Who Mentions Your Business Online? Why Local Links Matter More Than You Think

A while back a lovely woman who runs a dog grooming business near Bingham asked me why a groomer she’d never heard of kept outranking her on Google. Her website was nicer. Her reviews were better. She’d done everything I’d normally suggest.

So I had a poke around. And the other groomer was mentioned on the village website, the parish newsletter page, a local dog-walking group’s list of recommended businesses, and a “things to do in Nottingham” page. Four different local sites, all pointing back to them. My client was mentioned on none of them.

That’s what this post is about: Why local Links matter.

What a link actually is

A link is just a clickable mention of your website on somebody else’s website. That’s it. Google uses them a bit like references on a CV. If one dodgy stranger says you’re brilliant, fine. If the village hall, the local farm shop and the chamber of commerce all say it, Google takes notice.

You might have heard people call these backlinks. Same thing. I’ll stick with links, because it’s a daft word and I don’t like it.

Why local ones win

Here’s what I think gets missed. You don’t need hundreds of links. You just need a handful from the right places. A link from a website in Bingham, saying you’re a Bingham business, is worth far more to a Bingham search than a link from some random directory in another country.

Google is trying to work out three things: what you do, where you do it, and whether anyone trusts you. Local links help with all three at once. And AI tools like ChatGPT do something similar. When they decide who to recommend, they lean on what other places say about you, not just what you say about yourself.

Where to actually get them

Most of these are free, and most just need you to ask nicely.

Village and parish websites are the obvious start. Bottesford, Aslockton, Orston, Elton and Whatton all have community pages or newsletters, and many of them list local trades and services. Send a short email saying who you are and what you do.

Local Facebook groups don’t count as links in the Google sense, but they do get you mentioned by real people, which sooner or later turns into proper links. Be useful in them rather than pushy.

Your suppliers and partners are a goldmine. If you’re a plumber, your supplier may have a “trade partners” page. If you’re a wedding photographer, the venues in Newark or Grantham might have a preferred suppliers list. Ask to be on it.

Local business groups, networking clubs and chambers of commerce usually have a members page with a link. It’s often the easiest win going.

Local press and community newsletters love a story. A new apprentice, a charity day, a business reaching ten years. Send them two lines and a photo. Sometimes it runs, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes you get a link out of it.

And check the boring ones too. Is your website address on your Google profile, your Facebook page, your Instagram bio and your Bing and Apple Maps listings? Those count, and it’s a ten-minute job.

What to avoid

Please don’t buy dodgy links. I get emails every week offering fifty for a tenner, and they’re rubbish at best. At worst Google spots the pattern and just stops trusting your site. Same goes for swapping links with everyone who asks. If a link wouldn’t make sense to a real person reading the page, it probably doesn’t help you either.

How to ask nicely

Keep it short. Say who you are, where you are, and why it would be useful to their readers. Something like: “Hi, I run a mobile hairdressing business in Radcliffe on Trent and noticed your local services page. Would you be happy to add me? Here’s my website.” Then leave it. If they don’t reply, don’t chase more than once.

And make it easy. Give them the exact wording and the web address. People are much more likely to say yes when there’s nothing left for them to do.

Start small

Pick three places this month. Just three. Ask, and see what happens. I think most local businesses could double their online mentions in a single afternoon, mostly because nobody has ever asked.

If you’d like to know who already mentions you, and who mentions your competitors but not you, that’s part of my free visibility check. Message me and I’ll take a look.