Are you making it difficult for Google and other search engines to find your hyperlocal blog? Everybody needs a little help now and then, even the Big G. I thought I would write about the guidelines I use whenever I write an article for my hyperlocal blog, the Monroe Scoop.
Let me state right now that I’m not an SEO Expert (search engine optimization). I’m not an expert at anything with the one exception of enjoying an ice cold Blue Moon in a frosty mug at the end of every day. There are a few things that I try to do with every article I post in the hopes that it will help the search engines find my site. If you apply the same principals on your site, I think it will help build your traffic, it certainly will not hurt.
Doing SEO on a hyperlocal blog is not the easiest thing in the world to do. If you try to do everything perfect, you will go crazy in the process. I want you to focus on just a few things that will eventually become second nature to you. It’s easy. Two things I enjoy in my life. Free…me and free get along great. Easy…I’m a simple dude and don’t like things real complicated. I want my stuff on cruise control if possible.
Heres how I roll:
Since I’m simple, I’ll do my best to make this simple.
I’m going to assume your site is built on the Wordpress platform. If you are using a free blogging platform, that is ok as a supporting site to send links. However, stop wasting your time and effort and get on your own site and your own hosting. If you carefully read the terms of service on free sites, you will most likely find that you do not officially own the content and they can shut you down on a moments notice. Do Not Risk It!
Make sure you install the All In One SEO Pack Wordpress plugin. Every time you post an article, fill in all of the information into this plugin. I won’t go into the details of this plugin on this article. There are plenty of sites that will do it better justice than I. Just Google it. It’s a very easy plugin and pretty much self explanatory.
I rank #1 on more local terms in my community than I could shake a stick at. I try to write naturally for the most part and just let it happen. No way I can SEO for everything. I rank #1 simply because I post articles and Google has determined that I’m the authority. Google will do the same on your hyperlocal blog also. Ask Matt McGee, he’ll tell you that he can easily rank for just about any term he wants on his hyperlocal blogs.
Here are a few of my personal guidelines I try to do at least 90% of the time.
I focus on 4 terms mostly. 2 variations of my city name and State. 2 variations of my County name and State. Those 4 terms are most likely the 4 most searched terms in your community. Either through a broad search or an exact search.
- Whenever I use my city or county name in my article title I always use my state also. Ex. Over 500 Union County, NC Students Screened For Pre-Kindergarten. I could simply write Union County and everyone in my community knows what I’m talking about. To Google, how many Union Counties are in the USA?
- I always use an H1 Tag at the beginning of my articles. I start every article (mostly) with my geographical location. Check out the screen shot of the beginning of the article. See the big bold Union County, NC? That’s just my little message to Google.
Screen Shot
- Now I just write naturally throughout my article or I post a press release. If the press release uses the word Union County in it, I will usually add the “NC” or “North Carolina” to it. Not always but usually. Use your best judgement.
- At the end of every article, I take the opportunity to once again mention my County or City and State, and I also add a link back to the homepage of the Monroe Scoop. I think every SEO Guru out there will tell you that deep linking within your site is very good. I show a link and I “bold” it all.
Screen Shot
- At this point and time, it’s time to start adding “tags” to your article. This is very simple to do. Simply start perusing down your article and add tags for the pertinent information in your article. Names, organizations, locations etc… If you notice in the screenshot, you will find that I tagged many of the words that were in my article that someone might do a search on in Google or in my own site search bar.
Screen Shot
- Always, always, always add “alt tags” with keywords to your photos. I get a lot of traffic to my site from Google images.
- Now here’s a little secret that you may or may not know about but I feel it can be very effective for your hyperlocal blog. Check your stats and look at the search terms that people are finding your site from. Look at the pages on your site they landed on. Take some of those terms and go back and edit those articles by adding those tags to that article or do some editing by adding those terms in the article. Tags will create more Wordpress pages for Google to index and give you more terms to be discovered by.
- Make it a habit to link to other articles within your site. If you are writing an article talking about the Humane Society and you have previously written about them before, link back to the previous article using good keyword terms as your anchor text. This deep linking helps greatly as the Super Duper Guru’s will tell you.
These are very easy and simple steps that will help your site with the search engines. If you start applying these ideas, it will soon become second nature.
Copyright 2009 BloggerLens.com Hyperlocal Blog & Citizen Journalism
Check out these awesome articles while you are here:
I appreciate this article, both of these ideas makes complete since!
