Same City local Links

[valesence]

Lets say were doing seo for a plumbing company. Which local (same city) links would be beneficial? I realize a plumbing supply store would be good, same with possibly a contractors website, but what about:

Shirt printer (prints my shirts)
My mechanic
pool company
carpet cleaner (cleans my office)
Feed store (buy my pet food there)

Even though they would have no relevance with the niche, would they still be valuable because they are also a local business?

 

[James Watt]

Absolutely. Or rather, they're good links as long as they're done in a congruent way. Local churches or non profits your client donates time/money to, if they use their building for a local event that's publicized locally, etc... there's a million ways you can get valuable links that, at first glance, may seem only tangentially related, but are actually future-proof links that will only become more valuable over time as Google's algorithm shifts. It's like this: it's all about relevance, and the place your client's company has in the community. What's it even mean to be a 'pillar of the community' after all? These are the kinds of links that Google's going to be looking at to determine real-world reputation and trust.

So for a short-hand version... here's your real metric. Will the link potentially end up with new customers finding your client? Then it's a good link. Why is the shirt printer going to link to your plumbing client? Is it a footer link you're going to pay for? Or a blog post telling a story that the plumber's involved in? Or a link to the plumber's site along with a testimonial he's leaving for the shirt printer? As long as the link 'makes sense' and might result in a human browser seeing the link, clicking to the plumber's site, and possibly even hiring him, then it's a good link.

 

[valesence]

Absolutely. Or rather, they're good links as long as they're done in a congruent way. Local churches or non profits your client donates time/money to, if they use their building for a local event that's publicized locally, etc... there's a million ways you can get valuable links that, at first glance, may seem only tangentially related, but are actually future-proof links that will only become more valuable over time as Google's algorithm shifts. It's like this: it's all about relevance, and the place your client's company has in the community. What's it even mean to be a 'pillar of the community' after all? These are the kinds of links that Google's going to be looking at to determine real-world reputation and trust.

So for a short-hand version... here's your real metric. Will the link potentially end up with new customers finding your client? Then it's a good link. Why is the shirt printer going to link to your plumbing client? Is it a footer link you're going to pay for? Or a blog post telling a story that the plumber's involved in? Or a link to the plumber's site along with a testimonial he's leaving for the shirt printer? As long as the link 'makes sense' and might result in a human browser seeing the link, clicking to the plumber's site, and possibly even hiring him, then it's a good link.

Thank you, that was an excellent reply.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

There are two levels of relevance:

1. Local
2. Industry

Any sites that are about your local area or your profession would be relevant and typically would also be valuable.