© 2019, Tammy A. Hepps. All rights reserved. The material contained herein may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any format without the written consent of the author. Questions and comments welcome via TammyHepps.com/contact/.

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Technology for Creating Cousin Bait that Works Tammy A. Hepps � HomesteadHebrews.com � @treelinescom

What is cousin bait?

• Luring previously unknown cousins… o With what you already know about your ancestors o To learn new information about them o And to collaborate on future searches

• Good bait is o Findable o Engaging o Answerable

Findable bait in the Internet age

• The bait: Fun facts about your shared ancestors that you dangle as publicly as possible in hopes of luring distant cousins to you

• Before the Internet you’d have to guess where people were already looking • Today

o Places genealogists are looking: Family tree sites, DNA sites o Places everyone is looking: News sites, top blogs o Personal places: Blogs, photo albums, social networks, personal sites

Genealogy websites

• Members only! • Matches

o Tree matches o DNA matches

• Hard to find individual pages within search engines Search engine optimization (SEO)

• How to make your content not only appear in search engines, • But also rank highly • These guidelines apply for the content itself, the underlying software, & the

underlying hosting provider • What does a search engine see? What can you control for?

o On the page § Content: Quality, keywords § Architecture: Server speed, mobile compatibility § HTML: Headlines & subheds

o Off the page § Trust: Engagement, history § Links: Quantity & quality § Personal: Visitors

© 2019, Tammy A. Hepps. All rights reserved. The material contained herein may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any format without the written consent of the author. Questions and comments welcome via TammyHepps.com/contact/.

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§ Social: Shares o Complete list at http://searchengineland.com/seotable

Personal places

• Personal blog o Recommended host: Wordpress.com o Blogging advice & community: GeneaBloggersTRIBE.com

• Personal tree website o Recommended host: TNGSiteBuilding.com

• Photo albums o Recommended hosts: Flickr.com, Photos.Google.com

Guidelines for creating good bait

• Pick a modern, speedy platform • Check that it will look good on your phone • Write substantive text • Include words and phrases your cousin is likely to search for • Use specific pages titles • Break up long text with sub-headings that also include specific search terms • Pick good keywords and write a good meta description (if you have access)

Guidelines for Promoting Your Bait

• Submit your site to search engines o Google o Bing o Yahoo

• Get other sites to link to yours • Promote your site on your social media to increase traffic

o Public posts on FB, Twitter, G+ o Relevant FB groups

Reputable Places

• Get your research into the newspaper • Submit articles for publication • Guest blog for popular genealogy websites • Give genealogy talks

o Local societies o Local libraries/archives o National conferences

© 2019, Tammy A. Hepps. All rights reserved. The material contained herein may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any format without the written consent of the author. Questions and comments welcome via TammyHepps.com/contact/.

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Engaging bait • What search engines want to see (top picture)

vs. what humans want to read (bottom picture)

• Engage your cousin with o Enough names/dates/places to

confirm the match o Unique information…

§ Stories § Photos § Elusive evidence § But not everything!

o …Or clear questions o Show off your energy and dedication

to your family genealogy! Answerable Bait

• Ensure people can actually reach you o Every page must list you as the creator o Every page must provide a clear way to

contact you o Test all contact mechanisms to ensure you

get the alerts § Personal sites § Family tree/DNA sites § Social sites

• Keep privacy concerns in mind regarding o Living people o Your personal security questions on other

websites

Your cousin bait report card q My tree is online on major sites, and I’ve turned sharing on q My DNA is online on major sites q I’ve created a personal website or blog with genealogy information q My personal site is on a fast server using modern software q All of my cousin bait links to the rest q I’ve checked search engines to make sure my content appears there q I’ve checked every place I put cousin bait to make sure there’s a clear way for my

cousin to contact me q I’ve promoted myself and my research on reputable websites and social networks