10 Kick Ass White Hat Local SEO Link Building Tips

Despite working with many enterprise clients during my two+ decades in digital marketing, the most gratifying responses I've received were those from local businesses.

There are certain patterns in our strategies for each local business. The process begins with a cleanup of technical website issues paralleled by strong content creation and garnering authoritative local links. As search engine algorithms become smarter on a daily basis, this link building must be white hat – highly ethical and in line with Google's terms and conditions.

With that said, here are my top 10 white hat local SEO link building tips:

(1) Do Competitor Research

Just like any business strategy, competitive research is first. Begin by targeting two or three competitors and run a backlink report using a tool like semrush. Next, do a Google search for the keywords you’re attempting to rank for and take note of the top 15 results.

Once you identify a prospective linking partner, you need to identify why they should also link to you. Have your information available, reach out and request a link. Don’t be afraid to cold call; sometimes this works best, and it’s still the?main tactic we recommend to clients.

(2) Publish Loads Of Content Onsite

Start publishing content on your website’s blog as soon as possible; this will establish your expertise in your industry and garner link backs when people share the content.

Produce content that solves problems, adds value, and becomes a resource center for your industry. Some of the best stories published on our site are listicles and posts featuring infographics, which people can quickly share via social media. These help garner more exposure for the brand and earn valuable link backs.

(3) Get Published Offsite

Besides publishing content on your own blog, contribute to quality third-party websites within your industry. From my experience of building links, two staples remain for successful link backs from third-party websites: consistency (twice per month) and sustained links (over two years) have the?greatest impact.

Also, be flexible; ask prospective publishers what specific content they are seeking and sign up for HARO (Help a Reporter Out) for resources. For advanced uses of HARO for building links reach out to my team at LSEO.

(4) Highlight Your Awards And Badges

Good work is awarded; highlight your achievements in all marketing material. LSEO has received numerous awards and badges which are mentioned across all our online platforms to further expose expertise and to help strengthen our brand for link backs.

One of the first questions you should ask clients is if they have any awards or credits they can share to strengthen their brand. This immediately establishes credibility and helps with linkbacks.

(5) Hold Contests And Giveaways

Contests and giveaways are another great way to earn linkbacks. Create contests and giveaways that require or encourage linkbacks or social shares. Always have multiple prizes so there are multiple winners and share via all social platforms, even boosting some ads for additional exposure.

We continually run contests for free audits, for example. All it requires is a shared post to garner entry. Most times these go viral, helping to thicken our link profile. Besides social media, we work with bloggers in our industry who also give us mentions, further building our link profile.

(6) Donate To Charities

Most local nonprofits host sponsor or donor pages, as do some national charities. First, research and see which charities in your community offer link back opportunities, then contact the person in charge.

Sometimes a donation as little as $50 or $100 can earn you a link from a high authority domain. If a nonprofit that you regularly donate to doesn’t have a donor page, ask them to create one; it’ll show the value you want to add and help further strengthen your authority as a perfect business to link to.

(7) Be Placed In Directory Listings

Think of directory listings as the online telephone book, but with more information on your business and more reach. The two major ones are Moz and Yext. Moz Local starts at $129 per year and submits your business to all five major U.S. data aggregators. Yext costs more than triple Moz per year but submits to over 100 directories, including Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yelp.

(8) Sponsor Events, Dinners And Parties

There are dozens of events in your industry that need sponsorships, which include “sponsor pages” that can get your some additional links. Each opportunity usually includes official party and dinner sponsorships; stay current on what’s going on in your industry and try to secure a spot as early as possible. LSEO has sponsored some dinners at local business building conferences, helping to garner some links from local government websites, which carry strong domain authority.

(9) Create Widgets, Games Or Quizzes

People love sharing widgets, games and quizzes. Widgets offer link backs from high authority third-party websites. Games and quizzes can be a source of significant traffic and link backs. Think like you would for writing your blogs; produce widgets, games and quizzes that entertain, add value and educate.

(10) Tell People About Errors On Their Site And Use It As An Opportunity

Constant education is a must for success in any industry, which means you’re doing loads of research across the web. Sometimes you will find broken links on other websites and have a page on your own website that provides similar information. Reach out to the webmaster and inform them that they have a broken link on their site and offer them a substitute to a resource on your own site.

Success Comes When You Combine Tactics and Strategy

Link building is still the ultimate way to build domain strength, which equates to higher search engine results page (SERP) results. But the process takes some tactics and a disciplined strategy – and all tactics must be white hat. These 10 have helped me garner success not only for my personal businesses?but also for clients.

About the author:

Kristopher B. Jones is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and best-selling author. In 1998 Kris founded digital marketing and affiliate network Pepperjam, which he sold to eBay Enterprise (NASDAQ - EBAY) in 2009. In 2010 Kris founded KBJ Capital to invest in early stage technology companies. Kris has made over 25 investments, including as cofounder of entertainment booking app?Special Guest?alongside actor / comedian Damon Wayans, Jr. with venture backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners (Jeremy Liew), Precursor Ventures (Charles Hudson), and multiple celebrities (Kevin Hart, Jake Johnson, Marlon Wayans...)

Kris is most widely known as one of the top SEO and growth marketers in the world. In 2008 Kris authored the best-selling book of all-time on SEO called "SEO Visual Blueprint," which has sold over 100,000 copies. Over the last 20 years Kris has worked with over 250 of the top brands in the world. In 2014 Kris founded enterprise SEO and digital marketing powerhouse?LSEO.com?- LSEO was a finalist for "SEO Agency of the Year" in the United States in 2018 and 2020 (US Search Awards). To find out how to scale your SEO and digital marketing visit?https://lseo.com/