Links from other websites are one of the ways search engines judge how well known and trusted a business is. Google's own guidance on local ranking says prominence is based on information from across the web, including links. For a local business, the links that matter are rarely from big national sites. They are from the organisations and people around you.
Local link building is not about volume or tricks. It is about making sure the real relationships your business already has show up online, and creating a few more. This guide lists the sources that work for almost any UK business, how to ask, and what to avoid.
What makes a good local link
- Relevance: the linking site is related to your area, your industry or your customers.
- Genuineness: the link exists because of a real relationship, event, membership or story.
- Usefulness: someone reading that page might genuinely click through to you.
- Editorial context: a link within a sentence or listing that describes you, rather than a bare link in a sidebar of hundreds.
Links you probably already qualify for
Most established businesses have a handful of links they have never claimed. Start here, because these are relationships that already exist.
| Source | Example | How to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Trade and professional bodies | Gas Safe Register, NICEIC, the Law Society's Find a Solicitor, the Federation of Master Builders, the Hair and Beauty Industry Authority | Log into your member profile and add your website |
| Suppliers and manufacturers | Approved installer lists, stockist finders, 'where to buy' pages | Email your rep and ask to be listed |
| Local business groups | Chamber of commerce, BID (business improvement district), networking groups | Update your member directory entry |
| Accreditation and awards | Local business awards, industry awards you have genuinely won or been shortlisted for | Ask the organiser to link your name to your site |
| Partners | A wedding venue's recommended suppliers, an estate agent's list of trusted trades | Ask, and offer to list them in return where it is genuinely useful |
Links you can create through the community
- Sponsor a local sports club, school event, fun run or charity. Most list sponsors on their website; ask for a link to yours. Sponsorship links should be marked by the site as sponsored if the link is part of a paid arrangement; that is fine, and it still sends visitors and local signals.
- Host or take part in an event: a workshop, open day, tasting, charity fundraiser or talk. Event listing sites, local what's-on pages and the organisers' sites all link.
- Offer a venue or expertise: a café hosting a book club, an accountant giving a free talk at the library, a garage running a winter car check for a residents' association.
- Join local directories that are real and edited, such as a town's independent business guide or a council-backed directory, rather than mass-produced link directories.
Local news, and content that earns links on its own
Local newspapers and news websites still need stories, and a genuine local story often earns a link. What counts as a story: a milestone (ten years trading), a new branch or jobs created, a charity effort, an apprentice qualifying, something unusual (the salon that does free haircuts for people going to job interviews), or a useful seasonal warning from an expert (a heating engineer on what to check before winter).
Write a short, factual email to the news desk: what happened, why it matters locally, who to contact and a good photo. Not every story will run, and not every article will link to you, but the ones that do are among the most valuable links a local business can have.
Some pages attract links because they are useful to other people in your area. They take more effort, but they keep earning for years.
- A genuinely helpful local guide: a physio's map of accessible walking routes, a wedding photographer's guide to venues in the county, a dog groomer's list of dog-friendly beaches with seasonal restrictions.
- Data you hold that others do not: a letting agent's rents by area, a garage's most common MOT failures, a restaurant's local producers list.
- Clear answers to questions local people ask: bin collection changes, parking rules near your shop, planning basics for extensions.
What Google calls link spam
Google's spam policies describe link spam as creating links primarily to manipulate rankings. It includes buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, excessive link exchanges ('link to me and I'll link to you'), large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich links, and automated programs that create links.
Google's guidance on qualifying outbound links explains that paid or sponsored links should carry rel="sponsored", and user-generated links rel="ugc". That is the site owner's job, but it is worth knowing: if someone offers to sell you a 'dofollow link' for SEO, they are offering exactly what Google's policies prohibit.
- Be wary of emails offering guaranteed links on high-authority sites for a fee.
- Avoid networks of generic directories that list any business for payment.
- Do not swap links with unrelated businesses purely for SEO.
- Do not pay for blog posts written only to link to you, unless they are clearly marked as sponsored.
How to ask for a link without being awkward
Most people who could link to you simply have not thought about it. A short, specific, friendly email works far better than a generic request. Say who you are, point to exactly where the link would go, and make it easy.
For example: 'Hi Sam, thanks again for having us as a sponsor of the under-12s this season. I noticed our name is on the sponsors page but it isn't linked. Would you be able to link it to www.ourbusiness.co.uk? Happy to send a logo if that helps.' That is the whole email. Most people say yes, and those who do not have not been put out.
Keep a simple list of who you asked, when, and whether the link went live. Follow up once after a fortnight, then leave it.
A realistic monthly routine
- Month one: claim every membership, supplier and association link you already qualify for.
- Every month: note anything newsworthy that happened and whether it could become a local story or event.
- Every quarter: approach one community organisation about sponsorship or support you would do anyway.
- Once a year: create or update one genuinely useful local resource on your website.
- Ongoing: when someone mentions your business online without linking, a polite email asking them to add a link often works.
How to tell if it is working
In Google Search Console, the Links report shows which sites link to you and which of your pages they link to. Check it every few months. Over time, you should see more local and industry sites appear, and ideally more visits from those sites in your analytics. Rankings respond slowly to links, and there is no fixed number that guarantees results, so judge the effort by the quality of the relationships and the visits they send.
If you would like help building a sensible local link plan alongside your website, it is part of the local SEO support we offer at £49/month. We do not buy links, and we would tell you to be cautious of anyone who does.