Are you looking for ways to drive more locally relevant traffic from search engines to your website? Or do you want your website to rank higher for search queries with local intent? In either case, chances are you’ve outlined a local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy targeting relevant keywords.

Whether you’re running a retail store or consultancy service in Chicago, climbing to the top of relevant Google search results isn’t easy. Chicago – one of the most flourishing economies in the U.S. – is home to a plethora of local businesses. Irrespective of the niche and size of your business, you should be prepared to face stiff competition.

It emphasizes the importance of working with an experienced Chicago SEO company to maximize your business’s search engine visibility. The right digital marketing firm will deploy powerful local link-building techniques to skyrocket your website’s search engine ranking.

In this blog, we’ll discuss a few useful local link-building tactics to help you get started. But let’s first understand why backlinks are important for local Chicago businesses.

Link Building in Local SEO: A Closer Look

According to a recent survey, 63% of local SEO specialists believe that link building is “very effective” for improving their website’s search engine ranking. It isn’t surprising considering that genuine and high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites act as a stamp of approval for your website.

They tell search engines that your website is considered a respectable and trusted source of industry-specific information. This, in turn, positively impacts your website’s search engine ranking. 

Also, it enhances your brand’s credibility and reputation. It even helps your website attract locally relevant visitors, thus resulting in more in-store traffic and sales.

It is, however, worth mentioning that link building for local SEO isn’t simply about publishing a few guest posts. You need a concrete strategy to systematically attract more local backlinks.

How to Get Started With Local Link Building?

Whether you’re working with a Chicago SEO company or managing your local SEO strategy in-house, the following link building tactics will come in handy:

1. Get the Basics Right

Start by creating social media profiles and a Google My Business page for your company (if you haven’t done that already). Make sure you provide accurate and up-to-date information about your business. Don’t forget to include the URL to your business website in the bio or “About” section of your social media profiles.

2. Take a Cue from Your Competitors

When it comes to identifying link-building opportunities, nothing compares to analyzing a local competitor’s inbound link profile. Use a competitor analysis tool for a detailed glimpse of the referring domains to your competitor’s website.

It’ll help you identify domains that have added links to your competitor’s website but not to yours. These are the domains you need to harness to strengthen your local SEO strategy. Reach out to the website admins or owners to identify suitable link-building opportunities.

3. Harness Broken Backlinks

Evaluating the backlinks on a competitor’s website will also help you identify broken links. These are non-functional pages on their website that still have plenty of referring domains. You can use these broken links to your advantage by connecting with the owners or admins of those domains.

Let them know that the page they’re linking to is no longer available. Also, include links to relevant blog posts and other web pages on your website that they could use.

4. Identify Sponsorship Opportunities

Giving back to the local community is one of the best ways of enhancing the credibility of your brand. When correctly done, it can even help you earn a few authentic backlinks. The sponsored entity would be more than willing to feature your brand name, logo, or URL on their website.

To begin with, you could sponsor local events that are related to your niche. Identify conferences, meetups, and networking events that are organized for professionals in your industry. Alternatively, you could also sponsor sports tournaments and fundraisers in Chicago. Make sure you ask the organizers to add a backlink to your website.

Similarly, you could sponsor non-profit organizations operating in Chicago. It’s a great way to earn goodwill while boosting brand awareness and reputation. If you’re lucky, you might even get featured in a few online news publications. Keep an eye out for unlinked mentions, and reach out to the authors or admins with your website URL.

If you’re running a local business in Chicago, it’s important to use the right SEO services to generate high-quality local backlinks for your website. Utilize sponsorship opportunities to build your brand image and website rankings. Also, keep an eye on the domains linking to your competitors’ websites.