A backlink is a link from another website pointing at yours. Search engines treat them a bit like recommendations: if a trusted local site links to you, that is a small vote that you exist and are worth visiting. It is one of the older signals in search and it still counts.
The ones a trade can actually get
Your trade bodies and accreditation schemes, if they list members. Your suppliers, who often have an installer or stockist page. The local football club or village hall you sponsored. The local paper, if you did something worth a paragraph. Proper trade directories with real listings. A supplier case study about a job you did.
These are unglamorous and they are the real ones. A dozen of them from genuinely local, genuinely relevant sites are worth more than any package.
A worked example
A fencing firm sponsored a junior football team's kit for a small sum. The club put a logo and a link on its sponsors page. That is one local link from a site about the same town, and it also put the firm's name in front of two hundred parents.
Compare that with a hundred pound package promising five hundred links. Those come from sites that exist only to sell links, in no particular country, about no particular subject, and Google's spam policies name link schemes explicitly as something it acts against.
How many do you need
Fewer than you think. For most local trades, the map results and the town pages do most of the heavy lifting, and links are a slow supporting act. If you get two or three honest local links a year you are ahead of most of your competitors.
Why it matters for your site
Check these on your own site
- Local and relevant beats big and random. A village hall link beats a foreign directory.
- Never buy links in bulk. Google names link schemes in its spam policies.
- Sponsorships, suppliers and trade bodies are the easiest genuine links a trade can get.
- Make sure the link points at your live address, with https and the right www setting.
- Links are slow. Reviews and a filled out Google listing move faster for a local trade.
Common questions
Should I buy backlinks for my trade website?
No. Google's spam policies name link schemes as something it acts against, and bought links can be devalued or penalised. A few genuine local links are worth far more.
How many backlinks does a local trade website need?
Fewer than most people assume. For local searches, a well filled Google listing, reviews and good town pages usually matter more than link count.