A Local Blog: Your Secret Local SEO Weapon
Posted 17th May 2013 at 02:56 AM by kochtgr
Local SEO is considered one of the most effective ways to rank high on search engines and get traffic from your local area but still is not enough by itself. There is a way however that could turn local SEO to a real weapon and here is where it comes the term local blog.
What is a local blog?
A local blog is a blog that could target specific readers in certain areas of the globe to optimize the exposure of your business. This blog would act as a dynamic venue where you and your local clients could interact. Your locally optimized blog could increase the ranking of your business site in the search engine result pages because your keywords have targeted local traffic.
How would local blogging be your secret SEO weapon?
Use of geo-specific keywords in your blog would increase targeted visitors
Use geo-specific keywords in your blog posts, titles, links, snippets, and Meta description so that search engines would rank you higher in local searches. You could include names of the areas, local addresses, telephone numbers, Zip codes and other related keywords, which online local surfers would search for.
Using local Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) would also help in your search engine ranking. You can create synonyms for local keyword phrases, and use them throughout the article. Google’s new algorithm includes a more intelligent way of browsing through articles. It recognizes LSI. It ranks posts higher with related keywords instead of a certain keyword or local keyword phrases repeated over and over.
A 2 percent LSI keyword density has been found to be acceptable; more than 2 percent is dangerous, your content may actually pull your blog down and consequently your site’s SERP ranking. Less than 2 percent could be ranked last by engine crawlers because there are not enough vital keywords for the topic. Ascertain, though, that these LSI keywords are based on specific keywords related to the local area that you have targeted.
An example is this:
If your business is on Math tutorials, and your targeted visitors are readers from Chicago, then these two terms should appear in your keyword phrase. You can use “Excellent Math tutoring services in Chicago,” or one of its LSI, “Competent Chicago Math tutors.” This could be indexed more easily by your intended readers in Chicago. It could generate more traffic to your business than using a general keyword phrase such as, “competent Math tutoring services.”
Ensure that your blog is easily accessible through the local mobile services in your intended area. The use of these geo-specific keywords would attract search engines more to your blog/site because they are more specific. This would drive potential customers to your blog/site.
Include a blog forum
You can include a forum where your local readers could also interact with each other. Visitors from your targeted area could post reviews of your products or services. Their local links connected to the forum could increase your blog’s online presence and could boost your ranking in the local SERP.
Make your blog an integral part of the local community
Write about local events related to your business for that area. Your blog can participate actively in the local community. It could help promote community projects by providing a space that features these activities. You can accept important announcements from local organizations too. This would drive traffic to your blog and could end up with sales in your business site. This is one of your most important local SEO weapons, and you could strike gold with this effective method.
Post content at the time that your targeted customers are online
Fresh content attracts search engine crawlers and spiders. The more fresh content you write the more these bots index your site. This would increase the visibility of your link on the first pages of search engine results. Your posting should coincide with the time that majority of your targeted clients are online. This is usually during evenings before they go to sleep.
However, it is also important that you post at a set time, like posting 3 times a week at 9 a.m., or posting daily at 6 p.m. The frequency may vary but it should be consistent. Of course, posting daily is recommended because your blog would be indexed daily.
Post local updates about your product or services
You should post articles related to local business or services, as long as they are not your competitors. If you offer tutoring services, then you can post about a local business offering English tutorials found in your targeted area. You could write news updates, future predictions, and related products too. You could also write about local events and activities, which would prompt people in the local community to read and participate in your blog forum. This would increase traffic to your blog, attracting more potential customers for your business.
Connect your local blog with social networking sites
Smart online entrepreneurs have created Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for their blogs/sites because socializing is one way of generating local traffic to your blog. Allow local customers to talk about your products or services in these social networking sites. Create your own Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter accounts, which could be specific for your targeted local visitors.
Make sure you have those vital social media buttons readily available in each of your local blog posts, so that your visitors could easily click them to share your content. It has been observed that blogs targeting local traffic have gained more online popularity, which increased their SERP ranking.
Connect with major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing
You can create local listings, geo maps, or Google maps through the Geo Site Map generator. This could generate a map for your specific target area. Local listings with Yahoo and Bing would significantly drive local traffic to your blog. If you have local maps and listings, search engines would readily index your blog/site to the first pages of the local SERP.
Pointers
-If nothing happens the first few days or weeks, don’t give up, you will succeed if you persevere.
-Search engines are designed more intelligently now, (remember Google’s Panda and Penguin) so don’t spam your posts with meaningless keywords and spun content.
-Check your online communication regularly to interact with your local readers in your blog. This would keep the communication lines open.
-Be sincerely interested in your targeted local community. Your sincerity would demonstrate that you could be trusted. They would buy your products without you selling them.
Creating a blog for your business site that targets local traffic is a secret weapon that you can use effectively. If these steps are done properly, your blog would land on the first page of the SERP for local searches. The increase volume of traffic to your blog/site is because of your locally optimized keywords. Latch on to this local SEO weapon before it finally leaves you behind.
