Link Building for the Small Business Owner
Sometimes we have a hard time convincing local business owners that online marketing and SEO in Tulsa is a smart 
investment. Link building can be a hard sell, because most local businesses don’t make the bulk of their sales online. For a local business, link building may not make sense at all because the majority of their customers come through the door. What we try to emphasize is that a website and a proper link building campaign is a great way to drive those customers to your door – especially when they are looking for a local business online and your business turns up for something like “Tulsa auto repair”.
To see the value of link building for your local business, you need to think in terms of “word of mouth”. Word of mouth marketing is incredibly powerful, and as a business owner you know first hand how it can drive traffic to your business.
In the world of search, link building is a lot like word of mouth. The more relevant links you have for your targeted keywords, the more authority you gain with the search engines. The search algorithm used by search engines like Google sees all those links and interprets them as people talking about you, or referring your site to others. That moves your business to the top of the search results, thus improving your visibility.
That visibility helps, because a large number of people attribute top search rank to “better” sites. Most of your customers don’t understand how SEO works. They just know when they search, they see you. That must naturally mean that you’re better than your competitors in some way, so they take that credibility and start shopping with you.
Link Building Tips
Want to give link building a shot but don’t know where to start? Here are a few tips to help you start link building for your local business.
Link Building for Local – #1 Offer Internet Only Coupons
Most major cities are tied into deal seeker websites and forums. Many of those sites are frequented by thousands of registered subscribers. If you offer web-based coupons, you can often get featured on these sites. Not only does this create traffic and visibility on a local level but those sites typically create links that point back to the coupon page of your website. Many members will start reposting the offer on blogs and social media, creating additional links as well.
Link Building for Local – #2 Ask customers
There’s no harm in asking customers to link to your website. You can even offer them a referral incentive for creating links and sending customers your way. This can be as complex as a blog review or as simple as sharing the link via social media or a quick review in a local business listing (like Google Places or Yahoo Local)
Link Building for Local – #3 Ask Vendors
If you’re selling products for Vendor A, B and Supplier C then ask each of them to add you to a local distribution or reseller list on their website. The link contributes to your SEO and link building strategy and it makes it easier for customers to find you as well.
Link Building for Local – #4 Do a Press Release
Most print publications now mirror their news with online publication. The benefit to the online publication is that links are typically included for businesses and sources. Sending out a press release can get you a link from the online version of the article if they choose to use it.
If you need help with link building, or (like many business owners) simply can’t find the time to generate more online interest then come and talk to us! At Tulsa Internet Marketing Services, we strive to improve your online visibility because your success is our success.
