Real Estate SEO Adviser

Older Real Estate Websites and Title Elements

October 13, 2007 – 3:34 pm

Much has been written about the importance of the title element for search engine visibility. But I'm going to revisit the topic, because there's one point I don't feel has been given sufficient coverage. That point is the value of keyword-rich titles on older websites. More specifically, I'll talk about aligning your title elements with your key search phrases for maximum visibility. But first, let's start with a definition of a title element, just so we're on the same page. What is a Title Element? Search engines give a lot of consideration to HTML title elements. The title element is within the HTML code that makes up each of your web pages. To ...

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Quality Content for SEO Success

October 13, 2007 – 3:25 pm

Get ready. Get set. Scramble! It seems every time I turn around, someone is clamoring about the latest and greatest real estate SEO strategy. Some of these strategies have their merits. Others are a waste of time. And some actually do more harm than good. Some website owners constantly scramble to follow what they believe is the latest "Holy Grail" of search engine visibility. I say let them spin their wheels. Because in truth, the more things change, the more they stay the same. For example, there's one thing search engines have always favored and will always favor -- websites with plenty of original, quality content. Search Engines Love Topical Content When you have ...

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Using Keyword-Rich Articles for SEO

September 1, 2007 – 7:14 am

One of the easiest ways to improve the search engine visibility of your real estate website is to write one page of content for each of your key phrases. The first step, of course, is to build a list of key phrases that people in your area are actually searching. You can do this by using a free keyword research tool (such as the one offered by WordTracker, fully explained in my SEO book) or a paid service such as Keyword Discovery. Then, you simply write one page of keyword-rich content for each of those phrases. Make sure the article you create is written for people first -- make sure it's helpful, ...

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Free Booklet on Real Estate Blogs

August 30, 2007 – 7:41 am

A long-time real estate publisher creates a free, 34-page guide for real estate agents that outlines the benefits and best practices of using a real estate blog. The number of real estate blogs has increased exponentially in the last five years. This means that the individual agent who uses a real estate blog must work harder to distinguish that blog from others within the same market area. A real estate marketing company recently published a free e-book that shows agents how to do exactly that. The “Real Estate Blog Alphabet,” as it’s called, began as a series of posts on the popular real estate marketing blog of Brandon Cornett, owner of ArmingYourFarming.com. ...

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How Search Engines Rank Real Esate Websites

August 22, 2007 – 8:59 am

Summary: By understanding how search engines rank real estate websites, and what factors they deem important, you'll be better able to improve your own rankings through real estate search engine optimization (SEO). Search engine ranking is a combination of public knowledge and proprietary secrets. For example, most SEO specialists know that each individual search engine has its own algorithm (or ranking criteria). This refers to the manner in which the search engine evaluates and ranks websites, based on a set of pre-defined criteria. If you've got your thinking cap on, your next logical question would be: "So just what are these pre-defined criteria?" This is where we get into the proprietary side ...

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Low-Maintenance Ways to Boost Your SEO

August 15, 2007 – 7:39 am

Let me be the first to tell you that real estate search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term strategy. It's a marathon, not a sprint. But even a 26-mile marathon begins with a single step and consists of many individual strides. This is also true of a real estate SEO campaign, which begins with a single step (like putting up a real estate website or blog) and consists of many individual strides (like publishing content, networking, etc.). So yes, search engine optimization is a long-term strategy. But that doesn't mean it's overly complex or difficult. In fact, there are plenty of simple techniques you can implement over the next few days ...

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SEO and the Beauty of Passive Leads

August 10, 2007 – 7:27 pm

Passive leads are nothing short of a blessing for real estate agents. In this context, "passive leads" refers to web-based inquiries you receive from prospective clients without proactively seeking them. For example, if a home buyer in your area finds your website while researching the local real estate scene and then contacts you ... that's a passive real estate lead you can pursue. Technically speaking, of course, there's no such thing as a truly passive lead. You always have to do something for people to "stumble across" you. You have to develop a website and grow your web presence in order for people to find you online. But once these elements are ...

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