How Do You Pass Authority Between Two Local Sites Targeting the Same Area?

Got questions about Local SEO? Pre-post your questions for Hump Day Hangouts here: https://semanticmastery.com/hdho | Join us live at the same link at 4pm EST every Wednesday.

Join us every week for FREE local SEO training, questions and answers with Bradley Benner and Semantic Mastery. When you're ready to get serious about local SEO, Google Business SEO, and growing a real business, join the MasterMIND here: https://smshort.link/mastermind

Grab the Local SEO Toolkit for free - prospecting, GBP optimization, link building, and more: https://semanticmastery.com/toolkit

A lot of SEOs still link from one local site to another like it’s 2010 — drop a backlink and hope for the best. That can work, but there’s a smarter way to transfer geographic authority without it looking unnatural or losing relevance.

We’ve been testing branded content inside repurposed local domains, and it’s working better than traditional guest posts. Here’s why:

Branded content outperforms raw links. A simple “thank you” or “featured business” mention passes trust and local signals.

Use geographic domains. Expired domains with local backlinks (city, county, or region in the name) carry geographic equity that Google still recognizes.

Insert a block quote. That small branded paragraph with NAP + map embed acts like a citation and pushes strong local authority—without forcing relevance.

Keep the context natural. Repopulate the site in its original topic category so existing backlinks stay valid.

This method moves the needle faster, especially when brand + location signals are aligned.

In episode 556 of our weekly Hump Day Hangouts, one participant asked about the best method to pass authority from a ranking website to a client’s site targeting the same local SEO area.

The exact question was:
If I have a website that's ranking well in local SEO and one of my clients wants to use their site to rank in that same area, what's the best way to pass authority? Should I just link from my ranking site to theirs, or is there a better method?

Get Bradley's Local SEO GMB Process Checklist for free here: https://gmbprocess.com

Stay up to date with the latest videos and training by subscribing to the Semantic Mastery Channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...

📋 See what tools we use to run our agencies and businesses: https://semanticmastery.com/resources

#semanticlinks #brandingcontent #expireddomains #localcitations #localseotips

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:08 - Passing Authority Between Websites
01:10 - Geographic Links for Authority Transfer