Links from other websites are still how Google decides who to trust. For a locksmith they are hard to get, because almost nobody has a reason to link to you. That difficulty is exactly why they are worth chasing.
Your competitors have mostly given up on this. That is your opening.
The ones that work
Local sponsorships
Sponsor a youth sports team, a school fundraiser, a 5K. Most of them list sponsors on their website with a link.
A few hundred dollars, a link from a real local organisation, and your name on a shirt in your service area. This is the single most reliable link a local business can buy, and it is not against any rule because you are sponsoring something real.
Your chamber of commerce
Cheap, local, and the member directory almost always links out. Takes an afternoon.
Trade associations
If you belong to a locksmith association, make sure your member listing exists and points at your site. Many shops pay dues for years without ever claiming the profile.
Business partners
Property managers, car dealerships, realtors, storage facilities, apartment complexes. You already work with some of them.
Ask for a spot on their recommended-vendors page. Offer to list them on yours. This is a normal business favour, not a scheme, and it takes one phone call to someone who already knows you.
Local news
When there is a story about car theft, break-ins, or a new key technology, reporters need someone who can explain it. Be that person. Send a short note to the local paper offering a quote.
One quote in a city paper is worth more than any package you can buy.
Guest posts
There are a limited number of sites that will take a locksmith guest post. Because there are so few, the ones that exist are worth doing properly — real writing, on a real site, that a human would want to read.
The ones that will hurt you
- Bought link packages. "500 backlinks for $99" is a penalty with an invoice attached.
- Private blog networks. Google has been dismantling these for years.
- Blog comment links. They do essentially nothing now, and at scale they look like spam.
- Link exchanges at volume. Two local businesses linking to each other is fine. Twenty sites all linking to each other is a pattern.
If somebody emails you offering links, that is the clearest signal you should not buy them.
How many, how fast
Slowly. A local business that suddenly gains forty links in a month has not earned them, and the pattern is obvious.
Two or three real local links a month, kept up for a year, will put you ahead of almost every locksmith in your city. It is not exciting. It works.
Where this fits
Links are the slowest lever you have. Fix your Google Business Profile first, get your review habit going, and make sure your site loads fast.
Then start on links, because that is what makes rankings hard for a competitor to take back off you.