You know, when you write a blog or an article you are supposed to optimize for Google. All of the big boys and girls tell us so. If you are an internet marketer or build niche websites, your income depends upon it. I have struggled with BloggerLens as far as focusing on a particular topic or niche. A lot of different things interest me and this is one place where I get a chance to write or vent if the case may be. I’m not super-focused here and people find me for a lot of different terms.
I originally started this site to highlight the fact that I was a hyperlocal blogger. Well, I still am a hyperlocal blogger. The majority of my time is spent hyperlocal blogging but it’s a subject that is not yet that popular and has a limited number of Google searches. According to the Google Keyword search tool, the term hyperlocal blog under an exact search receives 16 searches per month. Hardly enough to build a flagship site around. Hyperlocal blogging receives 22 searches per month when using the “exact” parameter. More and more people are getting into hyperlocal blogging and it seems there would be more searches.
We probably all have blogs that we want to make “flagship blogs.” (I just did my fingers in quotations). The problem as I see it, is in the decision of what we will focus on. Let’s see, I could focus on “Make Money Online”, I bet that would be easy to rank for. I could focus on making a “Passive income Online”. I could probably dominate that niche in a couple of weeks or so. I could video blog about internet marketing and be a very outspoken individual and create a huge following, but where is the fun in that? The problem with video blogging is that you better write some text because Google has not yet determined how to decipher a video. Besides, who cares about video on the internet? The internet has no future for video, right?
Let’s take a look at my latest stats at the keywords this blog has been found using.
Let’s analyze the last 20 queries by keyword to help me determine what I should optimize this blog for. You folks out there that stop by every now and then are a lot smarter than I am at this stuff. Your comments below will be welcome. It appears that maybe I should be writing about how Mark McGwire drinking Monster Energy Drink is a sex offender who should be hyperlocal blogging. I’m not sure, but I think I could dominate that niche.
Based on the keyword inquiries I have listed above, I would love to hear your suggestions as to where I should start focusing BloggerLens.
BTW, I’m now at #16 on Google for the term “Trust Agent”. That other dude can’t possibly be your Trust Agent. When you become a Trust Agent there is no way you would stuff articles with keyword phrases like Trust Agent, it’s understood and others will link to you for the term Trust Agent. That’s all I have to say about that.
Check out these awesome articles while you are here:
I think you just keep on blogging about hyperlocal blogging. I am a believer in the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy. Hyperlocal blogging branches into social media, SEO, etc. so it is a pretty broad base.
.-= Flossip´s last blog ..Quick reminder from the Flossette! =-.
Don’t you toucha my niche matey – or I’ll go after “trust agent”
IMHO you aren’t actually optimized for hyperlocal blogging – you are optimized for “have a cold one with me” – which is more a tag line I would have thought? In fact get someone who knows more about code shite than I do to look at your page source cause there is some weird stuff happening in there. ( A whole of javascript near the top)
I would look at incorporating related terms to hyperlocal blogging: local blogging, citizen journalist, local video blogger, etc. Though in some ways it doesn’t matter most of my search traffic comes on terms which are nothing to do with any variation of “passive income”. Instead specifiic posts and page rank for their keywords – and the more of these I do – the easier it is to get new related topics to rank. The ultimate practionaer of this apprach is RT at untwistedvortex.com. This way I still get to talk about what I want on my flagship and also have poss that make me money. BTW you could also try using your location as a qualifier e.g. make money online in north carolina may be easier than make money online …
This is where the true Internet marketer makes his money. You have to be creative and figure out what direction to take your blog. Most people would fail because they have no ideas. Lets see if you do. It is up to you to figure out a path you can follow that will turn this blog into a money maker.
Does that help
If you use the ALL in one SEO pack, you can use their admin page and that is where you can use an SEO title and tagline while still keeping your “have a cold one” up top here in the header.
Anyway, I def think hyperlocal blogging is a good niche, but you are right, no one knows WTF a “hyperlocal blog” is.
I’d focus on simple terms like:
“hometown online newspaper”
“local ezine creation”
“how to set up a local ezine”
“how set up a blog about my city”
“local news website”
“local news blogs”
“make money blogging about my city”
“make money blogging about my hometown”
“earn money writing about my city”
“setting up citizen journalism site/blog”
etc
I don’t think any of those terms get tons of traffic, but they are easy to rank for. There is probably some combination of those terms that will be a big fish and then you know what to truly optimize for.
You only truly know what traffic levels are when you sit on the number one spot for the term. The G keyword tool is really full of poopy most of the time and is only a guide.
The other thing I would do is set up a separate page on this site and write like 3000 words about local blogging and I would optimize that page for all the terms above. Put in some pretty pictures and links out to your other articles.
This way, people land on that page and you are still free to rant and rave on the blog area as you see fit.
BTW Steve, it’s ok to flex your creative muscle a little bit here. To me, that is what a flagship is… a place to just do what you want. I dunno if my flagship will ever produce money, but it does give me a place to make friends and send links to my friends.
AL
.-= Allyn´s last blog ..Using ‘Last Minute’ As A Buying Keyword Modifier =-.
@Flossip. Since I actually do work on my hyperlocal blogs 90% of the time, sometimes it’s hard to get on here and write about it. I do learn most of the things I know through my hyperlocal blogging efforts however.
@Lis. G’day and no worries. It’s quite easy to rank for terms in my local area for sure.
@Jessi. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what direction to take a blog if you have a lot of varied interests.
@Allyn. You gave me a great piece of advise that I’m going to take you up on. That’s being a true Trust Agent my friend.