforms that are locally popular. Companies can encourage existing customers to leave reviews by offering them incentives and encouraging them to leave their thoughts about the experience they had. Then they can take those reviews and highlight various customer testimonials on social media channels because they make great user-generated content.
Local business directories
Over 90% of customers have used a business directory at least once in the last year when they were trying to learn more about a business. This gives companies a lot of link-building opportunities because they can target specific directories where they can get listed. Some of the popular directories include Facebook, Google, Yelp, Bing, and Foursquare. Companies operating in niches can find even more specific business directories for various regions. Once a company is ready to pitch to a directory, it should be following that directory's instructions very closely. Any key details, such as the opening times and the business website need to be included, alongside a short description of what the business is about. Each detail like that is going to help the directory verify the business, which is going to increase the company's chances of getting accepted and acquiring a backlink to that directory.
Unlinked mentions
Any unlinked brand mentions present a great opportunity for companies to secure more backlinks from authoritative or high-quality websites. This is because it's relatively easy for companies to reach out to the relevant contact, as long as they're familiar with the business. If that contact is already discussing the company, or its products or services, then it's reasonable for the business to ask for a backlink from them. However, it's important to remember that companies don't need to pursue every brand mention, especially if that mention appears on a low-quality website. That's because it's not going to improve the company's website ranking. The best way to figure out which backlinks are worth for the company to pursue is to scan the Internet for any mentions that haven't been linked, and then identify the relevant contacts that the business can reach out to. That contact needs to be the owner of the website, or someone from the marketing department of the platform. Generally, companies can find those details through social media platforms. The last step is to send out an outreach email that's going to complement the platform, thanking it for mentioning the business, and politely explaining the reason why the company is requesting a backlink.
