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One Word Says it All~LOCALISM, and Tips Too

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas

One word says it all. LOCALISM...Whether you are a Newbie or Oldie here in the Rain you must learn the value of Local and Hyper-Local posts. I have discovered over the years, 4 to be exact, that there is no better way to hit GOOGLE and their "happy spot" and we can thank Active Rain for the strategic placement.

My past Localism posts have been geared for Local postings instead of Hyper-Local.

What does this mean?

A Local Post is Keyword Optimized for an "AREA" instead of a particular neighborhood. Living in the Piney Woods of Texas (currently fighting a violent fire demolishing over 15,000 arces) our neighborhoods are rather obscure. Possible Buyers would not know a name of a neighborhood to type it into GOOGLE. They would simply type the "AREA" name. In larger cities where you have coveted neighborhoods who's names are "WHERE THE CLIENT WANTS TO BE", you would be better off targeting a Hyper-Local Post for the neighborhood name, "WHERE I WANT TO BE SUBDIVISION".

To be "found" in your area you must take the time with each post to SEND THE POST TO YOUR AREA!

Localism

Your State, County and City are important for the Local Placement. Now, if you want to go HYPER-LOCAL,
you may fill in the NEIGHBORHOOD you are targeting by choosing it on your drop down! If your post is a listing be sure and check the "Post is a Listing" box. All of this information you give Active Rain is passed to GOOGLE in a strategic way!

In case you are New To Localism!

I say it WORKS WITHOUT A DOUBT.

Have you been good about checking your Statistics? If you go to the sidebar with all your categories one your home page you will see STATISTICS. This is the most fascinating information you can get on your back door as you can see what is working. And, what is not working.

This is what my Stats look like from two posts written two years ago!

Deb Brooks

No wonder I have been getting business!

Now, what do these stats mean? The 17,903 Views were found on GOOGLE but the post was NOT ABOUT THE AREA. THE READERS DID NOT CLICK THROUGH MY PROFILE. There were only 1583 click throughs.

Not what we are going for.

The 13,068 is a true BINGO! THIS IS A LOCALISM POST FOR THE AREA! READERS WANTED TO KNOW WHO I WAS AND CLICKED ON THROUGH. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING FOR! 11,573 VIEWS OF MY PROFILE!

And, what have I gotten from that? Real Estate Leads and paying clients!

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR LOCALISM POSTS:

  • Integrate your Target into the Title after accessing your Target Market

  • My Target. Bentwater (subdivision) on Lake Conroe (target area) Hyper-Local

  • Or, Lake Conroe Real Estate (local)

  • Include your KeyWords in the body of your Post

  • Be sure and Tag your Photos as the Google Bot does read them

  • Be ORIGINAL and INFORMATIONAL

  • Try to use Local Links within your Post

  • Make sure the local links open within your own window. You do not want to send your readers away from your Post.

  • Add an "ABOUT ME" link in your Post that links to your profile. This encourages clicks.

  • GOOGLE prefers from 3% to 4% KEYWORD SATURATION

  • After your writing is complete, go to a FREE KEYWORD COUNTER ON GOOGLE

  • You may then enter your KeyWords and text for the actual percentage. You can then adjust your content to MAXIMIZE YOUR KEYWORD COUNT.

  • QUALITY IS THE GOOGLE KEY

  • NOT QUANTITY

  • Remember your Tag Bar at the Bottom of your Post Window

  • Include your EXACT KEYWORDS USED WHERE YOU WANT TO BE FOUND. Make certain they are the exact phrases you used in your Post.

  • HIT ENTER AND GAGE YOUR EXPOSURES!

  • Last but not least. Ask yourself, "what is more important to me...comments or exposures? Continuing to post "fun" posts won't hurt you at all with GOOGLE. That will add the FRESH CONTENT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. Just remember though, once GOOGLE picks up and falls in love with one of your Posts, it may be there for MONTHS.

  • The others are fluff.

 It may take a bit longer to write the PERFECT LOCALISM POST but it's worth each and every moment!

Have a wonderful day my friends~

Show All Comments Sort:
Deb Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Ann, and John Novak,

A few More. Not the titles you would expect but I do this so people are curious enough To Click Through!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool, huh?

Jun 23, 2011 07:55 AM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Deb, good examples & great exposure on those posts. Great job on the SEO too.

Jun 23, 2011 08:26 AM
Michael Deery
Citywide Financial Corp - Pacific Beach, CA

Awesome info, thank you Deb!

