Backlinking for small service oriented websites

[Olvtr]

I am a newby to the SEO world. We are a graphic/web design/development company that has been pulled into the SEO world. We work for a lot of clients that are sensing the need for websites but they don't have the capital to invest in a large website. So after building simple sites for them they come to us wanting to be ranked better in the SERPS. I can go through and do the basics of meta tag info but with small sites, there isn't a lot you can do. I feel I need to learn to do backlinking but am completely lost. When I read about backlinks a lot of people talk about blogging websites, not service industry websites. Does anyone have tips to learn backlinking for small service companies that want to target their local area? loggers, woodworking shops, landscape companies, cabinet shops, home cleaners, bulk food stores, etc. I'm interested in maybe blogposts, or tutorials to read/watch, or software to help me out, etc. Thanks in advance for your help!

[MindlessWizard]

It is always good to start with the basic first. Start with your on page seo and then you can move to off page seo.

If you are targeting local then have a uniform local citation for the websites. Target quality local directory and submit your business there. Have a uniform NAP. Be consistent. Add business to google local etc.

If you want to start learning SEO i hope these links may help you up.

http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

http://neilpatel.com/2014/12/30/how-to-build-high-quality-backlinks-in-a-scalable-way/

http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-link-building/

SEO is dynamic. Those methods which ranked website in the last few years may not rank your website this year. SEO is not a fast process. It takes time though.

Before starting with SEO .. learn how to discover the right keywords to target. How to create backlinks and how to diversify your anchor texts. Because you are not just going to build backlinks based on your money keywords only.

Good Luck

[dynamyt100]

Mindlink has it nailed. Concentrate on your on-site SEO firstly. An important foundation is critical. Once your foundation is solid you can then look at building inbound links. MOZ has some excellent articles on these topics.

[TheZenAgency]

Hi

Here is some additional resources that may of help for Local SEO!

Moz Local SEO Blog

Simple Local SEO Tips

Guide to local SEO

Good luck and hope these help!

[Bio-RadAbs]

When it comes to backlinking, I can offer a suggestion. Get a list of competitors and use opensiteexplorer. You will be able to see what websites your competitors have content on and are generating backlinks from.

Now go through that list and identify the top level domains and see if you can also produce a high quality content they would link to. A great inforgraphic, or top tip article, something users will find relevant and useful.

I would suggest that as a start, It's something I've started doing but the key in my mind is not to spam but build reputable links that resonate with your company.

[JVRudnick]

One more thing...

That you may also find helpful the leaked Google Qualaity Rater Guidelines - it was leaked to us SEO practitioners last July or so...

Google for that term - but here's my own blog posting on it - http://www.canuckseo.com/index.php/2014/07/shhhh-google-quality-rater-guidelines-2014-leaked/ - and there's a link there too to download the 11 mb .pdf....