23 September 2026 · 7 min read · Oscar Markham
Where an Irish business gets its first real backlinks
Links remain the strongest signal Google has for whether a site deserves to rank, and a new business site has none. The standard advice — create great content and links will come — is not useful to a plumber. Here is the unglamorous list that actually works in Ireland.
Start with the relationships you already have
Your suppliers, your trade association, your accountant, the manufacturers whose products you install. Many of them have 'where to buy' or 'approved installer' pages and will add you for the asking.
These are the best links available to you: relevant, real, and from sites in your own industry. Most businesses never ask.
- Suppliers and manufacturers — approved installer or stockist pages
- Trade associations and registration bodies you already belong to
- Your chamber of commerce
- Local business directories run by the county council or LEO
- Sponsorship: clubs, schools, community groups you already support
Sponsorship you are already paying for
If you sponsor a GAA club, a school event or a local festival, they almost certainly have a website with a sponsors page. Ask for a link. You have already paid for it.
This is the most commonly wasted link opportunity in Ireland, because the money is spent and the link is simply never requested.
Local and genuinely local
County council business directories, Local Enterprise Office listings, chambers of commerce, and legitimate local news. A local paper covering a genuine story — a new premises, an apprenticeship, an award — produces a link that is worth far more than its traffic.
These take effort and they are slow. They are also close to unbeatable by a competitor who is buying links instead.
What to avoid
Anybody selling you a hundred links for a hundred euro. Private blog networks. Directories that exist only for links and have no visitors. Paid guest posts on sites unrelated to your trade.
These range from useless to actively harmful, and the harmful ones are difficult to undo.
How many you actually need
Fewer than you think. A local trades business competing in one county typically needs a handful of genuine, relevant links to compete, not hundreds.
Five real links from Irish sites in or near your industry will do more than any amount of content, and they are all obtainable by asking people you already know.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.