Backlinks and local press · part of Found First Complete
Be the agent your local paper quotes.
A local story every month, journalists' requests answered, and honest links from your town's sites. We never buy links.AI tools and Google trust what others say about you more than what you say yourself. Each month we turn your town's own sales figures into a story the local paper can use, answer journalists' requests for you, and earn honest links from local sites. We never buy links.Part of Found First Complete (£5,000 a month, no contract). It isn't added to Core, where it would cost about what Complete does; Core gets one local press story a quarter, from month 4.
You’ll see
- Who Google Maps puts top three
- Who ChatGPT names
- Where your agency ranks
- Whether your town is still open
- how closely mentions of a brand across the web tracked its showing in Google's AI Overviews. For backlinks: 0.218.Ahrefs, 75,000 brands, 2025
- 0.664
- of the links AI tools cited were journalism, over half of it from the last 12 months. Paid advertorial: 0.3%.Muck Rack, 25 million AI citations, 2026
- 27%
- for AI search visibility, in local search experts' view: being on fair, expert-curated “best of” listsWhitespark survey of local search experts, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- 1st
Why being talked about matters
Google and AI tools weigh what others say about you.
- 1
AI repeats what others say
Mentions across the web tracked AI Overview appearances far more closely than links did. Being talked about is the point.
- 2
Links still count for Google
Google says local prominence includes links and articles about you. A few relevant local links beat hundreds of poor ones.
- 3
People search your name
A quote in the paper or your name on the football club's sponsors page sends people looking for you.
We never buy links, swap them, or pay for adverts dressed as news. Google's spam policies forbid it, and it can sink a site.
What we do
A story every month, and the links it earns.
A local data story every month
Journalists want a local number they can trust, fast. Most agents never give them one.
What we do: From your town's free HM Land Registry sold prices and official rents, we write a short story with a quote from you, offered to the local paper first, then wider.
Comment on release days
When house price figures come out, papers want a local voice that day.
What we do: On release days we send your comment on what the figures mean for your town, while the story is running.
Journalists' requests answered
Reporters ask for expert comment every day. Nobody in your office sees the requests.
What we do: We watch the request services daily and draft your answers. With your OK, we send them.
Your community, named
Sponsorships and charity work rarely earn a mention, let alone a link.
What we do: One community tie-in a month (a charity, a sponsorship, an event), with the story told and your name on their site.
Fair lists and awards
AI tools cite “best agent” lists and awards, and the deadlines slip by.
What we do: One honest list, award or partner entry a month, with every deadline in the diary. Never a paid “best of”.
Every mention followed up
Sites mention you without a link, or with your old details.
What we do: A monthly sweep for new mentions: wrong details fixed, and a link politely asked for where it's fair.
Nothing goes live without your yes. If your website provider runs your site, we send them the exact changes and check they’re live.
Where most agents lose
- Nobody outside their own website mentions them: no local press, no lists, no partner pages.
- The local paper quotes the same two agents every time house prices come out.
- Sites mention them without a link, and nobody ever asks for one.
- They paid for a “link package” that Google's rules forbid.
- Award and list deadlines slip by, year after year.
Every pitch and link, logged
Your monthly report lists every pitch we sent, every mention and link that came of it, with the page and the date, and what the AI tools now say about you.
| The work | Where | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Data story: the town’s fastest-rising streets | Local paper, as an exclusive | Published, with a link |
| Comment on the House Price Index | Two local news sites | Quoted in one, no link |
| Journalist’s request: first-time buyers | A property news site | Quoted, with a link |
| Charity quiz night | The charity’s sponsors page | Named, link marked sponsored |
| A mention without a link | Community news site | Link asked for |
Every page and date in your monthly report, and what the AI tools now say about you.
When
Set up in month one, then every month.
Month 1
Every mention of you found, your town's press list built, and three story ideas agreed with you.
Every month
A data story, release-day comment, journalists' requests and one community or list entry.
Your report
Every pitch, mention and link that month, with the dates and pages.
3 to 6 months
When links and mentions usually start to show in results.
Inside Complete, or added to Core
Included in Found First Complete.
Found First is £5,000 a month for Complete, with everything, or £2,000 a month for Core. No contract, one agency per town, and three extra instructions in 90 days on Complete (one on Core), or we keep working free.
- Found on Google MapsComplete and Core
- Recommended by AIComplete and Core
- Rival scorecardComplete and Core
- Every enquiry countedComplete and Core
- Review ManagementComplete, or +£500 a month on Core
- Backlinks and local pressThis pageComplete; Core: one local press story a quarter, from month 4
Questions
Asked before you sign.
Can you guarantee coverage?
No, and be wary of anyone who does: editors decide what they publish. We guarantee the work every month, and show you every pitch and what came of it. We aim for two to five good mentions or links a month once it's running.
Do you buy links?
Never. Buying links to rank breaks Google's spam policies, and the penalty can sink a site. Where something is paid, like a sponsorship, the link is marked as sponsored.
How much of our time does it take?
A few minutes a month to approve your quote and the story, and a photo now and then. We do the research, the writing, the sending and the follow-ups.
Where do the figures come from?
HM Land Registry's sold prices and the official rent figures, both free and public, credited as their licences require, plus your own numbers if you'd like to share them.
Is this the same as PR?
It's local digital PR: stories and comment that earn coverage and links, rather than paid adverts. We focus on your town's press, partners and lists, not national headlines.
Can we add it to Core?
Not every month: that comes with Found First Complete. Added to Core, it would cost about what Complete does, and Complete includes more. Core gets a taste: one local press story a quarter, from month 4. One agency per town applies here too.
Be the name your local paper calls.
Part of Found First Complete, £5,000 a month.