Blog Posts

Mar
15
The Smart Guide To SEO For Your Real Estate Blog
By Nithya_CML

temp-post-image


If you are like most real estate pros, you want to be at the top of search engines without paying a fortune to get there. If you want to make that happen, you need to optimize your real estate website and blog for the search engine algorithms (SEO).


I want to start off right away by warning all of you that while SEO is important, you should not let it consume you!


Nearly 10 years ago when I first started studying SEO, I became obsessed with it and spent countless hours studying it to promote the business I was working on at the time. Back then, it might have been (somewhat) worth the investment of my time. That is no longer the case.


So while I want all of you to have an understanding of SEO and why it is important to getting increased traffic and leads, you should not make it a primary activity in your weekly life as an agent.


The nauseating truth is that the major search engines change their SEO algorithms an average of 1.5 times per day, so not matter what you do, you will never be an expert on them. Don’t waste your time, energy, and morale trying.


That being said, as the proud owner of a real estate business, website, and blog, the information in this post is relevant and valuable.


In this post I’m going to show you:




  • How to avoid wasting time on useless SEO techniques




  • How to design strategic keywords for now (and the future)




  • The most important basics that you need to implement for growth




But before we dive into the nitty gritty here, please do me a HUGE solid and subscribe and share this post. I like electricity and your support supplies it to me ; )


Designing Strategic Real Estate Keywords


Keyword design is an extremely important beginning element of your overall SEO strategy.


For the last couple of years, we have been pushing you towards developing long-tail keywords that are 3-5 words in length in order to rank competitively. However, thanks to the overwhelming influence of voice searches (think Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa), your keyword design needs to be even more advanced.


As you develop your list of strategic real estate keywords, consider the complete sentences and phrases that people might use to find real estate services and advice. I suggest you expand on the long-tail keywords that you have already developed and expand them into likely, logical questions that people will ask their digital assistants.


Regular long-tail keywords are still relevant and important, however it is crucial that you set yourself up for success over the next decade with these full sentence search terms.


Check out these compelling statistics that illustrate just how powerful voice already is and how it will grow in the years to come:




  • “50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020” according to comscore.




  • “There are over one billion voice searches per month. (January 2018)” estimates Alpine.AI




  • “We estimate that 325.8 million people used voice control in the past month” according to Global Web Index.




Incorporating Real Estate Keywords Into Meta Data


Your meta data is made up of several key elements which include your things like your titles, headings, subheadings, and image and video meta descriptions.


The meta data of your real estate website and blog are an essential element of your SEO that can make or break your ranking on search engines like Google. Additionally, meta data will play a role in your ranking on other platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud.


Once you have your list of strategic real estate keywords and phrases established, you should begin incorporating them throughout all of your meta data.


However, I caution you not to overstuff your keywords into your content or use them in a way that doesn’t make sense. Search engines are savvy for spotting websites and blogs that have been stuffed with obvious keywords and will punish you for trying to rank that way. Typically, it is best to have your keywords account for an average of .5% to 1.5% of the total amount of content on the page.


Age, Length, And Frequency Of Posts


The age, length, and frequency of your real estate blog posts will play a bigger role in your search engine ranking than you may be comfortable with.


The Age of Your Real Estate Blog Posts


As it stands, search engines like Google and Amazon are granting authority to websites with the oldest content. However, they also want to provide users with the most up-to-date and relevant information first, so they also scan your blog for posts that are fresh.


So the question is, is it better to have new content or old?


The answer is that you need both! Even if you are just starting your real estate blog now, that content will become “old” one day so don’t hesitate to start asap.


22 Ways To Optimize Your Real Estate Website's SEO | Get Found By Google | Sarah Layton






The Frequency of Your Real Estate Blog Posts



Here comes yet another moment where you’re going to hate me.


The real estate blogs that post the most often will undoubtedly climb the ranks of the search engines faster than the rest. The absolute BARE MINIMUM you should be adding new posts to your blog is once per week. However, if you want to reach the top of Google quickly, you need to be adding fresh, valuable posts, at least 3-5 times per week.


The Length of Your Real Estate Blog Posts


You should never post anything less than 500 words in length to your real estate blog. Why? Such a short post indicates to search engines and people that your content is not strong or authoritative enough on any given topic.


While short posts 500-1,000 words in length do have benefits and a purpose, it is long-form content that will deliver the strongest results. However, I will warn you not to create lengthy real estate blog posts just for the sake of it. Make sure that if you are creating long-form content 2,000-3,000 words, that the topic and the content surrounding it are value rich enough to constitute the length.


The Overall User Experience


The search engines don’t just want to point users in the direction of the best information, they want to point them to the provider that offers the best overall user experience. These days, that means that your site MUST be mobile-friendly and intuitive.


Here are some ways to make sure that your real estate website and blog are providing a positive user experience:




  • Make sure all of the the formatting (width of page) is suitable for mobile devices




  • Set image widths to 100%




  • Be careful about using white space




  • Include a simplistic and clear navigation menu




Quality And Originality Of Your Content


I can’t express these points enough. No matter how well you execute everything else I have taught you so far, the quality and originality of your content are paramount characteristics that you should never compromise.


If you want to attract valuable and engaged subscribers you need to provide them with content that they care about. They need to be entertained, educated, and better off for having visited your real estate blog. They need to feel indebted to you every time they read a new entry. They need to trust you so much that they feel compelled to hire you. Don’t ever right a post that will not help your ideal clients solve one of their problems or reach one of their goals.


Now, as for originality, I want to be especially stern. Many of you are buying or using blog articles from companies that allow to plug and play your name and city to make it sound like you wrote it. These real estate blog templates are very cheap (or free) and easy to implement.


Guess what?


They will also completely torpedo your fucking business. I’m not joking! Boom...pow...DONE!


You see, search engines HATE those posts because they damage their own brand. Therefore, when you use those posts, Google will assume you are a threat to their liability and push you to the bottom of search results.


Guess what else?


If that content is used unlawfully (whether you know it or not) Google will permanently delete you from search engine results without ever telling you they are doing so.


Guess what else?


If that content is used unlawfully (whether you know it or not), you can be sued - big time!


The point is that is just isn’t worth it. You would be better off having a blank real estate website and blog than one that is using recycled or copied content.


Crank Your Rank With My Real Estate Blog SEO Checklist [FREE DOWNLOAD]


temp-post-image