Real Estate SEO Adviser

SEO and the Sound of One Hand Clapping

A Zen master once spoke of the “sound of one hand clapping.” Here’s how I would translate that famous quotation to real estate search engine optimization.

A real estate SEO program that lacks other important factors like lead generation and onsite conversion is like one hand clapping … yes there’s movement taking place, but there is nothing being produced.

When you use SEO to drive traffic to a real estate website that does not convert visitors into leads or clients, you are clapping with one hand. But in order to produce something, you have to use the other hand as well. You have to focus on your lead generation and website conversion tactics, as well.

“That’s obvious,” you say. “Why waste my with such a simple concept?”

Here’s why.

About once a week, I get a call or email from somebody within a real estate company who says something like: “Our SEO program is not producing any leads.” … Or … “We get good search engine ranking, but it’s not producing clients.”

These folks are clapping with one hand and trying to produce a sound. They are overlooking a critical piece of the “puzzle.” Search engine visibility does not generate leads or sales. Nor should it be expected to. Search engine visibility generates website traffic, and that’s all it should be expected to do. It is then up to the website (and the person or people behind it) to generate the leads and sales.

In other words, real estate SEO is the start of something … not the end of it. It is one hand clapping. Only when you capitalize on your website traffic with effective lead generation and follow-up will you be clapping with both hands.

Avoid search engine blindness. Don’t focus on SEO to the point of ignoring your onsite lead generation. Keep the big picture in mind. Always consider how things work together in synergy. Clap with two hands.

That is the lesson for today, Grasshopper. Go in peace.