I spent three days out in Utah at OrangeSoda a few months back with the company that layed me off. It is an SEO Giant in the United States and picked some things up. It also is very important to make sure you have good metatags in your header and title your site. I am sure that is a bit of info most know but you would be surprised how bad some sites are set up without pivotal and great metatag information.
Thanks for the great article! I don’t use keywords enough and I use Firefox and have Zemanta which basically will do the work for you. I need to do that much more!
Keep up the great site!
Another question, how do you feel about an over abundance of keywords? And what if one of the names you use in the article has a name that is picked up in Wikipedia and you can hyperlink it even if it is not them? It would drive traffic but not make sense what is your advice? I use Zemanta so it picks up names that I have never heard of that much some of my articles names.
@Dominic I only concentrate on the 4 terms I mentioned. After that I just try to write natural as if you are listening to me talk. Fortunately, Google has given my site enough authority that I rank very high for most of the local terms in my community. Another words, I do not keyword stuff. I’m not familiar with Zemanta. I just took a quick look at the web site and I’ll have to dig a little deeper. Seriously though, after your hyperlocal site is established, Google will rank you high without a ton of effort on your part. It just seems that Google really likes the local stuff.
When I check my stats, I click the terms only to find that in a majority of the time, I’m #1 for that term and I certainly never even tried to rank for such keywords or terms. It happens naturally.
Steve, sorry to hear about your dad. My dad is retired from the Navy now so I get to see him a lot more than I did when I was a kid. I was able to go fish in a musky fishing tournament over fathers day weekend with him and we had a great time. All my like he has been telling me that I can do anything and accomplish anything I want to. I feel grateful that he is has and my mom have been very supportive in my successes, and very helpful with my failures and tribulations.
I am also a big fan and friend of Allyn Hane over at bloggerillustrated.net, he really was the first person to show me “the way of the samurai” when it comes to making money on the internet. I’m from wisconsin, and yes, lots of beer drank here. Ever heard of Spotted Cow made by New Glaurus…good stuff.
My brother and I have been thinking about starting a local or “worldwide” blog about fishing because the outdoors are where we live most of the time. Your tips are great, keep them coming.
@Eric Your Dad sounds awesome. Ex-Navy (like me) and he fishes with you. It doesn’t get much better. Never heard of the 2 brews you mentioned. We don’t have a lot of specialty brews around my parts. If you stay local to start with on a fishing blog, I guarantee it will not take long for the local fisherman to find you. Hyperlocal fishing…now thats cool!
Thanks for your nice comments. I was in Madison 2 years ago in December and I froze my Carolina rear end off but it was a great college town.
Oh yeah, couldn’t ask for anything more from the old man. He was a chief in the navy for a long time so I know you could probably relate to him on his personality.
My dad is on the Wisonsin Musky Tour, and my brother lives his life around fishing and hunting (he picked his job around how much time he has off to hunt and fish, lol!) So they know everything and I love to fish and hunt too so yeah I think we will go local…problem: they live and hour and half away from me.
Madison is a huge party town. I remember, well kind of, all the good times there when I was going to college a few years ago…fun stuff. Yeah it get chilly sometimes –> ice fishing.
Steve,
Hey man, hope you are doing well after your loss. I appreciate you my friend!
I like that you are doing some vid AND writing. That is the perfect combo because your vid is really good and from the heart and makes a nice addition to your very detailed and flowing writing style. I don’t think you realize just how good of an internet marketer you really are! This advice is TOP NOTCH and right on the money (literally)
FYI–my buddy Bryan and I started a hyper local for our town and are now just getting up a few articles before we start the marketing machine up. Thanks so much for being my friend Steve! It means a lot!
AL
@Allyn. Thanks Big Guy. Each day is a little easier. It helps to immerse myself and keep my brain occupied.
I can’t wait to see what you are doing because I know you go BIG or you don’t go at all. We will all learn a lot and I hope you will write a guest article here on Bloggerlens about your new venture.
The feeling is mutual my friend. This afternoon, I will enjoy a frosty one and I toast you and all of my new friends here on Bloggerlens.
Steve
Steve,
Just saw the video and am sorry to hear about your dad. Glad you were able to be with him and that he lived a long life for you to spend with him.
@Medic Thanks about my Dad. I’m one of the lucky ones.
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