Local Backlinks: How to Get Links That Help You Rank Locally
Local backlinks are links from websites connected to the area you serve: local news sites, city blogs, chambers of commerce, community organisations, local suppliers and regional directories. They tell search engines that your business is genuinely part of a place, which supports rankings for “service + city” searches and in the local map results.
This guide covers what counts as a local backlink, where to find them, and how to build them without wasting money. It is part of our complete guide to backlinks.
What are local backlinks?
A local backlink is any link where the linking site has a clear connection to your location. That connection can come from:
- Geography: the site covers your city or region, such as a local newspaper or “things to do in” blog.
- Community: schools, charities, sports clubs, events and associations in your area.
- Business relationships: suppliers, partners, landlords and neighbouring businesses.
- Country and language: for international SEO, a site on the right country domain (such as .de or .co.uk) written in the local language. Our backlinks by country pages cover this level.
Why local backlinks matter for local SEO
Google’s local results weigh relevance, distance and prominence. Links help with prominence: how well known and trusted your business is. A link from your city’s news site or business association is a clear signal that real people in your area know you exist, something a link from an unrelated blog on the other side of the world cannot show.
Local links also send customers. A link from a local event page or community directory is often clicked by people who could actually buy from you, which generic links rarely achieve.
Local backlinks vs general backlinks
| Local backlinks | General backlinks | |
|---|---|---|
| Main benefit | Local relevance and prominence | Topical authority across a wider market |
| Typical sources | Local news, chambers, clubs, suppliers, city blogs | Industry publications, niche blogs, guest posts |
| Authority of each link | Often modest | Varies widely |
| Referral traffic | Often from real local customers | Often from a broader audience |
| Best for | Businesses serving a city or region | Businesses selling nationally or online |
Most local businesses need both: a base of local links for relevance, and some relevant industry links for authority.
The best sources of local backlinks
1. Local citations and business directories
Start with the basics: your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and the main business directories in your country. Many citation links are nofollow, but they confirm your name, address and phone number (NAP) and help customers find you. Keep the details identical everywhere; our free NAP consistency checker compares two listings for you. The full process is in our guide to local citations.
2. Chambers of commerce and trade associations
Membership directories of your local chamber and industry bodies are trusted, relevant and usually permanent. Membership often costs money, but you get a genuine business relationship, not just a link.
3. Local news and media
Local journalists need stories: a new opening, a milestone, a community initiative, useful local data or expert comment. A single article on a regional news site can be one of the strongest local links you earn. See digital PR links for how to pitch.
4. Sponsorships, events and community groups
Sponsoring a youth team, a charity run or a meetup usually earns a link from the organiser’s site, plus real visibility. Choose causes you would support anyway; the link is a bonus, not the purpose.
5. Suppliers, partners and customers
Businesses you already work with often have “partners”, “stockists” or “where to buy” pages. Ask to be listed. Testimonials you give to a supplier can also come with a link.
6. Local guest posts and niche edits
City blogs, local lifestyle sites and regional publications sometimes accept contributed articles or update existing guides. Keep the content useful for local readers. Our guest posts guide and niche edits guide explain how to vet these placements.
A 30-day local link-building plan
- Week 1: Claim and complete your Google Business Profile and the top directories in your country. Fix any NAP inconsistencies.
- Week 2: List every organisation you already have a relationship with (suppliers, associations, clubs, landlords) and ask for a listing or mention.
- Week 3: Find three local story angles (a milestone, a local tip guide, a community project) and pitch them to local media and city blogs.
- Week 4: Look at which local sites link to your competitors and list realistic targets. Our guide to competitor backlink analysis shows how.
Then repeat steps 3 and 4 each month. Local link building is steady work, not a one-off project.
Common local link-building mistakes
- Bulk directory submissions to hundreds of low-quality directories. A few trusted, relevant listings beat hundreds of spammy ones.
- Inconsistent business details across listings, which confuses customers and search engines.
- Exact-match anchors everywhere such as “plumber London” on every link. Local links naturally use your business name.
- Ignoring the right country. If you serve customers in another country, links from that country’s sites matter more than local links at home. See our geo-targeted links service.
FAQ
What are local backlinks?
Local backlinks are links from websites connected to the area you serve, such as local news sites, chambers of commerce, community organisations, local suppliers and regional directories. They signal that your business is part of that community.
Do local backlinks help the Google map pack?
Links are one of the signals Google uses to judge a business’s prominence, which is one of the factors in local results. A complete Google Business Profile, reviews and accurate citations matter too; links alone will not win the map pack.
Are directory links still worth it for local SEO?
Yes, a small number of trusted, relevant directories are worth it, mainly for accurate business information and customer discovery. Mass submissions to low-quality directories are not.
How many local backlinks do I need?
There is no fixed number. Compare yourself with the businesses that rank in your area: if they have links from local news, associations and community sites and you do not, that gap is where to start.
Next steps
If you would rather have help, our local SEO services cover citations, local links and on-page fixes, and we can put together a free plan for your area. For every other type of link, return to the backlinks guide.
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