Over the past decade, SEO and search engines in general have become extremely sophisticated pieces of technology. Gone are the days when you can just stuff a website with as many keywords as you want: today, Google has evolved in such a way that it can now detect whether a website was built to give audiences value, or if it was just built to generate traffic.
When discussing SEO from the perspective of business coaches for real estate companies, optimizing a real estate professional’s website is paramount to ensuring they have a fighting chance in the modern digital business space. Here are some tips on how to ensure that your website is optimized with SEO.
Have a Clearly Defined Content Strategy
One of the biggest mistakes some real estate professionals make when building their real estate website is to just upload as much content as possible without really thinking about any kind of overarching theme or strategy. This is a surefire way to get you to the second or third page of the search engine results page (or SERP), which is basically a graveyard for un-optimized websites.
Before filling up your website with content, have a clearly defined and well thought out content strategy. What does this mean? Well, it means that every single piece of content you post –from photos and videos to informative articles and audio clips –need to be serving a purpose, i.e., they need to be fulfilling a function to get your audience through the customer journey as seamlessly as possible. Not only does this bode well for your UI/UX, but Google also enjoys seeing organized content and will increase your chances of ranking higher in SERPs.
Speaking of Content, Remember…
Content will always and forever be King. Sure, you can dress up your website with the sleekest, most modern interface that money can buy, but if you don’t populate it with value-adding content, you’re going to find yourself getting deindexed in no time, and when that happens, you might as well go back to handing out flyers at your local strip mall on Sundays.
Remember: internet users and search engines are both much more intelligent than we give them credit for. If a user goes into your site and finds nothing of value –i.e., none of your content solves or addresses a pain point that they have –then they’ll leave your site. This, in turn, increases your bounce rate, which tells Google that people don’t like your website so much. This, in turn, ranks you lower and lower in the SERPs, eventually leading you to the dreaded second page.
Of course, if you have a clearly defined content strategy like we mentioned, this shouldn’t be a problem!
Long-tail Keywords are your Best Friend
In SEO, long-tail keywords refer to keywords that are usually structured like phrases; think, “houses for sale in nassau county new york” as opposed to something like ‘house sale ny’. These types of keywords are almost-always used by users who are nearer the point-of-purchase. Long-tail keywords usually have lower search volumes, but counter-intuitively, they offer the most value to websites.
Why is this? Well, like mentioned, these keywords are used by people who are near the point-of-purchase, which means that they’re no longer looking for articles about house tips or anything of that nature: they’re looking for listings, pricing, and more importantly, real estate professionals who can guide them with the process.
Despite their relatively low volume, long-tail keywords does two things: first, it qualifies the kind of users who will be visiting your website, but it also decreases your bounce rate, which tells Google that your content is something users enjoy and value.
One of the easiest ways to increase your usage of long-tail keywords is to create organic content. Organic content simply refers to content that you don’t boost or promote; in other words, it’s content that was created by you for the purpose if informing your intended audience with information that they want and need.
Let Shawn Tiberio Help You!
Sound complicated? Don’t worry, we can help you! Shawn Tiberio is one of the most sought-after marketing coaches for real estate companies because of his talent for fusing his expertise in both digital marketing and the real estate industry.
As one of the leading real estate coaches in America, Shawn is uniquely equipped to help real estate professionals further their career using the right tools in the digital business space. Want to learn more? Contact us today and let Shawn Tiberio help you with your SEO needs!