Major search engine algorithm changes have forced Internet marketers to redefine their approach to content writing and real estate website owners are no different. There have been many changes which, if ignored, will hinder your ability to gain the search engine traffic that you need to be competitive in your business. If you’re interested in the lurid details you can read previous posts on the subject. Here are some tips for content generation that will enhance the relevancy of your pages while keeping out of the line of fire of algorithm adjustments meant to filter out low quality or overly enhanced pages, otherwise known as keyword stuffing.

Identify your Audience: Search engines are not your audience but most of us would agree that reading content on a real estate website is not your visitor’s goal; it’s promoting listings. Nevertheless, approaching content creation in a manner that would appeal to a human being versus a search engine robot will save you from overstuffing keywords into the content. Choosing an audience (either broad or narrow) allows you expand the breadth of your keyword usage naturally.

An example would be to include references to single parent homebuyers by exploring what may be important to this buyer such as child-proof safety features, homes on a cul-de-sac or gated swimming pools. Obviously this buyer would also be interested in school districts so referencing desirable school districts opens the possibility for this homebuyer to find your page.

Likewise, the active adult buyer may be searching using additional terms such as guarded, health programs, or golf. Equestrian real estate buyers may use additional modifiers like stables, trails or barn in addition to the more obvious horse property for sale. Being conscious of the audience’s concerns allows you to refine your content and boost your relevancy without forcing awkward keywords in to your content.

Quality Counts: I know I just stated that people visit your website to look at listings not read your articles, but let’s entertain the possibility. Spelling and grammar are of course very relevant, but writing something that is unique, interesting, and presents a point of view is more important.

Be Specific: Writing in generalities presents two problems. Stating that a city or area has great schools or it is family-friendly does not tell your reader much. Generic descriptions offer little opportunity for the natural inclusion of region-specific keywords which can help search engines determine what your page is about. Content including highly specific details is less likely to be in danger of being devalued by search engines because by nature, it will be unique on the web. A rule of thumb is to use proper names of schools, park lands, employers, and places of interest whenever possible.

Original Research: Performing your own research greatly reduces the chance of developing content that search engines see as duplicated or low value content. Google’s index includes more than 100 million GB of data, yet the search engine can scour that information and return a result for a user query in ½ a second so it’s easy to see your time will be wasted trying to “fool” Google with copied content.

This brings us to Wikipedia…this site is great if you need to find some quick information on a topic but basing your content on research from this site is going to leave it woefully thin and extremely similar to the thousands of other real estate agents that have done the same thing. Factual information can be found on many sites other than Wikipedia. Consider the local chamber of commerce, government sites, school websites, newspapers and HOA websites. Facts are facts but be careful about copying information verbatim and try to be creative in your presentation of the information.

It’s agreed that real estate agents always want as much real estate website traffic and as many leads as possible. Do you already have a Dynamic Page Solutions real estate website? You already have the most powerful technology in the industry! And there are still many things you can do to give your website that extra kick and help to boost it even further up in the search engines. Remember that over 90% of all people searching for homes begin their search on the Internet, so a real estate agent or broker simply cannot afford to sit back and ignore their website. With just a small time investment each day, you can assist your real estate website in achieving star status in the search engines.

First and foremost, one of the most important things you can do to help your DPS website is to have strong content on each of your topic pages. Use strong and relevant keywords and no matter what, don’t copy and paste content from anywhere else on the Web. Your website is your voice! Make your content as unique and special as the towns and communities in which you sell. You may find that you don’t have time to write content for your site. Not a problem. Just call Dynamic Page Solutions at 1-888-782-8184 and for a low fee, and they’ll write content that will assist your site and help further strengthen your rankings on Google.

There are several other strategies you can use, too. Dynamic Page Solutions can run a pay per click campaign (PPC) which will put you right on the front page of Google. If you’ve never tried a ppc, the experts at Dynamic Page Solutions will manage your campaign and consistently monitor your ad by performing split tests to ensure that you are getting your chosen keywords for the best possible price. Find out more about Real Estate SEO.

Using ALL the social networking platforms to point back to your DPS website is also a great way to increase your traffic and further assert your real estate savvy within the communities and cities in which you specialize. Get busy on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube. Be sure that all your social networking channels refer back to your Dynamic Page Solutions website. If you can’t devote time daily to each social networking site, try to update them at least every other day. Once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy to do and will net you new fans, friends, colleagues and leads as well as drive additional traffic to your site.

When you’re ready to try something new, consider adding an MLS Search right on your business Facebook page. It’s quick and easy. Just call Dynamic Page Solutions and mention you’d like promotional pricing for a new Facebook MLS Search. Anyone that follows you on Facebook will conveniently be able to browse for homes right on your business profile. You will be providing a convenient service to all of your friends and fans by letting them search for homes right where they check in every day.

As home sellers and buyers become more and more Internet savvy, real estate agents and brokers look for ways to stay ahead of the pack and attract a bigger share of potential leads. And as we ALL know, Facebook use continues to grow worldwide, with the lion’s share of the users logging in to their account at least once per day. Combine the fact that there are more than 700 million Facebook users worldwide and that over 90% of all homeowners begin their home search on the Internet and anyone can see that Facebook is simply the place to go for networking of all kinds. Real estate marketing also now has a clever way of becoming a part of day-to-day Facebook social networking activities. 

Since searching for homes almost always begins on the Internet, it seems natural to give those shoppers (and those who have homes listed) a leg up by providing a searchable IDX MLS Home Search right on a real estate Facebook business page.  Leads, potential leads, friends, and anyone within a given circle of influence can hop on Facebook anytime and now have the capability of searching for homes. Because they are already on Facebook, agents are giving shoppers and buyers something extra that will assist them in either finding a home or providing a unique way to market a property. 

