Real Estate SEO
Posted by Will Byrd on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:28 AM
SEO for Realtors and the Real Estate Industry
If you’re a realtor then you probably been struggling for a couple of years. This bad economy
means that you’re probably looking at many ways to get your listings in front of as many interested buyers as possible.
Real estate websites are typically templated, cookie-cutter sites that are not SEO friendly. 90% of people begin their search for real estate online so you must be able to reach that market effectively. This means being able to attract people from all over the country who may be interested in moving to your area plus being extremely visible to local buyers as well.
You may be considering dumping your present a website because it’s not attracting traffic, many templated websites actually deter search engines because they are built within frames that search engines cannot penetrate.
Keywords
The best traffic is free traffic and you can attract it by using effective keywords. If you’re in Houston for example people will type in terms such as “real estate Houston”, “houses for sale in Houston”, or perhaps “foreclosures Houston”.
Finding the right keywords is essential and unfortunately you may not be able to get accurate data about the keywords that a searcher would use because there are too few searched done every month.
You could use Google’s Insights for Search and find useful data, for example you may find people are using “real estate Houston” more frequently than “property for sale Houston”. It will take some time to do your research but it will be well worth it in the long run.
If there is a realtor in your area who has already built a successful site, do some a little espionage as there are ways of finding the keywords that are bringing him traffic. Don’t feel bad, people do it all the time! Use the Alexa toolbar and you’ll be able to find that information when you punch in his domain name. this also allows you to see where he’s getting his backlinks (see below).
Content that Attracts
Optimizing your site is essential for bringing traffic and SEO is proven to be the most effective way of attracting search engines and visitors at no cost to you.
If you have not yet purchased a domain name, do your best to find one with a .com extension. If HoustonRealEstate.com has been taken, you have the alternative choice of Houston-Real-Estate.com for example. Although many people say that hyphenated domain names are not a good idea, the fact is they make little difference and often the search engines find them easier to “read”.
Always include your city or county in the name along with the most searched keywords, which could be “foreclosures” or “executive rentals” if that’s what you specialize in. If you’re a broker you will probably want to use your name plus “realty” to start branding yourself. There’s nothing to stop you from thinking up a snappy slogan too!
Titles
You have to include keywords in your title as near to the front as possible and make your titles interesting. To attract the search engines you’re going to have to write articles – as many as you can to do with real estate but you’re not limited to describing properties.
Many people who live outside the area who may be thinking of moving will want to know about available amenities such as shopping in the area, roads, public transport, schools, parks, hospitals etc. The more information you can provide the better.
Offering information about local sales tax rates, property taxes and major local employers will also help. The more information you can provide on your site the fewer questions you may have to answer on the ‘phone.
SEO for realtors and real estate industry doesn’t have to be difficult. Simply provide all the information people will be looking for and help them.
Content
The word “content” covers everything you put on your site for a visitor’s benefit, it’s not just written articles. One of the most effective things you could use on your site to promote individual properties is video. By using video editing software such as Camtasia you’ll soon be able to produce professional looking videos of the best properties on your list.
Don’t just list an address with a video and nothing else (remember SEO?), underneath you should write a bulleted list of the property’s most attractive features – number of bedrooms, bathrooms, the size of the lot, proximity to major roads, schools and shopping etc. Blend in some keywords such as “the best priced property in Houston” – use this as a title if those keywords are attracting traffic.
Some realtors are using “virtual tours” to great effect to attract clients. This is done by using a 360° camera. They are expensive, but an excellent investment or you could find a local photographer who uses a 360° camera and hire him to showcase the best homes on your list.
ALT Tags
ALT tags are brief descriptions of any pictures or videos you post on your site. If you’re like me and use Google’s images search often, relevant pictures are picked up by the search term used. Adding a short keyword rich description of your picture will ensure your pictures get picked up by the search engines.
Internal Linking
On every page you create, internal links will be important for your visitor to navigate easily around your site. Search engines look for internal links.
For example if you were to write “ “this is one of the best three-bedroom homes in Houston…” you could use the words “three-bedroom homes” to link to other three-bedroom homes you have categorized and if you found the keyword phrase “three-bedroom homes in Houston” is attracting traffic you’ll help visitors and attract more organic searches by using that term.
Backlinks
Back links are essential for building rank with the search engines. To get the most inquiries about your listings your aim must be to be on page 1 of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). The more backlinks you can get the better – they act like votes of confidence from other blogs and websites. They must be from relevant sites but with real estate you have a lot of flexibility.
If you sell raw land you could link to builders’ sites for example. If you deal with rental property and you’re near to a college or university, .edu backlinks are extremely valuable. Most colleges will have blogs, visit them regularly and mention that you have properties available for students. Be helpful and friendly, don’t just use the blog as free advertising - the idea is to build relationships with people.
Social Media
Use social media buttons on your site to attract more traffic. Build a Facebook Page for your business and cultivate relationships. Tweet about new properties you have listed and mention news about your city – perhaps a new company is opening up and looking for employees in your area, this will be sure to attract attention.
Layout
The layout of your site will be extremely important. If you have dozens of different homes for sale you will have to make your site easily navigable. Most people start looking for homes by the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and/or square footage. You can use all three categories to list one home, making it convenient for your visitor to find what she’s looking for.
About Me Page
Always include an About Me page. Tell people how much you love being a realtor, how long you’ve been doing it and why you live in your particular area. Include a professional picture of you smiling and include your achievements, educational background and your license number.
It’s surprising how many people read About Me pages, they’re a trust–building tool and people tend to gravitate towards people they trust, especially when they’re making the largest purchase they will ever make during their lifetime.
Contact Me
Busy realtors know they’re going to get telephone calls at all hours of the day. If you’re a realtor in Florida very often people in other time zones forget the time difference! Having a Contact Me page allows people to contact you via e-mail instead. It’s a good idea to state the times you’re available, ask for their phone number and a convenient time to contact them.
Having your phone number in the header means it’s always visible whatever page your visitor is on, put it beneath your listings too along with your e-mail address. Don’t use your everyday e-mail address, you’ll have an opportunity to set up e-mails @yourdomainname.com with your hosting company, they look far more professional, use your name at the beginning, SusanRealtor@yourdomainname.com makes it more personable.
SEO for realtors and the real estate industry is vitally important for staying ahead of the game and being prominent in the marketplace.
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