Local backlinks: 12 ideas for getting links in Marseille
Links from other websites remain a strong signal for Google. Twelve concrete, risk-free ways to get local links for a Marseille business.
By Léo Chuzel · Published on · 2 min read
For Google, a link to your website from another website is a vote of confidence. The more these votes come from recognised websites close to your business or your area, the more they count. For a local business, there’s no need for hundreds of links: a few quality links from Marseille and Provence websites often make the difference against your direct competitors.
What makes a good local link
- It comes from a real website that people visit, not a link farm.
- It has a connection with your business or your area.
- It’s placed within content, with natural link text.
- It could bring you visitors, even without Google.
12 local link ideas
The basics
- Quality directories: PagesJaunes, professional directories in your sector, directories of your professional order or federation. Not automatic directories with no visitors.
- Your chamber of commerce or trade: the CCI or the Chambre de métiers, which often list their members or the businesses they support.
- Your suppliers and brands: many list their authorised resellers or installers, with a link.
The local network
- Retailers’ associations in your neighbourhood or business area.
- Business networks: business clubs, executive networks, Marseille professional associations.
- Your partners: an architect and a tradesperson, a restaurant and a wine merchant, a lawyer and a chartered accountant can recommend each other on their partner pages, if the recommendation is sincere.
- Sponsorship: a sports club, a festival, a neighbourhood event. Partners are generally credited on the organiser’s website.
Press relations and content
- The local press: an opening, a new service, an anniversary, an original initiative, figures on your market. Local media are looking for stories.
- Expert commentary: answering journalists looking for an opinion in your field, or offering an opinion piece.
- A study or local data: property prices by neighbourhood, a sector barometer, a survey of your customers. Useful content with figures gets cited naturally.
- A reference guide: the most complete guide on a question Marseille residents ask in your field.
- Schools and universities: talks, internships, apprenticeship tax, partnerships.
Start by recovering lost links
Before looking for new links, check the ones you already have. In the “Links” report in Search Console, spot links pointing to pages that no longer exist, often after a redesign. A simple redirect recovers their value. It’s one of the key steps to redesigning your website without losing your SEO.
Citations without links count too
In local SEO, mentions of your name, address and phone number on other websites, even without a link, strengthen Google’s trust, provided this information is identical everywhere. Check consistency between your website, your Google Business Profile, directories and social media.
What pace?
One or two good links a month, obtained regularly, are better than a sudden wave. Local link building is as much about relationships as it is technical work: it relies on your real network.
Links are only one lever among others: discover the 12 levers to improve your ranking. And if you’d like support, our SEO agency in Marseille builds a clean, lasting local link strategy with you.