Jun 23, 2011 09:15 AM
Jay O'Brien
RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Real Estate
Wow, great tips! It's a great add on value for our sellers to drive more traffic to see their listings.
Jun 23, 2011 09:59 AM
Kathy Schowe
California Lifestyle Realty - La Quinta, CA
La Quinta, California 760-333-8886
What a great and comprehensive post regarding localism and maximizing our blogs -- thank you for all the great info! Kathy
Jun 23, 2011 11:01 AM
Lynn Donn
Royal Lepage Nanaimo Realty - Nanaimo, BC
Homes for Sale in Nanaimo BC

Wow, great post and very helpful.  Thank you for sharing what is working for you!

Lynn

Jun 23, 2011 01:48 PM
Jennifer Manchester
Suburban Properties of Charlotte, LLC - Mint Hill, NC
GRI, ePRO, ASP - Broker/Home Stager

Thanks Deb.

I have book marked this for future reference.  I have been doing some SEO training this month and this post was so timely.  Congratulations on all your successes.

Jun 23, 2011 01:55 PM
Debbe Perry
Real Living Carolina Property - Morganton, NC
828.439.3084 Morganton/Lake James NC

Great info - and I can see that Localism rules! Bookmarking...

Jun 23, 2011 03:24 PM
Marshall Brown
Mid America Inspection Services, LLC - Fargo, ND
BSEE, CHI

Now all I have to do is absorb all that information. Thanks for providing it though. I want to get local in the communities we serve.

Jun 23, 2011 03:36 PM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

I am sometimes amazed at how fast Google indexes my Localism posts... I get a Google Alert in just minutes!

Jun 23, 2011 04:24 PM
Sandy Acevedo
951-290-8588 - Chino Hills, CA
RE/MAX Masters, Inland Empire Homes for Sale

Bookmarking to check out later. Sounds very interesting.     

Jun 23, 2011 06:20 PM
Cristina Salcedo
US Home Lending - Riverside, CA
Riverside, Loan Specialist

Deb, great information!  I am a newbie and your post is gold for me. Thank you

Jun 23, 2011 07:26 PM
Jennifer Prestwich
Henderson, Thornton, Broomfield and Westminster - Henderson, CO
Madison & Co Properties

Deb, this is FABULOUS.  Bookmarked as a how-to for me!  I have been doing local and hyperlocal posts, but this clarifies how I should be differentiating them.  THANK YOU

Jun 24, 2011 03:43 AM
Ty Lacroix
Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc - London, ON

Hi Deb, now I know and thanks, it's a great help!

Ty

Jun 24, 2011 06:23 AM
Deb Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Thank you for all the responses! I can't keep up with answering individually but you are all important to me! If anyone has any extra questions you can respond here or send me an email and I will get to you ASAP with possible answers.

Now, go write your localism posts and get your name out there on Google! I know you can do it too~

Deb

Jun 24, 2011 06:56 AM
Gerard Gilbers
Higher Authority Markeing - Asheboro, NC
Your Marketing Master

Excellant post and fits right in with what Key Assad told us in an office meeting yesterday. Talk about your area and create a relationship!

Jun 24, 2011 05:01 PM
Melissa Zavala
Broadpoint Properties - Escondido, CA
Broker, Escondido Real Estate, San Diego County

And, of course, it also helps your bounce rate if you say something interesting. It is tough (but well worth it) to follow all those rules.

Jun 27, 2011 02:15 AM
Patricia Beck
RE/MAX Properties, Inc., ABR, GRI, SRES - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Realty

Thanks for the helpful info; I havn't heard of the keyword counter on google.

Jun 28, 2011 02:28 PM
Kasey & John Boles
Jon Gosche Real Estate, LLC - BoiseMeridianRealEstate.com - Boise, ID
Boise & Meridian, ID Ada/Canyon/Gem/Boise Counties

I know you wrote this a few weeks ago, but I am just getting through some old Daily Drops.  Just tonight I was lamenting that I have no idea if my active rain posting is doing anything for my online presence and I googled myself and didn't see my AR stuff anywhere (we do have a lot of other websites that come up).  So this is pretty great that I read this shortly after thinking that.  - Kasey

Jul 11, 2011 06:03 PM
Wayne B. Pruner
Oregon First - Tigard, OR
Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Realtor, GRI

This is good info. Some of my older Localism posts still generate phone calls

Sep 24, 2012 11:50 PM