About the author:
+Kostas Chiotis is an avid blogger and entrepreneur both in the online and offline world. You can find the latest trends in blogging, SEO and Internet marketing by visiting his blog
What is a local blog?
A local blog is a blog that could target specific readers in certain areas of the globe to optimize the exposure of your business. This blog would act as a dynamic venue where you and your local clients could interact. Your locally optimized blog could increase the ranking of your business site in the search engine result pages because your keywords have targeted local traffic.
How would local blogging be your secret SEO weapon?
Use of geo-specific keywords in your blog would increase targeted visitors
Use geo-specific keywords in your blog posts, titles, links, snippets, and Meta description so that search engines would rank you higher in local searches. You could include names of the areas, local addresses, telephone numbers, Zip codes and other related keywords, which online local surfers would search for.
Using local Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) would also help in your search engine ranking. You can create synonyms for local keyword phrases, and use them throughout the article. Google’s new algorithm includes a more intelligent way of browsing through articles. It recognizes LSI. It ranks posts higher with related keywords instead of a certain keyword or local keyword phrases repeated over and over.
A 2 percent LSI keyword density has been found to be acceptable; more than 2 percent is dangerous, your content may actually pull your blog down and consequently your site’s SERP ranking. Less than 2 percent could be ranked last by engine crawlers because there are not enough vital keywords for the topic. Ascertain, though, that these LSI keywords are based on specific keywords related to the local area that you have targeted.
An example is this:
If your business is on Math tutorials, and your targeted visitors are readers from Chicago, then these two terms should appear in your keyword phrase. You can use “Excellent Math tutoring services in Chicago,” or one of its LSI, “Competent Chicago Math tutors.” This could be indexed more easily by your intended readers in Chicago. It could generate more traffic to your business than using a general keyword phrase such as, “competent Math tutoring services.”
Ensure that your blog is easily accessible through the local mobile services in your intended area. The use of these geo-specific keywords would attract search engines more to your blog/site because they are more specific. This would drive potential customers to your blog/site.
Include a blog forum
You can include a forum where your local readers could also interact with each other. Visitors from your targeted area could post reviews of your products or services. Their local links connected to the forum could increase your blog’s online presence and could boost your ranking in the local SERP.
Make your blog an integral part of the local community
Write about local events related to your business for that area. Your blog can participate actively in the local community. It could help promote community projects by providing a space that features these activities. You can accept important announcements from local organizations too. This would drive traffic to your blog and could end up with sales in your business site. This is one of your most important local SEO weapons, and you could strike gold with this effective method.
Post content at the time that your targeted customers are online
Fresh content attracts search engine crawlers and spiders. The more fresh content you write the more these bots index your site. This would increase the visibility of your link on the first pages of search engine results. Your posting should coincide with the time that majority of your targeted clients are online. This is usually during evenings before they go to sleep.
However, it is also important that you post at a set time, like posting 3 times a week at 9 a.m., or posting daily at 6 p.m. The frequency may vary but it should be consistent. Of course, posting daily is recommended because your blog would be indexed daily.
Post local updates about your product or services
You should post articles related to local business or services, as long as they are not your competitors. If you offer tutoring services, then you can post about a local business offering English tutorials found in your targeted area. You could write news updates, future predictions, and related products too. You could also write about local events and activities, which would prompt people in the local community to read and participate in your blog forum. This would increase traffic to your blog, attracting more potential customers for your business.
Connect your local blog with social networking sites
Smart online entrepreneurs have created Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for their blogs/sites because socializing is one way of generating local traffic to your blog. Allow local customers to talk about your products or services in these social networking sites. Create your own Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter accounts, which could be specific for your targeted local visitors.
Make sure you have those vital social media buttons readily available in each of your local blog posts, so that your visitors could easily click them to share your content. It has been observed that blogs targeting local traffic have gained more online popularity, which increased their SERP ranking.
Connect with major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing
You can create local listings, geo maps, or Google maps through the Geo Site Map generator. This could generate a map for your specific target area. Local listings with Yahoo and Bing would significantly drive local traffic to your blog. If you have local maps and listings, search engines would readily index your blog/site to the first pages of the local SERP.
Pointers
-If nothing happens the first few days or weeks, don’t give up, you will succeed if you persevere.
-Search engines are designed more intelligently now, (remember Google’s Panda and Penguin) so don’t spam your posts with meaningless keywords and spun content.
-Check your online communication regularly to interact with your local readers in your blog. This would keep the communication lines open.
-Be sincerely interested in your targeted local community. Your sincerity would demonstrate that you could be trusted. They would buy your products without you selling them.
Creating a blog for your business site that targets local traffic is a secret weapon that you can use effectively. If these steps are done properly, your blog would land on the first page of the SERP for local searches. The increase volume of traffic to your blog/site is because of your locally optimized keywords. Latch on to this local SEO weapon before it finally leaves you behind.
About the author:
+Kostas Chiotis is an avid blogger and entrepreneur both in the online and offline world. You can find the latest trends in blogging, SEO and Internet marketing by visiting his blog
Total Comments 0
