Link building is often viewed as something that is more suited for large companies. Small businesses do not have the budgets or man-power to undertake large scale link building campaigns. Building links tends to be very labor intensive and time consuming and small business owners usually have too many other things going on to focus on a major link building project. However, there are ways for small businesses to efficiently use the time and resources they do have to effectively build links.
Focus on Quality Guest Blogging
One of the most common ways for a small business to build links for their website is through guest blogging. However, the key here is to focus on quality guest blogging. As mentioned before, small businesses do not have the time or money to implement a massive link building strategy, so it is crucial to get the most out of every link that is built.
One way for small businesses to build high quality links that will provide the most SEO value is by focusing on relevancy. Focusing on relevancy is widely regarded as a link building best practice, but small businesses can take this a step further by targeting sites that are specific to their geographical location for their links. Creating content that covers or discusses local topics and news can work great for getting links from these sites and will provide content that is valuable to the appropriate target audience.
By providing content that is valuable to their target audience, a small business can encourage social sharing of that content which further increases its SEO value. By being active on social media networks a small business can encourage social sharing of their content simply by sharing it themselves on these various networks. Through Google Plus the author of the content can claim Google Authorship to boost credibility and the overall efficacy of their link building efforts.
Alternative Linking Methods
Along with guest blogging, there are some other linking strategies that can be effective for small businesses. These strategies focus more on local community interaction.
One strategy is to interview a local industry expert. This can be very useful for readers (which can lead to social sharing) and it gives the business an opportunity to acquire a link from the website of the person being interviewed. Another strategy involves sponsoring a local event or making a donation to a charity. Often times this can lead to that business being listed as a sponsor on the corresponding charity or company’s site, which results in a backlink.
Engagement within the local community can be used to leverage relationships and network for possible linking sources. A small business can use these relationships to get links from current or past customers who have websites/blogs, industry partners, or even other small businesses in the community.
Don’t Forget Directories
Directories are a large part of small business local SEO and cannot be ignored. Getting listed on directories like Yelp or Foursquare can be very beneficial and provide a small business with great links. To get an idea for which directories to get listed on a small business can use a tool like Open Site Explorer to see where their competitors are acquiring links from and then target those same sites.
Guest blogging, with a focus on quality over quantity, can be a very useful link building practice for small businesses. Also, utilizing existing or future relationships from community involvement, as well as getting listed on pertinent directories, can help round out a small businesses link building efforts. Despite lacking the time and resources to undergo immense and vigorous link building campaigns, it is possible for small businesses to successfully build links that are both useful and beneficial.
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