Link building can be a rather daunting task. The rules of the link building game have changed so dramatically over the years that it can be tough to figure out how to approach the concept.

On top of how much it has changed, it’s a time-consuming task with the potential to yield few results. This is especially true when looking for new opportunities at a local level. One way to address this difficulty is by making local charities a large part of your link building strategy.

Benefits of Local Charities & Events

Local charities allow you to put on your traditional marketing hat and think outside the box. The reason why link building with local charities is such an important strategy is that it works from multiple perspectives of marketing.

For example, let’s say you are a business working towards Fundraising with a local charity. These types of charities are always looking to get as much exposure as possible to help attract more donations for their cause.

Another option for this type of link building comes in the form of local sponsorship. For example, let’s say a local children’s hospital in your community hosts an annual marathon to raise money.

By sponsoring an event like this, not only do you have the potential to get a relevant link to your site, but you also have the value of having your business’ name on promotional materials related to the marathon.

In both previously mentioned scenarios, one of the biggest goals is to help build awareness for your business within your community. The links you build through these efforts will send signals to search engines about your attachment to the community you are working in. You are also putting your name in front of potential future customers.

Prospecting Local Charities

The process of prospecting these types of links can be incredibly time-consuming – especially if you live in a larger area. Not only will there be a lot of information to sort through but not every opportunity you find will have options that work for you.

To make things a little easier and more efficient, we highly recommend actively using search operators when looking for these types of opportunities. Search operators will allow you to narrow your search results – increasing your odds of finding something that works best for your needs.

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When prospecting local charities and events, we recommend creating some sort of database for your findings. While something you find now might not be right for your current clients, they might be perfect for future projects. This also allows you to create a quick-reference resource for future efforts.

Qualifying Potential Opportunities

The best part of these types of links is that they are relevant to a specific area. Sometimes these domains can even contain the area’s name directly in the URL, which is incredibly valuable but usually doesn’t give very high scores in some tools. It’s because these links are much more niche.

There is more to a link’s value than just domain authority! Domain Authority is just one way to look at to help determine the quality of a link. We recommend looking at multiple metrics to determine if you want to move forward with the link you are prospecting.

In addition to the equity flow your site will receive from this initiative, it’s also good to look at estimated visits on the site you are prospecting gets. One way to have qualified links is by determining if they would help drive more traffic to the website.

Building Relationships

Think of it as an awareness campaign for yourself. The more people that are aware of you and understand what your goals are the more likely they will be to want to work with you.

The key when building these relationships is to be genuine. Help make a difference in your community and make more people aware of your customers.

Take the time to get to know the people you are trying to partner with. In some cases, this can lead to more opportunities.

Making Communities Better

When you incorporate local charities and events into your link building strategy, you can take a step back and know that you are helping to make your community a better place.

Putting your time and marketing dollars towards these types of initiative doesn’t just help your site rank better, it helps make your community better.

Contact us to find out more about digital marketing strategies.