Types of Local Links: 10 Ways Businesses Link to Each Other
Written by Yan Gilbert - GBP Product Expert & Local SEO Specialist
Last Updated: October 1, 2026
Local businesses link to each other all the time, often without thinking of it as link building. A wedding venue lists its preferred florists, a builder credits the electrician on a project page, and the youth soccer league thanks its sponsors. Each of those is a local link, and some do a lot more for you than others.
Here are the ten types that come up most, grouped by how you earn them. Each one comes with a local example and what it does for your business.
The Ten Types of Local Links at a Glance
The table compares the ten types side by side; the sections after it explain each one with a local example.
| Type of link | Local example | What it does for you | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Co-written articles | A pool installer and a fencing company each explain barrier rules | A link inside content your shared customers read | Both articles must be useful alone |
| Expert quotes | A pest control company quotes a home inspector on termite findings | Credits you as the local expert | Quote real expertise, not a sales line |
| Guest posts | A mortgage broker writes for a real estate agent's blog | Puts your expertise in front of a partner's customers | Only for partners whose readers you share |
| Recommended vendor lists | A wedding venue's preferred vendors page | A direct recommendation customers act on | A list with no reasons reads as a link swap |
| Partners and sponsors pages | A youth soccer league's sponsor page | Shows you support your community | Paid spots need rel="sponsored" |
| Project features | A home builder credits the electrician on a finished house | Proof of real local work | Ask the customer before naming the project |
| Supplier testimonials | A landscaper reviews the stone yard it buys from | Ties you to the local businesses you buy from | Only for suppliers you actually use |
| Co-hosted events | A lender and an agent run a first-time buyer class | Local visibility, often on community calendars too | Keep the page useful after the event |
| Chamber and association listings | The local chamber of commerce member directory | Ties you to your town and adds trust | Keep your listing details current |
| Local directory listings | Business directories and review sites | Consistent business details across the web | Fix wrong addresses and old phone numbers |
Links From Content You Create Together
These three carry the most weight. The link sits inside content a reader chose to read, and it points to someone the writer is vouching for. How your partner words the link matters too, and anchor text for local links covers what to suggest and what to leave alone.
Co-Written Articles
Two businesses that serve the same customer each write an article on one question, one for each website. Each links to the other at the point where a reader would need them. A link back is natural here, because each article covers the half the other business can't.
Pool barrier rules are a good example. The pool company explains what has to be finished before the first swim, and the fence builder covers the gate and fence side. Each article is useful without the other, and together they answer the whole question.
The link doesn't have to be a line tacked on at the end. Often the most natural place is a quote. The partner speaks as the expert on their half of the question, and the link credits them as the source.
Expert Quotes
You ask a local business a question only it can answer, quote the answer by name, and link to its site as the source. The link credits the expert, so it reads as a citation rather than a favor.
A pest control company writing about termites might quote a local home inspector on what a termite finding means for a home sale. The inspector may well link back the next time a buyer asks about termites, but the quote stands on its own either way. Quoting local experts covers how to ask for a quote and format it.
Guest Posts on a Partner's Blog
You write a full article for another local business's website, usually on a topic its customers ask about and you know well. Guest posting done at scale, with keyword-stuffed links, gave the practice a bad name. Between two local businesses whose readers overlap, it's simply expertise shared where it's needed.
A mortgage broker writing "What to Know Before You Get Pre-Approved" for a real estate agent's blog is a natural fit. Keep the link to your site in the author note or where the article mentions your service, not stuffed into the text.
Links From Pages About the Businesses You Work With
These pages exist to point customers to other businesses. They help when each listing says why the business is recommended, and they help less when they're only a row of logos.
Recommended Vendor Lists
A recommended vendor list is a page where a business names the other businesses it sends customers to. Think of a wedding venue's preferred vendors, or a real estate agent's list of trusted inspectors and movers. These pages are common in local business and genuinely used, because customers ask "who do you recommend?" all the time.
A short line on why each vendor made the list turns a directory into advice. Vendors often link back from their own sites with a line like "proud to be a preferred vendor at...". That's fine as long as the recommendation is real.
Partners and Sponsors Pages
A partners or sponsors page lists the businesses that support an organization. It's most common on nonprofit sites: a youth sports league, a school fundraiser, a food bank, or a local festival thanking its sponsors. Some businesses keep a partners page of their own for the organizations they work with.
