Most poker webmasters who’ve been a this a while already have a poker site network. This post isn’t specifically for them, but they might benefit from it anyway. This post describes (for the beginner poker webmaster) how to launch a poker site network. I offer one way of launching a network, but it’s not the only way. It might not even be the best way. But it’s a good example of poker SEO strategy, and it makes it clear what priorities improve a poker site network’s chances of success.

What is a poker site network?

A poker site is a collection of web pages about poker. Poker sites vary in size, from poker microsites to huge authority poker sites. Most poker sites consist of a collection of poker pages on different but related subjects. A small poker site might focus on the various starting hands in Texas holdem, and have a page about how to play each of those hands. A large authority poker site might focus on poker in general and include the rules for every poker game imaginable, definitions of every poker term imaginable, and a directory of every place to play poker in the world.

A poker site network is a collection of related poker sites. Some poker webmasters have huge site networks with 50 or more poker sites in them. I don’t think much of that strategy, because I have doubts as to how well a single person can manage that many websites. I’m a quality over quantity poker webmaster. Beginner poker webmasters don’t need huge poker site networks with lots of websites. A beginner should only start out with 3 or 4 poker sites.

How to choose topics for a poker site network – local poker sites

The first poker site a beginner poker webmaster should launch is a local poker site aimed at the poker players near where she lives. Local poker sites have lots of advantages:

1. The keyword phrases for most local poker sites are non-competitive, so it’s easy to get some ranking success right away.
2. The content should be easy to write, because you are a poker player living in the area.
3. Your potential link sources expand beyond the usual poker linkbuying and poker link trading suspects. And a unique backlink profile will help you rank better faster.
4. People who live near each other can form a community quickly, which will increase repeat visits to your site.

I live in a small town. It’s so small (5000 people) that there is no poker action here to speak of. But the county I live in has almost 800,000 people. If I were a beginner poker webmaster, I would start with a site called randomcountypoker.com. (I’d replace “random” with the name of the county, of course.) If you live in Dallas or Fort Worth, you can restrict your local poker site to just a single city.

Covering the subject of the game of poker in a county (or city) of 800,000 people should be pretty easy. No legal cardrooms operate in my area, but people from here drive to casinos in Oklahoma to play poker. So I can start my site by writing about the poker games available at the two poker cardrooms nearest my home. (If you live in an area with legal cardrooms, it’s even easier to have something to write about.)

Multiple bars here offer free poker tournaments too. (These are usually Amateur Poker League events, but competitors run the same kind of tourneys here too.) I could make a list of the bars offering those free poker tournaments and their schedules. Now I have another useful, unique piece of poker content. I can play in the free poker tourneys and post about my results in a “poker trip report” fashion.

A couple of stores here sell poker tables and poker chips. A directory of those stores would be unique and useful. Local bookstores offer poker books too. I could write about how good or bad their selections are.

I can also launch a forum where locals can discuss poker, plan poker parties and/or get-togethers, etc.

When I’m finished, I easily have 20, 50, or even 100 pages of unique poker content related to the local area. My site navigation won’t duplicate anyone else’s poker site navigation, and the search engines will notice that. (Experienced poker webmasters have probably noticed that new sites often go into the sandbox. My contention is that their content is so similar in focus to other sites that it’s hard for them to gain trust. Unique content and a unique focus will help a new webmaster avoid that sandbox effect.)

At least 2000 businesses operate in my county, and at least half of those have websites. That provides me with 1000 potential relevant and thematically-related websites to get links from.

I could write articlesl about how to win at the free poker tournaments offered in the local bars. Some of them will be willing to use those articles  on their website as content. Those that do will link to me in exchange for the content.

Now I have a local poker website with unique poker content and unique local content. I have a unique backlink profile to my local poker site. I’ve done minimal amounts of basic on-page SEO, so I’m also getting poker traffic. What do I do next?

How to choose topics for a poker site network – personal poker blogs

The 2nd site in your beginner poker site network can be a personal poker blog. If you’re interested in running a network of poker sites, you probably play poker. You might play exclusively online, or you might only play in the free local bar tournaments, or you might play exclusively in the money games in Oklahoma casinos. You might play in a combination of those settings. But regardless of where you play poker, you’ll have poker experiences and poker insights unique to your experience. Your personal poker blog is the place to write about these poker experiences and poker insights.

Set a schedule for when you’re going to post to your personal poker blog. Then stick to your schedule. Persistence and consistency are the easiest and least used poker SEO techniques on the Internet. Update your poker blog with a single post every day for a year, and you’ll have over 250 posts at the end of the year. (And that’s assuming you take weekends off and two weeks of vacation.) Unless you write about the same things every day using the same words every day, you’ll have huge potential for receiving longtail poker traffic.

As part of your poker blogging strategy, network with other poker bloggers. Find five or ten (or more) poker bloggers who post consistently and add them to your blogroll. Comment on their posts when you have something to add. Play in the poker blogger tournaments if you’re invited. If poker bloggers live near you, buy them a cup of coffee or a beer. They’ll link to you without your having to ask. (Bloggers are generous with links when you run real poker content sites and real poker blogs.)

List your blog in a few blog directories. Find some blogs who accept guest posts, and write content for them in exchange for backlinks. Encourage your local and/or blog contacts to launch their own poker site networks. Help them get started; they’ll link to you without your having to ask.

Your personal poker blog and your local poker site can link to and from each other. When you write a piece of content for your poker blog that you’re proud of, you can publicize it on your local poker site. Your poker blog will link to and from your friends who are blogging about poker. You’re starting to create your own unique poker link neighborhood. Your local poker site and your personal poker blog are at the center of this neighborhood, and as you launch more sites , you’ll form your own “town square” of poker sites.

How to choose topics for a poker site network – other poker topics

Choosing poker topics for additional poker sites in your network is easy. Write about your favorite poker game and launch a game-specific site. Or launch a site where you review the poker books you’ve read. Review online cardrooms if you want to, but it’s hard to come up with a unique guide to online cardrooms nowadays. (Almost everything that could be said about every online cardroom has already been said by someone.) You could write a blog about your experiences launching your poker site network, or about being a poker webmaster. No matter which topic you choose, you’ll have unique linking opportunities based on that topic.

Your goal with your poker site network is to offer unique poker content and a valuable poker resource. You do that by thinking about who you your audience is and writing for them. My audience here is made up of poker webmasters, but your audience might be different.

You don’t have to duplicate super-successful poker affiliate portals like PokerListings or PokerNews unless you WANT to. And if  you do want to, then launching your poker network in the way I’ve described will help you build a solid foundation.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 11:57 am and is filed under Duplicate Content, Poker Content, Poker Keyword Research, Poker Link Building . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.