The links your competitors have and you don't
We build local authority the way a real business earns it — chambers of commerce, trade associations, suppliers, sponsorships, and local press. No PBNs, no link farms, no overseas guest posts.
Get my free link gap audit
Trades we work with
- Roofing
- HVAC
- Plumbing
- Towing
- Fencing
- Decking
- Moving
- Junk removal
- and 16 more trades
You fixed the basics. You're still on page 2.
- ✓ Google Business Profile filled out
- ✓ Reviews coming in
- ✓ Service pages written
Google ranks local businesses on relevance, distance, and prominence — and prominence is based partly on information from across the web: links, articles, and directories. That's why you can't out-write it and you can't out-post it.
If the shop across town sponsors the little league, sits in the county chamber directory, and is listed on their supplier's "find a dealer" page, they have prominence you don't have yet. (More on how directory mentions factor into local prominence: our notes on BBB and local trust signals.)
Backlinks & Local Authority
We find legitimate opportunities through eleven connected channels — each one earned, each one feeding the next.
Chambers of Commerce
Membership directories in every city you serve — often the strongest single geographic signal a service business can earn.
Member listing plus a business spotlight post in your county chamber.Industry associations
National and state trade bodies your license already qualifies you for.
A contractor directory profile that doubles as a trust signal for buyers.Local organizations
Rotary, BNI, neighborhood associations, volunteer and community groups.
Sponsorships
Little league teams, 5K races, county fairs, school fundraisers.
A sponsor-page link on a school or nonprofit domain.Partnerships
Non-competing trades that share your customer — roofer and gutter installer, plumber and restoration company.
Referral pages that link both ways.Local websites & publications
City blogs, neighborhood news, event calendars, "best of" roundups.
Supplier & manufacturer opportunities
"Find a dealer," "certified installer," and "where to buy" pages on manufacturer sites.
High authority, low competition, and missed by almost every contractor.Resource pages
City and county pages — permits, storm prep, waste disposal, emergency service lists.
Local PR
Storm response, new hires, expansion, community donations, pitched to outlets that actually cover your town.
Competitor backlink opportunities
Every link your top three competitors have that you don't — filtered down to the ones we can realistically replicate.
Industry-relevant links
Trade publications, contractor blogs, and product or tool coverage.
Every one of these is researched and earned by hand. You get the full list, with the status of each.
No PBNs, no link farms, no bought link packages, no automated outreach blasts — nothing that misrepresents who you are.
How we earn your links
Free link gap audit
We pull the backlink profiles of the three local competitors you name, strip out the junk, and send you a PDF with the ten links you can realistically win first. It's free, there's no call attached, and you keep it either way.
Full opportunity map
Once you're on board we go wider: every chamber, association, supplier, sponsorship, and publication across each city you serve, sorted by effort and payoff. This is the working document the whole campaign runs on, and it's part of your first month — not a separate fee.
Outreach and earning
We handle the applications, emails, forms, sponsorship inquiries, and follow-ups in your name. Anything that costs money is approved by you first.
Verification and reporting
Every live link with its URL, anchor text, and date found, plus movement on your target keywords and Maps rankings.
What we need from you: about 20 minutes a month.
What you actually get
- Competitor link gap report, refreshed quarterly
- Monthly opportunity map for your service area
- A live link log you can check yourself
- Anchor text plan
- Maps and keyword movement
- Approval before anything is spent
Why this isn't a $99 link package
| OldHand SEO | Cheap link packages | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where links come from | Chambers, suppliers, sponsorships, real local sites | Bulk directories and link networks | Wherever you have time to find |
| Relevance to your city | High — targeted to your service area | Usually none | Depends on your own research |
| Risk to your site | Low — every link is one a real business would have | Real risk of a manual action | Low, if you avoid sellers and networks |
| Who does the outreach | We do, in your name, with your approval | No outreach — links are inserted directly | You do, on top of running your business |
| Do you see every link | Yes — a live log with URL and anchor text | Rarely disclosed in detail | Yes, since you place them yourself |
| Time cost to you | About 20 minutes a month | Low, but you get what you pay for | Several hours a week, ongoing |
| What happens when you stop | Earned links stay — chambers and sponsors don't remove members | Links can disappear when the vendor does | Links stay; the outreach simply stops |
What one more job a month is worth
$2,160per month
$25,920per year
Illustrative math, not a projection. We don't guarantee leads or rankings.
Straightforward pricing
Starter
$650/mo
- 2–3 links per month
- 1 city covered
- Chambers of commerce
- Industry associations
- Resource pages
- Competitor gap links
- ~$260 cost per link
- Monthly link log & reporting
Growth
$1,150/mo
- 5–6 links per month
- Up to 3 cities covered
- Everything in Starter
- Supplier and manufacturer pages
- Sponsorships
- Partnerships
- ~$209 cost per link
- Monthly link log & reporting
Authority
$2,200/mo
- 10–12 links per month
- Up to 6 cities covered
- Everything in Growth
- Local PR
- Multi-city sponsorship program
- Quarterly strategy call
- ~$200 cost per link
- Monthly link log & reporting
Three-month initial term, then month to month. Links take 4–8 weeks to go live, so one month isn't long enough to judge the work. Month one covers your opportunity map and the first wave of outreach; placements start landing from weeks 4–6.
Sponsorship and membership fees are paid by you and approved in advance. We never mark them up.
Frequently asked questions
How long before I see anything?
Most links take 4–8 weeks to go live after outreach starts, and their effect compounds over months, not days. So if someone promises movement in 30 days, that's a warning sign.
Am I locked into a contract?
Three months to start, then month to month, cancel with 30 days' notice. The three months exist because outreach takes 4–8 weeks to turn into live links, not to trap you. Anything we've already earned stays yours either way.
Can this get my site penalized?
Everything on this page is a link a real local business would have anyway. In fact, we don't buy links from vendors or use networks.
What's free and what's paid?
The link gap audit is free — three competitors, the ten links you can realistically win first, delivered as a PDF with no call attached. If you come on board, your first month covers the full opportunity map across every city you serve, and outreach starts from there.
Do you pay for links?
Some of these cost money — chamber dues, sponsorships, association memberships. Those are real business expenses, disclosed to you and approved before we commit. However, we don't buy links from link sellers.
How many links a month?
Two to three a month on Starter, five to six on Growth, ten to twelve on Authority. Volume matters less than where the links come from — ten chamber and supplier links beat a hundred directory listings.
My town is small. Is there even anything to get?
Smaller markets are usually easier — fewer competitors have done any of this, and the chamber and sponsorship options are wide open.
My competitors are much bigger than me.
That's what the gap audit is for. We target the links you can realistically win, not the ones a national brand earned with a PR budget.
Do you work with my competitors?
We work with one client per service per metro, so we won't take on your direct competitor in your city while we're working with you.
What if a link disappears?
We track every placement monthly, so if one drops, we chase it or replace it.
See the links you're missing
No call required. No obligation. We'll email you the PDF.