Was wrong about backlinks for local SEO until a client in Cleveland proved it

I always thought local businesses didn't need many backlinks, just good Google Business profiles. Then a plumbing client in Cleveland added 3 links from neighborhood blogs and jumped from page 4 to page 1 for 'emergency plumber' in 5 weeks. Anyone else see backlinks matter more for local now?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.oliver3d ago

Wasn't it just a coincidence though? That Cleveland plumber might've gotten lucky since neighborhood blogs already had good domain authority. I've seen local rankings move more from review signals and NAP consistency than from a handful of backlinks.

perry.jesse3d ago

Yeah that's a solid example.

finley_smith3d ago

The Cleveland plumber story had 87% of his leads coming from that one blog post for like 6 months straight. That's way too specific to be just luck. Those neighborhood blogs were already ranking but his link gave him the exact topical relevance boost.