Real Estate SEO

Posts Tagged ‘Google’

Can a new operating system by Google really affect my business? If you’re not asking yourself this question, you probably should be.

Yes folks, Google is challenging Microsoft, again, this time where it really hurts. Google is launching a new operating system called Google Chrome OS. This will affect your business. In fact, it’s part of a trend that already is.

Today, Google officially announced that in 2010 their new Google Chrome OS will be available commercially. At first, it’ll mostly be in Netbooks, they’re telling us. Netbooks, for those of you who haven’t heard, are small, portable laptop computers. They’re intended for a market of people who spend a lot of time on the web. This is key!

The fact that there is a market for Netbooks nowadays is very telling. Netbooks are, somewhat by definition:

• Small
• Portable
• Have relatively low processing power
• Make it very easy to access the web, and
• Cost far less than your average laptop.

To look at this from another direction, the reality is that there are millions of people who spend so much time on the web. These folks are using applications like Google for searching, Facebook, Twitter, and email for communication, and thousands of productivity applications too numerous to list. You might be one of these people. If you’re not, that’s OK, but you MUST realize that these folks are a large and growing segment of the population.

Let’s discuss some other facts about the Netbook-owning population:

• They’re well connected – Verizon offers a Netbook with a built in cell phone card. This is so that the owners can access the internet from anywhere using the device. In fact, I think the device is discounted or free if you sign up for long enough, much like a cell phone
• They’re on the move – These are busy people who want quick access to information, communication, and really the world.
• They have some money to spend – The fact is that most Netbook users aren’t buying these devices to be their main computer. It’s their secondary device or even tertiary. It’s somewhere between their cell phone and their laptop, but serving a different set of needs.
• It’s hard to grab their attention – This is a population, and I am a member of this club, that is not looking for distractions. We have too many. Inundated by information and looking for a way to get to the good stuff faster, Netbook users aren’t easy to market to. They’re going to come and search for you. You need to be able to be found by them.
• They’re electronic – Don’t think you can grab my attention with a newspaper ad or a post card in the mail. I don’t pick up paper. I hate paper. It kills a tree. If I want something, I’m going to go searching for it. Probably on Google. When I want to buy a house, I’m going to Google and I’m searching for real estate. This his how this population thinks. Start thinking like them now and you’ll be ahead of the competition.

Know this, if you start thinking about how to reach the folks who will be using Google Chrome OS now, you’ll be selling them real estate in 2010 when the OS comes out. In fact, these folks are already out there. You’ll probably be selling them homes next month.

Image source: news.cnet.com

Here’s a little something I bet most Googlers probably don’t know about.

Conduct a search in Google…say for “real estate seo” then select “show options”. That will open an entire panel of goodies.

Within that left hand column, towards the bottom, is an option to choose search via the infamous “wonder wheel”. Select that! Now watch…this is really cool. To the right of the wonder wheel are still your search results for “real estate seo” and then you can choose any of the options the wheel presents; realtor marketing, real estate search engine optimization etc.

With each new choice your search results will update and allow you to quickly drill down to something new, maybe even something you had not thought of before.

Quick tip: this fun little tool can come in handy when doing keyword research.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

This post about the origins of Real Estate SEO is part of a series. I highly recommend you read this post first about the origins of direct marketing and SEO.

To summarize part 1:
First there was print, then there was the telephone and then radio and TV. Then, maybe 50 years later, along came the internet and search engines like Google and Yahoo. The search engine companies invented PPC platforms like Adwords and Overture. Placing a dollar value on search engine referral traffic (PPC) created a market for SEO services.

Now, let’s talk about real estate.

When the internet went public in ’93, not everyone jumped on the band wagon. Lots of industries were slow to adopt, but within a few years, the dot-bomb bubble was raging. Around the same time, the real estate bubble was forming. Real estate agents were doing a lot of transactions. They hadn’t really adopted technology yet, but they were making lots of money. As the old saying goes, if it aint broke, don’t fix it.

Well, we all know that didn’t last. The Real Estate bubble did burst about 3 years ago. You couldn’t just put a property into MLS anymore and expect 3 offers at the first open house. So, realtors suddenly had to start to innovate.

Now, there were some early adopters in the real estate market. In fact, you can bet that in just about every major market there’s some broker or agent who bought [cityname].com in 1993. But since the market wasn’t spending on real estate technology, there wasn’t a whole lot of innovation.

