Think of the internet as a colossal library. You obviously need an assistant to find anything in a library, so search engines like Google are like card catalogs and librarians for the internet. Today, 85% of people use search engines to find what they’re looking for on the internet. But the most important fact real estate professionals should take note of is 80% of people use the internet for home searches. That means about 7 out of every 10 people use internet search engines. So it’s critically important your website is getting high ranking for Google searches in your area. Here’s how start getting your real estate website ranked in search engines.
Most web sites aren’t designed to get indexed within search engines. So they may never get indexed by them, or if they do, they may not be indexed so suitable prospects find you. An improperly indexed website is like a library book without a bar code or ISBN number placed on a random shelf in the library. This is probably the biggest reason why real estate professionals have websites producing little or no ROI. They then focus on the traditional (often old fashioned and outdated) ways of selling real estate.
The primary way search engines index your website is through the words your website contains. If you have lots of references to the phrase real estate plus your farm neighborhoods, your website will become indexed under these areas and people searching for “<your farm neighborhood> real estate” will find your website ranked somewhere under these search terms.
Avoid having a website which relies heavily on graphics (especially Flash animation). Search engines can’t see text embedded within graphics and pictures. Remember that when search engines don’t find definite info on your site about what you’re about, it will guess what your website’s subject matter is and rank it accordingly. But if the search engines guesses wrong and indexes your site wrongly, you might as well have no indexing at all. Your website will still be a billboard in a forest.
When designing your website, keep in mind consumers primarily want to see two things on your site: pictures of homes for sale and real estate information. So ensure your listings are prominent on your website’s main page. If they aren’t, you risk having visitors perceive you have few or no listings, and they’ll quickly leave your site.
It’s best to have a site designed specifically for real estate professionals by people who have lots of experience working as real estate professionals. My Moneymaker website is the result of my 37 years in the real estate business and my 12 years of study on search engine optimization. It’s a turn key solution specifically for real estate professionals which includes all I’ve mentioned above and a lot more. You can try it out with no risk or obligation free for 30 days.
