Website SEO for Beginners

Let’s say you’re ordering a pizza.  You’re new in town and you don’t yet have a favorite spot so you fire up Google and type “pizza delivery” into the search box.  You scroll through the first page of listings before deciding on your choice. The pizzerias on the second page don’t really stand a chance.  Those on the third page and beyond are left in the dust.

Companies are ranked and assigned pages by Google through a process called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and what holds true for our simple pizzeria example holds true for every single industry- including Real Estate.

Now you might be thinking, wait a minute!  Buying a home is a decision that carries a whole lot more weight than ordering a pizza!  You’re absolutely correct but in a competitive and saturated marketplace 75% of Google users never view the second page of search results according to a survey done by PointBlankSEO.  From pizza to home-buying, it pays to have your SEO on point.

A PERSONAL WEBSITE IS YOUR FIRST KEY TO SUCCESS

The first thing you must do to begin building SEO is to have a website of your own.   You can’t begin to establish yourself in Google rankings without it because for SEO, content is king and you must have a space to create and publish your own, fresh content as well as promote your listings to potential clients.

Remember,

• Google owns roughly 70% of the search engine market share

• There are over 1.4 billion searches conducted every hour

• More than 80% of internet users use search

It’s really this simple; without a website of your own you cannot compete in SEO and it’s hurting your bottom line.  Winning Agent offers a variety of different options that require no prior coding experience and are completely customizable for any number of different skill sets and price ranges.  Check out all of their themes here.  You can either install it yourself or have the technical details taken care of for you with Express Site Setup, available for every theme. That way, you can begin establishing yourself on Google today!  No muss, no fuss, just ready to begin your SEO journey.

KNOW WHAT YOUR CLIENTS ARE LOOKING FOR

Now that you have your own website, it’s time to start building content.  Google likes to see new content on a regular basis.  If you continually add to your website it will be favorable to you in SEO rankings.  Remember, it takes time to get to the coveted first page of Google, but the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll begin to reap the benefits.

Marketing Artfully has some fantastic research on what kinds of terms people are searching for when they’re in the market for a home.  You can use these as a reference when writing your bio or creating content.  For example, why not a blog post on “Best Questions to Ask Your Realtor”?  You don’t need to use all of these search terms, but being aware of what people are looking for might give you some ideas to write content that speaks directly to them.

TOP TERMS INCLUDE:

• realtor

• realtors

• real estate agent

• real estate agents

• top real estate agents

• finding a realtor

Without your own website, you can’t be in charge of creative direction with content!  Make sure you take the first step and then work on making it SEO friendly.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN IS A MUST

When your website has responsive design, it formats itself appropriately to any device.  Responsive websites seamlessly alter their appearance to read easily on mobile devices so no pinching or zooming is required.

Newtek- The Small Business Authority and Forbes contributor, writes about the importance of responsive design as it pertains to SEO. Google wants their users to have an optimal experience, so they give responsive websites a bigger boost in rankings.

Responsive design is important for building SEO and it’s also what your prospects and clients expect.  Responsive websites look more professional and modern and they are much easier to read.  All Winning Agent themes are 100% responsive.

BECOME A ONE STOP SHOP

You have your responsive website.  You’re creating your content and bio using pertinent keywords.  You’re well on your way to establishing a unique and solid web presence that will be SEO friendly and engaging to prospective clients.

How to you make your website a “one stop shop”?  A great way to do this is to incorporate your IDX into the website seamlessly with Winning Agent’s Custom Search IDX Box Integration.  Make sure to supplement your IDX with customized featured property listings that you can write yourself!

Google will see your personalized responsive website, great content and integration of your IDX as something of value and over time you will see a boost in your SEO.  More importantly, as you rise in the rankings your prospective clients will get the full picture of who you are and what you have to offer.