Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours. Those links, called backlinks, send visitors to your site and help search engines discover your pages and judge how well known your business is. For a local business, the best links usually come from real relationships in your community: suppliers, partners, local organizations and local press.
This guide covers what Google's spam policies say about links, how the nofollow, sponsored and ugc attributes work, the ways local businesses earn links honestly, and how backlinks differ from citations. It's part of our SEO hub.
Why Backlinks Matter for Local Search
Links do two jobs. First, people click them. A link from your chamber of commerce or a supplier's dealer page can send customers straight to you. Second, search engines use links to find pages and to understand how other sites see you.
For map results, Google's help page on improving local ranking says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. It describes prominence as how well-known a business is, and says this factor is also "based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have." The same page says, "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."
That last point matters. Links are one input among many. Nobody can promise that a set number of links will produce a set ranking, and anyone who guarantees rankings from links is promising something they can't control.
What Google's Spam Policies Say About Link Schemes
Google's spam policies define link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings." The examples Google lists include:
- Buying or selling links for ranking purposes, including exchanging money, goods or services for links, or sending someone a product in exchange for a post that includes a link
- Excessive link exchanges ("link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages made only for cross-linking
- Using automated programs or services to create links to your site
- Requiring a link as part of a terms of service, contract or similar arrangement without letting the other site owner qualify it
- Text ads or text links that don't block ranking credit
- Advertorials where payment is received for articles with links that pass ranking credit, and links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases distributed on other sites
- Low-quality directory or bookmark site links
- Keyword-rich, hidden or low-quality links embedded in widgets distributed across various sites
- Widely distributed links in the footers or templates of various sites
- Forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature
Look at what's on that list: guest posts and press releases with optimized anchor text, and low-quality directories. Some link building services still sell exactly these. If a vendor offers a fixed number of links per month at a flat rate, ask where the links come from and why those sites would link to you.
Paid links are allowed when they're labeled
Google doesn't ban paying for exposure. The same policy says Google "does understand that buying and selling links is a normal part of the economy of the web for advertising and sponsorship purposes," and that such links aren't a violation as long as they're qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". If you sponsor a youth sports team and get a link on its site, that's fine. The link just shouldn't be set up to pass ranking credit.
nofollow, sponsored and ugc Explained
Google's guide to qualifying outbound links describes three rel values that tell Google about the relationship behind a link:
| Attribute | Use it for |
|---|---|
| rel="sponsored" | Links that are advertisements or paid placements. Google prefers this value for paid links, though nofollow is also accepted. |
| rel="ugc" | Links in user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts. |
| rel="nofollow" | Other cases, when the other values don't apply. |
You can combine values, such as rel="ugc nofollow". Google says links marked with these attributes will generally not be followed. They apply to individual links, which makes them different from a page-level nofollow in the robots meta tag, which affects every link on a page.
This works in both directions. If you publish a sponsored post or a paid listing for someone else on your site, mark its links sponsored. If your blog allows comments, WordPress adds nofollow ugc to commenters' links by default.
How Local Businesses Earn Links
The links worth having are ones a real person chose to give because your business is relevant to their readers. For local businesses, they usually come from four places.
Local partnerships
Start with the businesses you already work with. A window installer might be listed on a manufacturer's dealer locator. A dental office might work with a nearby specialist who refers patients. Suppliers, distributors, trade partners and referral partners often have a page listing the businesses they work with. Ask to be included, with a link to the right page on your site.
Sponsorships and community involvement
Sponsoring a local event, charity run or school team often comes with a mention on the organizer's website. Do it because you want to support the event, and treat the link as a bonus. If the link is part of a paid sponsorship, it may carry rel="sponsored", and that's fine. It still brings visitors and local recognition.
Local press and associations
Local news sites, neighborhood publications and trade associations cover businesses with something worth reporting: a new location, a community project, or an expert comment on a local issue. Chambers of commerce and industry associations often list members online. Pitching a real story beats sending out a press release built around keyword links, which Google's policy names specifically.
Useful content people want to reference
A page that answers a common local question well can attract links on its own. Think of a guide to fence permit rules in your city, a seasonal maintenance checklist, or a clear explanation of how a common repair works. Our guide to SEO content covers how to write pages people find helpful, and our guide to E-E-A-T explains how to show the experience behind them. Then tell the people who'd find the page useful: partners, associations and local groups.
Citations vs Backlinks
These overlap, but they aren't the same thing.
| Citation | Backlink | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A mention of your business name, address and phone number (NAP) on another site | A clickable link from another site to yours |
| Typical sources | Directories, map apps, review sites, industry listings | Partners, press, associations, blogs, local organizations |
| Needs a link? | No. Many citations have no link | Yes, by definition |
| Main job | Keeping your business details consistent across the web | Sending visitors and helping search engines understand your site |
Many directory listings are both: they show your NAP and link to your website. Consistent citations are part of a solid local foundation, and conflicting old listings can cause duplicate-profile trouble. Our guide to local citations and NAP explains how to clean them up. Keep the difference in mind, though. Piling up low-quality directory links isn't link building, and Google's policy lists "low-quality directory or bookmark site links" as link spam.
Link Building Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying links from sites that sell posts to anyone, with no relevant audience
- Swapping links with businesses that have nothing to do with yours
- Paying for bulk directory or bookmark submissions
- Using the same keyword-rich anchor text over and over
- Adding links to the footers of sites you build for others without qualifying them
- Expecting a guaranteed ranking from a set number of links
Before you or a vendor go after a link, ask one question: would you want this link if search engines didn't exist? If it would send you relevant visitors or reflects a real relationship, it's probably worth having. If the wrong page on your site ends up ranking once links start arriving, see what to do when the wrong page ranks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines use links to discover pages, and Google says local prominence is based partly on how many websites link to your business.
Is buying backlinks against Google's rules?
Buying or selling links for ranking purposes is listed as link spam in Google's spam policies. Paid links for advertising or sponsorship are allowed if they're qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
What is the difference between nofollow, sponsored and ugc?
Sponsored is for paid or advertising links, ugc is for links in user-generated content like comments and forum posts, and nofollow is for other cases where those don't apply. Google says links with these values will generally not be followed.
Are citations the same as backlinks?
No. A citation is a mention of your business name, address and phone number, which may or may not include a link. A backlink is a clickable link to your site. Many directory listings are both.
How many backlinks does a local business need?
There's no set number. Links are one input among many, and Google says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Focus on relevant links from real partners, organizations and local press.
Talk to Us About Earning Better Links
Local Blitz has worked on SEO for local businesses since 2009, from offices in San Diego, Encinitas and Indianapolis. There are no cookie-cutter link packages and no ranking guarantees. We help you find the partnerships, sponsorships and content that earn links honestly, clean up your citations, and report on the calls, leads and rankings that follow. Plans are month-to-month. Book a free strategy call to talk it through.
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