Links worth getting
- Your chamber of commerce and local business associations.
- Local news coverage, for real news: an opening, an expansion, an award, a community event.
- Events, teams and charities you sponsor, which usually list sponsors with links.
- Suppliers, manufacturers and partners who list dealers or installers.
- Industry associations and licensing directories.
- Other local businesses you genuinely work with.
Links to avoid
- Links you pay for, or packages of “hundreds of backlinks.” Buying links that pass ranking credit is against Google’s spam policies.
- Link exchanges with unrelated sites.
- Directories that exist only to sell links.
- Comment and forum spam.
How to earn them
- Ask. Partners and suppliers often add a link if you ask and give them the address.
- Make something worth linking to: a useful local guide, real data, a tool. Our Grand Strand website report is an example.
- Show up in the community, and make sure your website is the link people use when they mention you.
Written by Nikita Huttenlocher, founder and lead engineer at Huttenlocher Technologies, a web design and software company in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.