Are local links really more important than going national?

 Link building is a vital and important part of your over SEO marketing strategy and can’t be ignored. However, confusion seems to reign regarding link building to the point where one is unsure whether to pursue the national links or cultivate your local and regional area.

Local SEO is a different strategy…

First off, where is most of your business likely to come from? That is where you must concentrate and it is always a great SEO marketing advantage to concentrate on your local region. Search engines react much differently to local SEO than they do to national. Your local SEO efforts include geographic designations and it is actually a different algorithm than the national one. Local organic search is a serious key to your potential customers finding you.

Ensuring strong local links…

 One thing that Google does evaluate when producing a SERP is the perceived quality of your business. The bots troll review sites as well as various comments generated by your business. In general, though, just follow strong SEO marketing practices such as viable and engaging content, trying to establish quality links, and engaging with your audience in efforts to produce strong reviews and positive comments. Also, make sure you are in all of the local and regional directories and establish relationships with local businesses and organizations.

 You are who you hang around with…

 Establishing your business as an authority means you must be associated with the leaders in your industry and in business in general. Finding the proper combination of authoritative links and engaging content is the ultimate goal of your SEO marketing strategy. When it comes to calling up the three top names on a SERP, Google looks for local authority and your standing in the local area. Linking to authoritative sources in your region is extremely beneficial.

Link building can’t be ignored or set aside as something separate from your overall SEO marketing strategy. Combined with quality content and other SEO best practices, it can be a major force in your climb to the top of the rankings.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer