What types of Hyper Local Posts attract the most readers and Google searchers?

Hi Rita, I have found similar things on AR...localism has the most hits/clicks.  I also write local blogs outside of AR and those analytics tell you what the person typed into Google to get to you...and that is equally interesting.  As are result, my post about when and where Santa is arriving went out on 11/15 and my post on Easter Egg hunts go out two weeks prior as well.  Localism is what makes the phone ring.

Cindy in Indy

Thank you for the post Rita, well done! I will go and check my stats now to see what kind of traffic is coming to the hyper local posts...and plan to write more hyper blogs as well!

I have not check my stats lately, but I do know that local posts just don't bring in much for the time spent.

Rita - I have known for a long time that the posts that get the most attention from consumers in my market (my target audience) are the posts where I am promoting a particular loan program by highlighting a particular active listing and showing what the payments would be like.  The reason I know this is not only by the thousands of clicks and views but also because when people contact me (calls/emails) through my blogs (I have more than one), I always ask what post it was that appealed to them.

The other posts that attract a lot of attention from consumers in my market are the posts about the loan process or how I resolved some issue or challenge and closed the loan.  I have received quite a lot of contact (especially this year) from borrowers who are already in escrow and are having problems closing with their current MLO and they want to know if I can help them.

While my hyper-local posts don't get a lot of attention or comments from the AR community, I know that they are getting a lot of attention from consumers in my local market who are the ones I am targeting with my blog anyway.  Consumers don't often leave comments but what they will do is pick up the phone and call me or send me an email.  Personally, this is so much better than a bunch of comments from people who aren't my target audience anyway. 

Don't get me wrong, I love and enjoy that my subscribers and fave bloggers are so kind as to spend their time and energy reading and commenting on my posts but the AR community is generally not who I blog for and I write very few members only posts.  As long as consumers are reading my blog and contacting me about assisting them with their mortgage needs, I will continue to blog about hyper-local content.

Sorry for the long comment but you ask a very good question and one that all of us who are trying to increase our business throuh blogging.

Rita are these the stats we can access on our home page statistics or did you find some kind of Google stats elsewhere>

Rita, those are amazing stats.  Even though I get alot of clicks on my local posts, its nowhere near the numbers of some of yours.  I think I need to check my keywords.  DO you think that that would help improve the click thru?

Rita- you are right on target with your advise for the title having key terms people might search for.  I used to try to write "clever catchy titles" and then I read a blog about how important the key words being in the title and not just the post or the tag were and I changed my style and I have some amazing stats to show for it.  Last summer I got over 1000 views and clicks on a local 4th of July fireworks event.  This year I'm going to sit on the board of directors for that fund raising event because they appreciated what my blog did for their event.  It's being not only "in" the community but making yourself a "part" of the community that brings the most return on investment of hyper local blogs.    You've got some great numbers too.

Rita,

Market reports and local information about attractions, especially parks, seem to be my big reader items. I'll be looking at this again soon. Thanks!