Because searching takes place right on Facebook, anyone looking at homes is already on a website they know and trust. The cool thing about this home search is that it contains advanced search features and a registration page. At any point, someone searching can click a button to register to get more information and the lead info will be sent right to the agent. This particular home search approach is not overly aggressive. When searching a specific home, a potential lead has the option to contact the agent at any time by leaving their name, email and phone number. They can also request information specifically on an individual property. The Facbook IDX MLS home search does not force a user to register, thus making it very friendly to the person searching.

Another great benefit to this relatively new feature on Facebook is that all of a company’s information and culture is right there! Because a lead or potential lead is already on a given Facebook page, they can read about an agent, see their photos, read what other clients and friends are saying and get a good idea of what the agency or brokerage is all about. It makes for a very warm and fuzzy environment where there is no pressure.

Dynamic Page Solutions offers this unique Facebook feature for clients and non-clients. Call 888-782-8184 for a special introductory offer.

There’s been a lot of flurry going around the real estate blogosphere concerning the age of the average real estate agent versus their target market which has been identified as Generation Y. With that introduction, I’d like to take you with me to last Saturday at the local grocery store where I saw the ad pictured here-names, numbers and faces have been obscured to protect the innocent.  This advertising tactic struck me as kind of weird and fell in league with the table top business card advertising that you still see occasionally in Mom and Pop style restaurants. Is this the kind of

Shopping Cart

impression that you want to give your clients from Generation Y where absolutely every question, idea, interest and relationship is broadcasted or downloaded from the Internet?

The answer is probably not.  Although real estate agents have a genuine challenge when it comes to advertising on a shoe string budget, the Internet is still a pretty cheap venue when you compare it to other media outlets. Advertising online successfully however, does require some investigation, primarily into what technologies work consistently and encompass the largest spectrum of possibilities to capture a homebuyer’s interest.

The biggest challenge on the Internet is gaining visibility for keywords homebuyers are actually using to find real estate. Most agents assume that they must win on the big ones like “your city name real estate” or “houses for sale in your city” but that is not the case. Going after long tail keywords-these are very specific keywords that are searched on but at a lower frequency-is a much more achievable goal and it gets spectacular results. The power lies within using a great quantity of long tail keywords on your site.

Gaining placement for scads of easy to win keywords is simple when you use a technology that automates the process by taking MLS listing information and transforming the agent’s remarks into optimized, keyword rich detail pages of a property. The real beauty is that the listings don’t even have to be yours…they can be anyone’s listings that is working under a broker that has signed an IDX Broker Reciprocity Agreement-which is just about everyone under the sun that wants to be in the game.

There isn’t a good reason to not take on the web as your main advertising approach instead of spending your precious advertising dollars on worn out, expendable strategies like flyers, door hangers or even grocery cart adverts. You can market appropriately for your target demographic and a great deal of the work can be done for you automatically when you choose a progressive technology that can help you gain placement for thousands of keywords that homebuyers use every day to find real estate. Even if you’re not web savvy, you just need to use a website provider that is so you can get in front of your ideal audience easily, economically and for the long term. It’s time to get in the game.

We’re living in an industry where indexable MLS listings –those that are visible to the search engines- are becoming frequently more common so I feel that it’s important to bring up the value of optimizing personal listings to maximize on this opportunity. I was recently looking at the details of a real estate agents personal listing and noticed the description contained a lot of abbreviations and agent jargon and thought that it was a shame that she had not written a better description for the prospective homebuyer and the search engines.

The description listed the bedrooms in an abbreviated format and ran abbreviations together so it wasn’t easy to read and even though the search engines are very good at picking up on words, the details were pretty much an undecipherable jumble. Maybe agents don’t realize the value of an indexable IDX or how using a technology that allows listings to be indexed can bring search engine traffic…and therefore transactions! Even if you don’t use an indexable real estate technology as an individual, writing a meticulous detail page will help you to market your clients’ homes to the utmost advantage on the Internet.

You don’t need to be an editorial superstar to do this. Just assess the home and describe it as generously as possible. This doesn’t mean you have to lie about the condition of the home if it’s not great –pictures will betray you- but you should do your best to point out the good qualities…think like an investor. Use keywords that you know will capture their attention.  If the home is a wreck, use keywords like fixer-upper, investment property or investment opportunity. Is the home a super deal? Try keywords like affordable and bargain priced. Finally, although your client might cringe… cheap is a fantastic keyword that gets a lot of traffic and it’s all about selling the home right?

If you’re fortunate enough to secure an upscale listing, use keywords that have the best chance of capturing consumer search engine traffic. Does the home have a view of a mountain range? Name the range in the listing details – yes people actually search using these kinds of keywords and I have the Google Analytics to prove it over and over again. Is the pool custom? Describe it in detail, down to the mosaic artwork and fountain addition. Stainless steel appliances-you’d better list that! Any green features? Use brand names. Peel it like an onion. The most unusual search term that I’ve seen a homebuyer use to find one of our agent sites was “brushed nickel faucets.” This is the power of the long tail keyword advantage. That was actually very important to the consumer and we offered the IDX that captured that homebuyer simply because our pages are search engine optimized.

So, the takeaway is to start thinking like a homebuyer instead of a real estate agent. Be conscious of how the buyer thinks and definitely roll with the times. Affordable is relative to the market and the area where the home is, so don’t be afraid to use it as a keyword. Short Sales and Foreclosures are the flavor the market so keep that in mind when writing the details. If a homebuyer has been looking for some time, the fact that your listing does not fall under this category may be very attractive, so expand on that using a very detailed, keyword and synonym rich description. Successful listing agents are given more opportunities to continue being successful.