Articles Targeting Localized Search
Most 
articles submitted to us with the intent of being indexed by search engines for localized-search (location specific) results end up getting rejected.
Why do they get rejected? For failing to deliver on the promise made in the article title.
For Example: “Morocco Body Painting Supplies”
What does this title really promise?
It’s clear to us that this author is targeting local search. They most likely have have no intention of delivering the benefit promised in the title of their article. In most cases, this type of author won’t even mention “MOROCCO” in their article body, but they will most likely include it in their anchored text link in their Resource Box. If they did mention “MOROCCO” in the body of the article, it’ll most likely contain excessive keyword repetition (a secondary reason we wouldn’t accept it).
This indicates to us that perhaps they don’t care about their end reader and only want their articles to show up in the local search results for their targeted keywords. Because this provides our users with a bad experience, we won’t accept this type of article.
If this author were to write about what’s unique about “Morocco Body Painting Supplies,” and the information supplied can’t be applied to any other locale, then we may be able to accept it.
The Acid Test: If we put in any other location name in the article title, does the article body still work? If so, then the article body is not unique to the title.
Example: “Wisconsin Body Painting Supplies” or “Key West Body Painting Supplies” or “New Orleans Body Painting Supplies” … See what I mean? If the article body remains the same but the location changes, then the information is most likely NOT unique to the location being targeted and thus can’t be accepted.
What about your locale makes it unique to your article? As a reader, when I read a locale-targeted article, I want specifics on the location and how it’s relevant to the market. Simply telling me that Morocco has body painting supplies provides me no more value than telling me that Wisconsin has them too. I want to know why Morocco is unique to this article and why it’s relevant to body painting supplies.
Lastly, we have a Sr. Editor (Derek) who sends internal whiteboard bulletins throughout the week to help keep all of our Editors on the same page. Here’s one of his notes from last month that is relevant to this discussion. Keep in mind, it’s written for giving internal guidance to our Editors.
Editor Q&A – What Constitutes a Localized Niche Article?
Localized Niche articles are written about a particular place or locale and services or amenities in that locale. This is primarily based off of the title against the content of the article.
If the article can be replaced with any other locale and it still makes sense, this is to be rejected for Localized Niche (Title Violation: Does Not Relate to the Article Body).
For Example: The title of an article is, ‘Florida Destination Tips’ and the only mention of anything related to Florida is that it’s the “Sunshine State”, that really wouldn’t be enough. However, if the article had 1 or 2 very specific mentions of a place(s) in Florida, or state-specific statistics, that may be enough to gain approval; provided the rest of the article has relevant/quality content.
For more information, watch this video on localized niche articles from Gary’s “Top 10 Reasons for Article Rejection” series.
Any questions?
Thank you for your question. To clarify, you are free to submit articles that discuss and review localized content on Yelp and Angie’s List.
We have a list of restricted phrases that are we unable to accept in articles due to legal constraints, and AARP is on the list.
July 25, 2018 at 6:56 AM[Reply]