There are SEO consultants all over the world who write about how to get backlinks. And while the strategy is correct, the tactics rarely apply to a local small business website.
So, how do we take all the learning from these good SEO authors and make it relevant to your small business? First we must understand why a website will link to a small business website in the first place.
There a 4 broad link categories.
- Directories
- Blogs
- Resources
- Recommendations
Directories
This first one is easy. Directories want to be useful to their readers, so they include as much info about each business as they are able, including the URL. Some directories might be no follow, some do follow. Either way, that would not discourage you from listing in one. The Domain Authority (DA) is a good metric to compare directories. Moz’s Open Site Explorer https://moz.com/researchtools/ose is the easy way to discover DA.
If you are picking directories, I recommend you steer clear of paid mass submissions. A directory usually only provides a weak ranking signal, so obtaining hundreds is of little benefit. Not to mention that most of these services are global, centered around North America. For an Australian local business you really want Australian directories. Even better if they are in your city, or nationwide about your niche.
We have created our top list of free Australian web directories we recommend you submit your business to. And it can be done in waves. We have split it into the top 10, then the next 20.
Generally the free directories are enough for SEO. Some paid directories, like http://localsearch.com.au in your local area have proven to bring in fresh enquiries for some of our clients.
Others, like http://hipages.com.au have become some clients’ primary promotion strategy.
Again, in some industries like house painting in Sydney, businesses like http://ColourElegance.com.au are listing in trade sites like http://Dulux.com.au for the added exclusivity of a link from a highly related site in their niche.
Blogs
When it comes to blogging, Australia doesn’t have quite the same scale of audience as many international blogs have. So, there are fewer of them, and with smaller readership. Regardless, if they are a relevant blog, you can get great results from a link.
For ideal results, search for blogs about your local area, or about your niche industry (or even related industries).
A blogger typically won’t link to your site. But they might link to an awesome page on your website. And this is where content and SEO really do become one and the same. A blogger is interested in enhancing their own blog. So, putting yourself in their shoes will pay dividends. Read their stuff; how active are they? What do they write about? Who do they link to? Answering these questions will help you to target your approach.
Will you offer yourself as an expert to create a super helpful article that will be of interest to their readers and enhance their blog? Then you might approach them for a guest post spot on their blog. (A note about guest blogging, write your link naturally in the body of the content, in a natural paragraph, using the URL as the anchor. Google has wisened up and limited the effectiveness of signature links, or worse, keyword stuffing the anchor.)
Is there something on your site (or can you quickly build something) that will be of interest to them? Then alert them to the content that is of interest to the readers of the blog. The blogger may well write a post with a link.
Perhaps they are interested in your service, and of curating a list for their readers about suppliers in the local area. You might be able to score an editorial article like this one about a local wedding photographer in the Hunter Valley: http://huntervalleyhousewife.com/have-you-heard/michelle-leigh-photography/
Resources
Google knows that users want the internet to be fast, secure and useful. That’s why we recommend:
- boosting page load speed,
- using SSL and other security measures, and
- making your website useful to readers!
Useful web pages attract links (especially if you do some early and effective promotion of your content).
For most small businesses, their home page needs to answer 3 questions:
- Do they do what I need?
- Do they work in my local area?
- How do I contact them?
Answer those, and you have a useful home page. A typical example of an effective home page for customers is this one by a Central Coast Blinds and Awnings shop: http://www.emporiumblinds.com.au/.
But no one (except directories) will naturally link to that. To make a site link-worthy, you need other pages aimed at readers, not your customers. That’s where creating useful content on other pages of your site comes in. Take this for an example, graffiti cleaning. Hard to do, most people don’t know how, but maybe you have a need to clean some at your place. In that case you’d need a guide on all different types of graffiti cleaning. Enter this website’s helpful guide: http://colourelegance.com.au/graffiti-removal-any-surface/. When readers find this, and like it, if they have the means they will promote it. Because promoting helpful stuff is good for their profile. Maybe they’ll tweet about it, or if they have a blog they might throw it on there.
That is content marketing.
Take another example. Readers love DIY. Asbestos removal is both expensive to get a professional crew and scary to attempt it yourself. Enter a helpful guide to take the mystery out of it: http://transtox.com.au/diy-asbestos-removal/. This definitely helps to remove mystery. It is a great content piece that offers value to readers and a reason to build a link.
Recommendations
Are you a local tradie who has good relationships with other trades? Put a page on your site of recommendations. Businesses always get calls about “do you do this… No? Can you recommend someone?” Harness that tendency and build a page of links. You don’t need to make it prominent on your website (you may not want to burn any bridges!). But once the page exists, you can begin to approach those local businesses to do the same. You can ask them to consider doing the same and putting your name on there.
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