These links show where a business is active in its community, which customers notice. There's a catch, though. When the link comes as part of what you paid for, it's a paid placement. Google's guidance on qualifying outbound links asks for rel="sponsored" on paid placements. Many nonprofits don't add it, so treat a sponsorship as community support first and a link second.
Project Features and Case Studies
A project page shows a finished job and credits the businesses that worked on it. A home builder's page on a new house might name the electrician, the landscaper and the cabinet maker, with a link to each.
A link back is natural, because each trade can show the same project from its own side. Ask the homeowner before naming the street or showing the inside of the house.
Supplier Testimonials
You write a short review of a local supplier you buy from, and the supplier shows it on its site with a link to yours. A landscaper praising the stone yard that delivers on schedule is a typical case.
It works when the relationship is real and the review says something specific. A testimonial for a supplier you don't use, written only to get the link, has no reason behind it.
Links From Your Local Community
These links come from being part of the local business community rather than from a single partner. They carry less weight one by one, but they tell customers and search engines where you're based and who you're connected to.
Co-Hosted Events and Workshops
Two businesses run an event together, such as a first-time homebuyer class from a lender and a real estate agent. Each lists it on its website. Local event calendars, libraries and community pages often list it too.
A link back is natural, because both businesses are hosts. Keep the event page useful after the date passes by adding what was covered, so the link still has something behind it.
Chamber and Business Association Listings
Chamber of commerce and trade association listings do exactly what they claim: they show you're part of the local business community. That's why they help. The listing ties your business to your town, and customers who check the chamber see a member they can trust.
The link comes with membership rather than a personal recommendation, so it won't carry the weight of a partner's article. It's still a solid foundation, and its value is local relevance: a site about your town, linking to a business in your town.
Local Directory Listings
Business directories and review sites list your name, address and phone number, often with a link. In local SEO these listings are called citations, and their main job is consistency. When your details match everywhere, customers and search engines can tell the listings are all the same business.
Many directory links carry little weight as links, so treat directories as housekeeping. Get your core listings right, and spend your link-building time on the types above.
Links to Turn Down
A few arrangements look like local links but put both sites at risk, because they trade links rather than earn them.
- Footer and sitewide links. Putting a partner's link in the footer of every page is one of the patterns Google's spam policies name directly.
- Link networks. The simplest version is the three-way swap: A links to B, B links to C, and C links back to A. No two sites link to each other directly. Owners often assume that keeps it under the radar, but it rarely does. Google detects link schemes with automated systems, and a three-way pattern is still a pattern. Networks that interlink dozens of sites tend to be penalized together once they're caught.
- Paid links without a label. Any link that comes with a payment should carry rel="sponsored".
Where Google draws the line between a local partnership and a link scheme is covered in the arrangements to avoid with local partners.
Local Link Type Questions
Which type of local link helps the most?
Links inside content usually help the most: co-written articles, expert quotes and guest posts. The link sits in something a reader chose to read, and it points to a business the writer is vouching for. Lists and listings help less, because anyone can get onto them without a relationship.
Should a sponsorship link be marked sponsored?
Yes, if the link came as part of what you paid for. Google asks for rel="sponsored" on paid placements. A sponsorship is still worth doing for the community presence, and the organization's page still shows customers that you support local causes.
Do chamber of commerce links help local SEO?
Yes. A chamber listing ties your business to your town. It comes from a site about your area, which is the kind of relevance local search rewards. It adds trust with customers, too. It carries less weight than a partner's article because it comes with membership, so treat it as a foundation and build on it.
How many of these link types should a local business use?
Start with two or three. Most businesses have one partner for a co-written article, a few suppliers or trades for project features, and a chamber or directory listing already. Add the others as the relationships appear, rather than chasing every type at once.
Finding Local Businesses to Link With
Every type above starts with the same step: knowing which nearby businesses share your customers. That's the slow part, because most of them don't advertise that they're open to working together.
Local Link Match matches you with nearby businesses whose services complement yours, and weighs how established each website is locally.
You can browse the businesses that fit yours before you create an account.
Create an account when you're ready to pick your first partner.
About Yan Gilbert
Yan Gilbert is a Google Business Profile Product Expert, Local SEO Specialist, and the creator of Local Falcon and Local Link Match. With over 15 years in local search, he specializes in local rank tracking, Google Maps optimization, and building scalable link ecosystems for local businesses.