5 Local Link Building Tips. Consider Link Building Beyond SEO to Recover from Penguin/Panda Setback

I have been answering a lot of phone calls and my Inbox is full with emails from clients who believe that they have been hit by the Penguin update, Google’s new algorithm targeting Webspam. Or maybe they have been hit by the Panda? It is not clear. But it is clear that for some the traffic has come down drastically and the situation is grim.

The worst hit, I believe, are those local business owners who have spent a considerable amount from their limited marketing budget to buy link building schemes.  Probably, they got into such situation as they believed that link building is a quicker way to generate traffic than a long term marketing plan. But now it is clear that it is not so.

So here are some local link building tips that are time tested and at the same time they do not infuriate Google.

Sponsor Some Local Sports Event

Take the initial step and sponsor your kid’s baseball team. You can have your business name printed on their jerseys. This is cheap and can help in building awareness about your business among your target audience, the local crowd.

If you do the things right then it may also get you a link on the league’s official website. This is called Citation is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) terminology.

Associate with a Cause

There are many celebrities that support many social causes. This is a brilliant way to spread word and build trust among the members of the society. Being a local business you can sponsor a fundraising event or be a fundraiser for a social cause. This will certainly help you gain link or two from the media sites.

Be an Active Member of your Local Business Association

Being an active member of your local business association would mean a good networking opportunity. In addition to that it will also mean getting citation/recommendations from other local businesses. This in turn means that other local businesses will help you market your business.

Host a Contest

I am not asking you to host a big event instead I am suggesting you host small contests like Pie Eating contests or something similar. You need to come up with innovative ideas that are not only cheap but are also a hit among the local crowd. Hosting contests would mean spreading word about your business (people like to find out who is hosting the event).

Make Your Business Video

One of the greatest things about the Internet is that it is very cheap to make and immediately distribute your business videos.

Find a local talent or use a marketplace website to find talent that can get you a video done about your local business. Have your business goals conveyed to the artist and ask them to come up with an attention grabbing video that generates links too.

The 5 link building tips that I just divulged should assure you that the Penguins and the Pandas are not to be scared of. There are many more similar link building techniques that you can use to generate more traffic to your local business.  You should not consider SEO or Link building through spammy link schemes to be a substitute for your marketing plan.

SEO and Link Building should be an integral part of your online marketing strategy but as a local business owner there is a lot more you can do to gain traffic and generate revenue.