Your Neighbors Have Websites. Use That.
The business next door has a website. The coffee shop down the street has a blog. The gym around the corner has a "local partners" page.
Each one is a potential backlink waiting to happen.
Partnership Link Strategies
Cross-promotions. Partner with a complementary business and feature each other on your websites. A wedding photographer partners with a florist. A gym partners with a nutritionist. A realtor partners with a home inspector.
Guest blog posts. Write a post for a partner's blog. They write one for yours. You both get links and fresh content. Our guest post strategy guide shows you how to do this without looking spammy.
Resource pages. Create a "Local Resources" page on your site featuring partner businesses. Ask them to do the same.
Bundle deals. Create a joint offer with a partner and build a landing page together. Both sites link to it.
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How to Approach Partners
Don't lead with "I want a backlink." That's weird.
Lead with value. "Hey, I think our customers would benefit from knowing about your business. Want to cross-promote?"
The link happens naturally as part of the relationship.
The Quality Filter
Not every local business is worth partnering with for SEO purposes. Look for:
Anyhoo. Moz's local SEO guide has excellent criteria for evaluating link partnership quality.
Local partnerships are a win-win-win. You get links. They get links. Your customers get better recommendations. It's one of the local link building strategies that scales naturally.
Part of the Plan
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