Local link building

An audit of the link profile and local signals is a check of what the company’s link environment currently looks like and whether the local foundations are consistent and ready to be strengthened. I verify the current links in terms of how local they are and their quality, and also whether consistent NAP data appears across the web and whether suitable local pages exist to link to. This stage makes it possible to identify the elements that need to be fixed before more intensive outreach begins. The results of the audit are also the starting point for a comparison with the local competition.

As part of the audit I carry out three complementary analyses that set out the risks and the priorities of the work. The backlink analysis covers distinguishing local from general links and assessing the anchors, target pages, the topics of the domains and potential risks (e.g. low-quality sources or unnatural anchors). The analysis of citations and NAP consistency consists of verifying the presence in directories and local sites and pointing out the discrepancies to be corrected. The local competitor analysis compares the types of link and citation sources used by competitors and the gaps to be filled, which then informs the choice of link source types depending on the industry and location.

• Analysis of existing backlinks: local vs general, anchors, target pages, domain topics, quality risks.
• Analysis of citations and NAP: presence in directories/local sites, consistency of contact details, a list of discrepancies to be corrected.
• Local competitor analysis: competitors’ link and citation sources and the gaps (directories, media, partners, organisations).

Prospecting and qualifying publication sites means building a list of potential websites from which to obtain a link and assessing their local usefulness and quality. I begin by collecting contacts for local and industry sites, organisations, partners, directories and event pages, and then assign them to a location and the type of planned link. Such a list of prospects organises the work and makes it possible to control where and in what form a mention may appear. This is the stage that directly prepares the outreach and the publication arrangements.

Qualifying prospects means assessing local relevance, topic, credibility and the real possibility of obtaining a link, taking editorial requirements into account. In parallel I identify the risks, including potential spam, PBN and mass directories, in order to limit sources that could lower the quality of the profile. On the basis of this assessment we set the rules for accepting sources: whether the client approves the list of sites before contact or publication and which types of sites are excluded. These rules affect the pace of further work, because contact and publications take place in line with the agreed conditions.

• Building the prospect list: local/industry sites, organisations, partners, directories, event pages; assignment to a location and link type.
• Qualifying prospects: assessing local relevance, credibility, editorial requirements and risks (spam, PBN, mass directories).
• Rules for accepting sources: agreeing approval of the list before contact/publication and the exclusion of specific types of sites.

Monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of local link building means tracking on an ongoing basis the links and citations acquired, the publication statuses, and changes in local visibility and traffic on the target pages. As part of the monitoring I update the log of publications and links so that it reflects the state of the work and compliance with what was agreed. As a result, it is clear which publications are live, which need clarification or correction, and which target pages are actually being strengthened. Such monitoring informs further decisions about which source types to continue with and where to add more work.

In the activity report and recommendations I present a summary of the steps taken and an assessment of the effectiveness of the source types used. The report also contains a list of problems to be fixed (NAP/target pages), if they affect the consistency of local signals and the possibility of further publications. On this basis I prepare a plan for the next steps, based on the current statuses and the observations from the monitoring. The scope and pace of updates depend on how the publications are going and whether the required approvals and corrections on the client’s side are being carried out on an ongoing basis.

• Tracking links and citations: monitoring the mentions acquired and their statuses.
• Observing changes: local visibility and traffic on the target pages being strengthened.
• Activity report and recommendations: summary of the steps, effectiveness of the source types, problems to be fixed and a plan for further work.