by Peter Weinberger

Most people don’t think about how they find local news anymore. They just search. And with over 14,000 posts since 2008 on the Courier website, we already have excellent Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In other words, it’s not hard to find the Courier online.

If someone wants to know what’s happening with Claremont schools, a housing project, or a local crime story, they go to Google and type a few words. What shows up in that moment determines what they read — and what they never see.

The Claremont Courier is taking a major step by stretching our reach to make sure our journalism is part of those searches. It’s a move so dynamic I believe it will even impact the City of Claremont’s SEO. We think there’s a lot of interest in Claremont behind its borders.

We were recently approved for a Google Ad Grant, a program that provides nonprofit organizations like ours with up to $10,000 per month in advertising on Google search. That may sound like a large amount of money, but it doesn’t work the way most people think.

We don’t receive a check. We don’t spend money in the traditional sense. Instead, Google allows us to place small text ads on its search pages. When someone searches for a topic — say, “Claremont schools,” “local crime,” “housing development,” or “high school sports” — our stories have a chance to appear.

We only use the grant when someone clicks on one of those ads. If no one clicks, nothing is spent. The system is designed to connect people with information they are already looking for.

What the grant is used for is to pay for clicks, plain and simple. The more clicks the Courier content receives, the more we use the $10,000 monthly allowance. And it’s a very high bar to reach, especially starting out. Don’t use it, we lose it. But given there’s no end date for this grant, that’s not as bad as it sounds. Most nonprofits rarely reach the entire allowance.

43 ways to tell our story

Over the next 30 days, we will be running 43 different ads. Each one is tied to a different part of the Courier. The area of exposure will be a 25 mile radius east, west and south around Claremont. That’s about two million people.

That includes local news coverage, profiles of people in our community, watchdog journalism, obituaries, crime reporting, sports, City Hall and Claremont Unified School District news, the Claremont Colleges, and opinion columns on both local and broader issues.

In other words, everything we do to keep our community informed is now being organized into specific topics that people are searching for every day.

Each ad is built around simple phrases, keywords that people type into Google. If our content matches what someone is searching for our work can appear in front of them.

How it works in real life

Think of it this way:

Someone in Pomona searches for “housing development near Claremont.”

Someone in Rancho Cucamonga searches for “local school news.”

Someone in Anaheim searches for “Claremont Colleges updates.”

If we’ve created ads tied to those topics — and we have — our reporting has a chance to appear in those results. This is not about interrupting people. It’s about meeting them at the moment they are looking for information.

That’s what makes this program effective.

There are rules — and they matter

Google doesn’t simply give away advertising without expectations.

To remain in the program, nonprofits must show that their ads are useful and relevant. One key requirement is that a meaningful percentage of people who see an ad actually click on it.

What that means for us is simple:

• If our journalism isn’t relevant, people won’t click.
• If people don’t click, the system stops working.

So while this is free advertising, it still requires discipline. We have to be thoughtful about what we promote and how we present it.

Why this is strategic — not just technical

This effort is not just about placing ads. It’s about learning.

Over the next month, we will begin to see:

• What topics people are searching for.
• Which stories attract the most attention.
• What draws readers from outside Claremont.

For the first time, we will have real data showing what people across the region find interesting about our community.

That won’t replace our editorial judgment, but it gives us another tool to understand our audience and how it is changing.

It also helps answer an important question: where does Claremont fit in the broader regional conversation?

Expanding beyond our borders

We have set our ads to reach roughly 25 miles beyond Claremont — from the Foothill communities to areas as far south as Anaheim.

That’s intentional.

For more than a century, the Courier has focused on Claremont. That will not change. But the issues we cover — housing, education, public safety, local government — don’t stop at city boundaries.

There is growing demand for reliable, fact-based local reporting. This program allows us to introduce the Courier to readers who may not have known we exist.

And at the center of it all is Claremont.

What we can gain

There are three clear benefits:

First, readership growth. More people finding the Courier strengthens our role as a trusted source of information.

Second, insight. We learn what topics resonate beyond our immediate audience, helping guide future coverage while staying true to our mission.

Third, sustainability. As our digital audience grows, it creates opportunities for digital advertising and sponsorship programs that reach across the Foothill communities and into the broader Southern California region.

That helps support the reporting we do here at home.

The first months matter

The first 45 days are critical.

We are not expecting perfection. Some ads will work better than others. Some topics will attract more interest. That’s part of the process.

What matters is that we learn quickly. We will adjust what we promote, refine our approach, and build a roadmap based on real data.

Looking ahead

The Courier is not changing what we cover. We are strengthening how we share it.

This Google grant gives us a tool to connect our journalism with people who are actively looking for it. Used well, it can expand our reach, deepen our impact, and support the long-term future of local news.

We’ve always believed that good journalism finds its audience. And a successful print edition needs a strong digital partner to help support the Courier financially.

Now we have a better way to make sure that happens.