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Have You Reconciled With Your ’04 Site? (Part 2) Last week we stressed the importance of setting time aside to improve and maintain your website, and getting the help you need to work on the site. Hopefully in the hustle and bustle you have been able to schedule your time slots for working on your site. If you haven’t, don’t worry; it’s not too late to catch up! This week, we are continuing our New Year’s Resolutions series with some important information about CONTENT. Resolution 3 - I will add VALUABLE content to my website Do you have more than “stock” content on your site? What content should you be adding? What makes it valuable? There are many items you can add to your website that are valuable by being both consumer and search engine friendly. A great way to inform your website visitors and to attract search engines is to add content on your website specific to your area; these are commonly called “city pages”. To start, add links on your homepage that state the name of the city or area you are highlighting then “Real Estate” (add one for each area you do business in). These types of links will be noticed by search engines because of the use of your keywords on your website. The links will take your visitors to pages you create relating to that specific area. Start gathering content for your city pages. Research your area by checking the official website for each city, visiting local attractions, etc. Be sure to take your own photos with your digital camera so you can avoid any copyright issues. Take notes when checking out local websites, but just notes…no “borrowing” content…this is easy for search engines to spot and report. Finally you are just about ready to write the content about each city. BUT, before you start, take a few moments to role play or “pretend” that you are taking to a close friend about how wonderful your city is. Identify some of the words you would use to describe your city in a “regular” conversation, and try to use these types of conversational words in your written description. Talk about local attractions such as museums, landmarks, and amusement parks. Share some of the city history or governmental insight on where to go for certain kinds of information in that city, along with community, educational, athletic, or any other unique community highlight. Don’t forget, you want to keep them INTERESTED, so be CREATIVE! Remember, your competitor’s website is just a click away! If you aren’t confident in your writing skills, hire somebody. For search engine purposes, be sure to use your city name along with the words “real estate” and other keywords for your site on your city pages. This is called key word density, which is a big deal for search engines indexing your site and your city pages. It’s important NOT to write copy that includes a long list of key words, just for the search engines. Here’s an example: “Susie Smith sells Anaheim Real Estate, Yorba Linda Real Estate, Orange Real Estate, Placentia Real Estate, Fullerton Real Estate, Brea Real Estate, and Orange Park Acres Real Estate.” These types of sentences do not look “real” and sophisticated search engine technology will identify it in their spidering. We recommend that you read your text out loud to yourself and make sure it sounds natural. This is the best type of writing that search engines enjoy. Another way to add customized content is to highlight your specialties by creating and adding custom pages with information targeting your niche market. Perhaps a logo or often recognized moniker of some kind will achieve this goal. A waterfowl, gardening tool, piece of athletic equipment, motorcycle or even a baby-stroller, may be able to “attract” or advertise the kind of client you are eager to assist. For example, if you specialize in working with first-time home buyers, add a tag line on your homepage letting people know that you do. Make it stand out on your homepage; get their attention! Then link that section to a page with first-time home buyer information. Make this page all about the first-time home buyer and what services or challenges you can help with. Include an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. Don’t forget to keep your content interesting; even facts need a little flair to keep them reading. Another example is relocation. If you specialize in relocating information and services, add a link on your homepage to a page containing relocation information. Feature movers that you have worked with and trust, include links to community profile information where your client can compare cities. Include moving tips, etc. What’s your specialty? Cater to those in your niche market on your website.
Read the following from real estate professionals who are using Advanced Access' Marketing Tips to their advantage:
Deb Jones
says:
Gail Cooley says:
Gerald Kimmey
says:
Christy Gordon says: |
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Advanced Access
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