Meanwhile, as real estate agents were making a lot of money and not using technology all that much, buyers were already turning to the internet. Really, there wasn’t a lot to find yet. Pretty soon over 90% of buyers were starting their search on the web. And we all know where we go to search, yup, Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines. If buyers are starting there, then I better be there to, reasoned the real estate brokers and they were/are right.

Well, while we were sleeping and making money without technology things really changed. So, about 4 years ago, Realtors discovered PPC in droves. I can tell you this because the calls started coming in and we were doing a lot of PPC work. Then, about 2 years ago, the Real Estate SEO market got hot. Real Estate SEO is still the rage, but Social Media is making a big push for the community’s attention.

Technology is being adopted by realtors at light speed (well, at least for this industry it is). The economy is pushing that shift. Why? Because the go-go bubble days are over and the real estate brokers and agents are realizing that they need to spend wisely and efficiently. They know that the best real estate marketing medium is the web and real estate seo is crucial. Of course, social media is cost effective and goes hand-in-hand with SEO. That’s why they’re both popular at the same time.

So, what’s next? Well, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading. If you have questions, just jot a comment and we’ll reply shortly.

We are all pretty much on the same page when we say that SEO is organic and that you want to naturally receive traffic from search engines. But how do we get those inbound links? When do they start flowing in? Do I get them myself? Where do I get them? Do I pay for them? Help….

Don’t fret. Here are a few tips that will hopefully put your mind at ease:

1. Links will and should come naturally. Organic links  are when someone likes your content enough to link to it.
2. Quality content naturally draws quality links. The more quality content the more those links will come in. Keep writing.
3. Create viral content (aka. link bait), often this will be free or offered without having to sign up for it… something helpful to your readers.
4. Don’t always be too serious, offer something fun or cool (as relevant to your business).
5. Have a tool on your site or a widget of sorts that will inspire others to share that information.
6. Have your partners, supporters or other networks link to you (not necessarily always in exchange but because they want to help promote you).
7. Create quality profiles. Don’t just create accounts that never get used, but set up profiles where you will actually be and remain active in a community.
8. Add yourself to quality directories like the Yahoo! Directory and DMOZ.org (a few times when it will be okay to have paid links)
9. …which reminds me, don’t pay someone to get you a ton of links and don’t add your site to link farms.
10. Actively share your content and that of others, links will flow naturally from there as well.

Here are some answers to everyday questions about blogging and managing your agents’ outside blogs:

How can I persuade my agents or other agents to blog? David recently wrote a great post about the SEO army. Put that army (aka your agents) to work. Learn how to by reading more in that post.

Is it ok to have multiple profiles or blogs out there? Yes, it’s a good thing to be visible in multiple places. They offer more means through which potential customers can find and reach you. You just want to make sure that those other sources (profiles, accounts, blogs etc) link back to your site in some manner.

What are some basic things I need to know before blogging? Blogging is basically an extension of your personality, so keep that in mind as you write. It will vary from author to author. If you have multiple authors you will want to divide some of the writing workload, which also helps maintain consistency in terms of volume and style. Also keep the basics in mind, meaning good grammar and spelling.

Shouldn’t all communication come from one source? It is my professional opinion that if your agents are already spending quality time writing good posts, then those posts (if relevant to your business) might as well go up on your site. However, that varies from business to business. You will want to establish a ground rule from the onset. But keep this in mind, it’s a great and inexpensive marketing medium for your agents.

I already have agents blogging. What can I do next?Assign someone to manage some of this communication. In all likelihood you have some kind of office assistant or manager who can surely spend a little time tracking some of this communication (really it can take as little as 15 minutes a day).  A quick and easy way to do this is to either follow up with agents directly or (if you are one of those saying, yeah right) sign up with Google Alerts and track what gets published through there. Obviously if your agents are all blogging at the same place then this won’t be much of a problem.

How do I SEO my blog posts and incorporate keywords? Read this great article about the basics of SEO and you will be well on your way to a successful blog.

How can I help promote my agents’ blogs? A great way to promote your agents’ blogs, personal site or other outside profiles is to link to them, whether from your broker blog, a dedicated page on your site or some sort of other profile page.

What else do you want to know? If there any questions that I’ve left unanswered please let us know by asking the question through the comment section.

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