Success Case: Link Building in Local SEO
Discover the impact of link building on local SEO through a real case. We unveil strategies, results, and practical tips.
Autor Invitado
2 years ago
In the current era of SEO, we face growing challenges and complexities in constant evolution. As search engine optimization specialists, it is crucial to filter relevant information and stay updated on market trends.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has generated discussions around the automation of tasks such as keyword research, content writing, and optimization of internal and external linking. Despite these claims, the value of an SEO specialist remains irreplaceable and undeniable. A clear example of this is that in this post we will tell you how by applying Link Building, we have managed to rank a local business website in the Top 10.
Link building applied to Local SEO
As we mentioned, the success case of this local business has been thanks to link building, quality content, and good metrics on Google. We are talking about Avannza Psychology, a psychology office in Seville that had no traffic on its website for years.
Francisco Hidalgo, director of Avannza Psychology, after some bad experiences with agencies, decided to try to do positioning on his own. However, he did not achieve the expected results. So he contacted us.
We launched the new Avannza website in August, after achieving two visits through SEO in July. The plan was to launch all services, gradually adding commercial posts to the blog and gradually increasing the authority, until reaching the industry average in the Top 10. To calculate authority, we used the main indicators from the SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and Majestic markets.
- In August, we achieved around 300 visits through SEO. With almost all services in the Top 20 in Seville and with some posts ranked in the Top 30. We started creating links on related sites in Seville.
- In September, we reached 800 visits through SEO, with an increase in overall ranking. We continued creating links, mainly local and thematic.
- From here, the numbers began to multiply: 4,000 visits in December, 11,000 in January, 16,000 in February, 31,000 in March, and 50,000 in April.
We always followed the same path: content with searches and quality, continuous improvement of service content, and trying to stay at the industry average authority. The truth is that in the last three months there has been hardly any link building work. We had reached the industry average and were trying to gradually increase, without hurry.
All services ranked in the Top 10 in Seville, and blog posts surpassed competitors with similar authority. If a competitor had content that we had not addressed, we could already know that we could surpass them in the rankings, as we had done in the past (Hence, the importance of studying and observing what your direct competition does). When you control your own authority and that of the competition, you can already intuit that you can rank what you are going to publish.
Can a local business rank without links?
The answer is yes, but only in very specific and limited cases. This could be possible if the competition does not have higher quality content or greater authority in their domain than ours. However, in the real world of business and local SEO, where we work as SEO consultants, such scenarios are becoming increasingly rare.
The top positions in search results are usually occupied by quality content, and competitors' domains often possess some authority thanks to link building.
However, there are opportunities in less competitive market niches, such as those monetized through AdSense and where companies do not compete directly.
In summary, although it is theoretically possible to rank without link building, in practice it is extremely difficult in competitive business environments. The options are limited in sectors such as locksmithing, plumbing, or psychology, for example.
Link building to rank local businesses
In recent years, Google has made significant changes to its algorithm, affecting how search results are displayed for specific keywords. Previously, certain keywords generated similar results across an entire country; however, they can now yield different results depending on the location where the search is performed. This is particularly evident in sectors like electricians, psychologists, and plumbers.
Local SEO represents an undeniable opportunity for local businesses, as it allows them to compete in their specific territory instead of facing companies from across the country. This change has created new opportunities to stand out and grow in the local market that surrounds us.
One of the advantages of local businesses is that they usually have lower digital authority, making link building a key strategy to differentiate themselves from nearby competition.
In summary, Google has leveled the playing field for local businesses, providing new opportunities to stand out and compete in their specific geographical area. Link building becomes a powerful tool for differentiation and improving search engine rankings, without the need for large monthly investments. Thus, local businesses can make the most of their resources and effectively compete against their competitors.
Tips to improve your Local SEO strategy
Don't leave everything in the hands of AI
As SEO specialists, we would like to share some strategies you should avoid when approaching local SEO:
- Allowing AI to determine the theme of your content without the supervision of a professional.
- Letting AI write your content without additional review by a human subject matter expert.
- Hiring someone to follow your own instructions without consulting an SEO specialist about your real needs.
- Trying to carry out link building by yourself, relying solely on AI or not doing it at all.
Following these not recommended strategies can lead to unsatisfactory results. Relying solely on AI and not involving professionals in the process can compromise the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts.
Trust a professional
We recommend working with SEO specialists who can provide personalized guidance tailored to your specific needs. This will help you set concrete goals for a successful strategy. It will allow you to make the most of opportunities in local SEO and significantly improve the visibility of your digital business against your closest competitors.
Enhancing the link building strategy with the blog
The blog serves to give greater depth and breadth to services. It is a very powerful tool if used correctly and the right content is chosen. Using it to boost commercial content will help with the positioning of target URLs.
An example: we can have a service of psychologist for teenagers, with all the details about it. However, we can write an article about bullying and link it to the service. In that article, we acknowledge the problem and provide our solution through treatment. In other words, we are relating the blog to the service, expanding its content, and generating opportunities to capture more leads.
Generating traffic through Link building
The key to link building
is to get users from a different website to come to our website or at least for that site linking to us to have visits. If we manage to get the URL linking to us to have visits for our target keyword, we will achieve a significant quality leap in the rankings. We just need to recognize those opportunities.
Monetizing traffic
Once you achieve a site with many visits, it means you have a lot of data. You can try to convert users into leads and contact them via email. Another option is to use cookies to run retargeting campaigns on Google, Facebook, and Instagram.
SEO data poured into a conversion funnel allows you to recontact users at a very low CPL cost. The acquisition cost of SEO is incredibly low in the long term. If we also manage to get traffic from those sites linking to us, we are getting double performance.
Local authority to attract potential customers
Among the advantages of Link Building applied in local businesses is the improvement of authority, an aspect that Google increasingly takes into account. Hence, the importance of working to achieve good local authority for your business.
A strategy that will provide you with that differentiation you need against your closest competition and that also brings you many benefits: greater interaction with your neighbors, better presentation of your products or services, and greater visibility in your direct area of action.
Need help with your Link Building strategy?
Our team of experts is ready to help you boost your project with personalized strategies
Contact us nowConclusion
If you want to succeed with your local business website, you need:
- To have equal or better content than the best-ranked.
- To have equal or more authority than the best-ranked.
- To appear in local search results.
There are no more mysteries: a professional can create a website as good as the competition, achieve the necessary authority through different strategies like link building and improve already published content. Moreover, knowing that the impact at the local level will be much greater.
We encourage you to take into account what is stated in this article and get to work on local SEO as soon as possible. It will bring you many more benefits than you think, and without a doubt, Google is increasingly betting on this more local version.
