How to Personalize Search Queries for Blog Prospecting

by Venchito Tampon Jr | Last Updated on October 24, 2021

Blog prospecting can, at times, prove to be a pretty daunting task. While you may have a ton of tricks already at your disposal,it wouldn’t hurt to consider taking another step towards developing a less time-consuming method.

At SharpRocket, I’ll admit we have grown quite fond of utilizing search operators allintext and allintitle (both of these are useful for productive search engine queries). While both are far from being revolutionary, they definitely help make life just a little bit easier.

These search operators are plenty useful by themselves. When paired with the right keywords, however, they can work wonders. 

THE TWO ‘FIRSTS’ OF BLOGGING

In our experience, when it comes to blogs – there are always two “firsts”.

1. Firsthand Experience – Bloggers most commonly talk about their own lives. They share valuable insights and opinions which are purely personal.

2. First Person Point-of-View – In relating these firsthand experiences to their target readers, it is only logical that authors use First Person P.O.V.

Key Pronouns: I, me, my

 

FIRST PERSON P.O.V PROSPECTING

It would only make sense, then, to incorporate this concept into blog research. After all, who would ever say no to better filtered results?

Note that while this process may not totally eliminate company sites from the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), it will definitely minimize the time spent looking for prospects. And in the fast-paced world of digital marketing, I’m sure we all understand that every second counts.

Formula: allintext/allintitle  +  keywords + key pronoun/s

For example, if your client happens to be in the business of home improvement – consider adding one or more of the key pronouns to make your search even more specific. In this case, the more clear-cut your query is, the better.

allintext:I painted the walls

allintitle:remodeling the house

As you have probably noticed from the examples shown above, Google generated more results when I utilized the search operator allintext than when allintitle was used. Each have their individual advantages when it comes to blog research.

While allintext may offer you a wider range of possibilities to choose from, allintitle gives you a brief,  condensed list of candidates. Keep in mind that allintitle is a bit harder to calibrate as  you have to choose more precise keywords.

For even more explicit link targets, try using quotation marks (“,”) in your search query.

allintext:“I painted the walls”

Though this may provide you with noticeably less options, it does help narrow them down to the most relevant. Incorporating quotation marks into your queries can also spew out results which are miles more accurate than the alternative.

The obvious downside to this tactic, however, is the fact that not all bloggers speak the same way. Though you may still get a considerable number of prospects, consider how many more blogs are out there discussing the exact same topic using completely different terms or nuances. At some point, we have to think about how our ability to produce quality results may be directly related to our creativity.

 

PERSONAL BLOG ROUNDUPS

Commonly known by most bloggers as blog hops or blog parties, roundups are an integral part of building your network of friends and readers. They can be updated weekly, monthly or even annually. The websites mentioned in these lists, in contrast with blog rankings, are hand-picked based on content.

Chances are, most of the blogs listed under these posts are just that – BLOGS. The reason behind this may be that the blogger who compiled the roundup has at one time or another, had an interaction or two with the people he cited. I, personally, have yet to come across a blog roundup that cited company journals. The major sentiment behind these roundups seem to be, “for individuals, by individuals.”

This can also serve as your assurance that the blogs you will unearth are of good quality, content-wise. Being mentioned in these lists can be considered a nod to a blogger’s impressive work. Although you cannot expect all these websites to turn into prospects, the results you will get would still be of great significance.

Basically, our main goal here is to steer clear of blog rankings/blog directories that are based solely on website statistics (e.g Domain Authority, Alexa Ranking, etc.). As you know, these types of lists do not discriminate between corporate and personal blogs. Instead of wading around an enumeration of 100 or so top blogs that may or may not be run by individuals – try looking for blog roundups by individual bloggers.

Though the terms blog hop, blog party, and link party may sound like big no-no’s to digital marketers, it is actually what the average blogger uses in reference to what we call “blog roundups”. It is therefore advisable to use terminology which is more commonly used by content creators to generate the most results.

Saturated results can be attained by using quotation marks and/or search operator “allintitle” in your query.

Formula: allintitle (optional) + niche + blog hop/blog party/link party

allintitle:”DIY link party”

SMALL DETAILS, BIG IMPACT

Hard as it may seem, there are always new methods we can come up with to maximize productivity and minimize the time spent for blog research. Just remember that, in the end, our purpose is to establish valuable relationships with real people. Noticing small details such as the words and terms used constantly by bloggers may seem a tedious and unnecessary task, but they can sometimes lead to the best results.