Most real estate businesses ignore the power of SEO.
Reason being, they are either unfamiliar with it or applying negative SEO.
Having worked with a countless number of
real estate companies, brokers, agents, and brands on their websites, I
have learned to take the long view.
Some say, ‘SEO is dead and it is all wrong.’
You shouldn’t be shocked with this impractical view.
It’s a myth.
If you’re a regular ResultFirst’s reader, you know SEO has gone much deeper and become stronger than age old marketing strategy.
It’s the smart, cost-effective way to market virtually any product or service.
And the real estate is no exception.
If you’re a real estate professional,
you should know that user experience on your website has always been a
factor in the SEO world.
Let’s discuss whether or not the real
estate industry is adopting SEO techniques. Then, we will cover
strategies you need to consider to get the best out of SEO.
SEO for Real Estate
As a real estate professional, your aim
would be to get your property before as many audiences as possible. The
millennial property hunters have changed their way of searching homes,
plots, flats, etc. They are searching any property via the internet and
mobile devices have become their key search tool.
Studies have found that:
- 90% of home buyers are using the web during their home search.
- More than 60% of buyers are showing their interests in the internet instead of ads for searching a real estate company.
- 44% of homebuyers made purchase decisions, and owned their home that they found online. Source.
If truth to be told, the traditional, outbound marketing efforts are getting largely unnoticed.
There has been a massive change in the
way people are looking for a property. So, being available on the
internet can drive growth to your real estate business.
Hence, SEO techniques are required for the real estate business.
Below are SEO recommendations that work
to make your real estate business experience better for the visitors who
land on your site. It helps them know about your services, offers and
pay for your property.
Local Keyword Phrases for Real Estate Websites
A large number of shoppers begin their research with a local keyword phrase, like “San Jose property.”
Don’t let visitors be confused about the
place. As I have noticed, most Realtors multiply regions and cities
that put the audience in a dilemma about searching the right property at
the right place.
When you design your website, focus on
the city you do your business. For instance, if you are doing your
business in San Jose, optimize your website for search terms like:
-
San Jose Realtor
-
San Jose real estate agent
-
San Jose real estate
-
San Jose homes for sale
-
San Jose property
Avoid using the keyword phrase like ‘Realtors in San Jose’ or ‘homes for sale in San Jose’ etc.
Keyword Placement
Create a list of the keywords you want to rank. Then add pages to the site for all of them. Place the keywords properly.
First of all, make sure what page you want to rank. Then, place the keyword or keyword phrase in the following areas:
-
URL
-
Page Title
-
Images Title
-
Image Alt Tag
-
On the Page
Examples:
Assume your real estate keyword phrase, “San Jose Home.” Use it as listed below:
- URL: http://xyzcompany.xyz.com/san-jose-home
- Page Title: – The best San Jose home in the main market
- On The Page –It is important to use the same keyword or phrase around 1-2% of the time. If the page has 800 words, the keyword phrase should be repeated 8-16 times.
- Images Title – san_jose_home.jpg
- Image Alt Tag – If you have to upload the image on WordPress, set the alternative text. It should have some version of your keyword.
Keyword Stuffing
‘Content is the king’, and every
internet marketer knows this. But, this sacramental phrase applies to
only high quality, original piece of content.
Keywords, being a part of the content, are needed to be placed carefully. Avoid using too much of it.
A good ratio is 1 to 2% for the real estate SEO.
Google docks the website if it has
repeating of same keyword phrases more than required. The search engines
consider it the keyword percentage or stuffing.
Come what may, the excess use of keyword
appears unnatural. Never go more than 1-2%. A better way is to write
freely without focusing on the keyword insertion in the content.
Make Your Site A Resource
Try to make your website a resource.
I have personally experienced that
buyers research a lot, do investigate thoroughly, and physically visit
the property location before making any purchase decision.
They aim to know about public
transportation, schools, hospitals, electricity facility, etc. You
should, therefore, provide complete information about all these
facilities in your website content.
Suggestion: The content should be as long as required to make your point and satisfy buyers.
Mobile Friendly Website
Make sure your website is mobile friendly and responsive. It should be customized, and does fit all screen size.
Reports have found that maximum
homebuyers search for real estate using smartphones. “The Digital House
Hunt” – I have referred its report in this content before also –
revealed the following facts:
- 89% property buyers search homes online, using their smartphone.
- There is a 300% upsurge in broker-related searches on tablets every year.
This is unhidden that buyers prefer
using mobile real estate websites to compare price, get information,
search for brokers, know features and facilities, etc.
Adding Links to Real Estate Website SEO
This is paramount in SEO strategy for the real estate business.
Reason being, internal linking lets
visitors access more information about relevant topics. It gives search
engines the opportunity to find other posts and use links to crawl the
web, the links between the individual pages on your website and the
links between entire websites.
It is advisable to add minimum five
links to your pages or blog posts on every single topic you are writing
for. But the link should be relevant.
For example,
If your topic is ‘Search Engine
Optimization’, you should link to your post all your other posts with
the text ‘Search Engine Optimization.’
This is will help search engine crawl your site, you earn higher rank.
To conclude, saying SEO is baseless for
the real estate industry is myth. This myth is prevailing due to a
fundamental misunderstanding of what SEO is about. If you apply the
right way, it will work wonder for your real estate business.
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