Backlinks

A backlink is the same as someone else mentioning you and pointing the way. A link from the municipality, a trade association, the local paper or a supplier tells Google that someone other than you thinks your site is worth a visit. Google itself writes that links and mentions from well-known websites are one of the signs it uses to assess quality.

Quality over quantity

Quality counts for more than numbers. One link from a well-known, relevant website in your industry or your local area is worth more than a pile of links from random directories. Links also bring visits directly, from people who actually read the other site. For a local business, this is part of local SEO.

Be careful about buying links. Google's spam policies say that paying for links, or exchanging goods and services for links, in order to influence ranking breaks the rules. Paid links should be marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".

What you can do today

Make a list of everyone you already work with: suppliers, trade associations, the sports club you sponsor, networks you belong to. Check whether they have a page of partners or members, and whether you are listed there with a link. Often you only need to ask. In the Links report in Google Search Console you can see which websites already link to you.