I’m not saying that topical link building isn’t important; it definitely is if you’re working in YMYL categories. But for industries outside of YMYL, your goal should be local link building.
Your focus should be on engaging the local community.
Before I abandon everything and go hong kong phone number for whatsapp down this route, I think it would be a good idea to create a link benchmark report. You can grab a copy of a spreadsheet I created here . The second sheet is an example I chose, at random.
A benchmark can help you see where you are lacking instead of blindly building links. With more emphasis on machine learning and structured data, we need to realize that local links help infer that your website is a legitimate local entity.
In many cases agencies and business owners will simply look for sponsorship opportunities to get in front of their local audience and retain some of the benefits of a local link. Local sponsorships are a great way to earn local links, increase your local visibility, and get found by potential clients.
More often than not, they have more benefits than just a link, including;
Social mentions on their social media channels
Mentions in newsletters
Event recognition (if possible)
Get seen by potential customers
Effectively building a local brand
Do you know what your current customers care about outside of your products and services? Maybe, but probably not. There are several ways to find out this information, each with its own pros and cons.
