In this age of technology and easy access to any information you could ever ask for, marketing strategies have taken to the online world. It’s never been more important for a company to be seen digitally via search engines.
Real estate is no different. One of the easiest ways to reach out to potential clients is to create a strong online presence. To build this online brand, companies focus on creating websites and blog posts that will rank highly on search engines such as Google.
Not sure what this means? This article will walk you through all the basics of SEO writing and explain how you can boost that online presence.
What is SEO and Why is it Important
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a highly effective marketing strategy used when writing blog content. The goal of SEO is a high ranking on sites such as Google and bringing in plenty of traffic to your blog or website.
The real estate industry uses SEO strategies to bring in potential clients. They can do this by including strategic keywords and phrases within their content, targeting a specific audience, and clearly laying out what they are providing.
SEO is incredibly important to building your brand. Ranking high among search engine listings will greatly improve your chances of getting noticed and reaching out to potential leads.
Tips and Tricks for a High Ranking
There are a few tricks to boost your ratings when writing a blog for a specific client base, such as drawing attention to certain neighbourhoods, compiling a list of top schools in an area, or moving to a new city. These writing tricks include:
- Writing to your target audience
- Using keywords or phrases
- Creating a clear and concise structure
- Linking to authoritative websites
- Drawing attention through titles and headings
Let’s take a closer look at each of these handy tips and tricks.
1. Know Your Audience
It’s important to know who you are writing to and who’s attention you are trying to grab. As such, knowing your audience is one of the first steps to creating a successful article.
In the world of real estate, blogs are typically geared towards either experienced realtors or potential homebuyers. To help you understand your target market, ask yourself these simple questions:
- How will this content help the readers?
- What are the reader’s next steps after they’ve finished reading the article?
- Has the article answered all the general questions on the topic?
Each of your posts should keep your reader’s best interest in mind. If you’re focusing on the general public, be sure to be clear and explain any complicated terms. If you’re writing for an experienced company within the industry, you won’t want to lose their interest by explaining concepts with which they’re already familiar.
2. Keywords are Key
You’ve got your topic, you understand your audience, now it’s time to write the article. If you’re hoping to gain attention at the top of the search engine results, you’re going to want to focus on keywords.
Keywords and phrases are one or two words describing the main theme of a blog. For example, if you’re writing a piece about moving to a new city, you’ll want to include the phrase “moving to (insert city)” as that’ll capture the keywords “moving” and the city’s name, drawing more attention to your blog.
Keep in mind, when using keywords, you don’t want to completely litter your article to the point that it’s unreadable. You want to keep your paragraphs sounding natural, allowing your keywords to flow throughout the content, scattered here and there.
Another tip to keep your article from sounding too forced is to use related words. Synonyms are a great way to keep from sounding too repetitive and add more variations in order to expand the potential for a high ranking on Google.
3. Clear, Readable Structure
The biggest turn-off to a reader is a blog filled with long, stuffy paragraphs that are lined up one after the other with no headings or subheadings. Every great blog post needs to be composed of a clear, readable structure including the following three features:
- An introduction
- Multiple headings
- A conclusion
Each paragraph should be kept to a minimum, just a few sentences that get straight to the point. To break up your content, make use of bullet points or numbered lists. Use proper headings before introducing the next paragraph or set of paragraphs to clearly guide the reader through your article. Subheadings are a great way to add a bit of texture to your blog as well and as a bonus, you can use your keywords to introduce your next section.
To get an idea of how to properly outline an article, have a look at the following websites:
10 Reasons To Live In Golden Hill, San Diego
The Best Elementary Schools in Boca Raton | 2021 Edition
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO: Moving To & Living In Montclair, NJ
12 Reasons To Move To Phoenix, AZ Today
5 Reasons To Move To Kitsilano, BC Today
5 Tips to Prepare Your Property for a Horse
Top 6 BEST Neighborhoods In Fairborn, OH [2022 Edition]
Each of these articles is concise, to the point, and easy to read. They include accurate headings and subheadings, the layout flows naturally, and each section is short and sweet, keeping the reader’s attention while delivering helpful information.
4. Link to Existing Content and Websites
Finding reputable sources to aid in your research as you write your blog post is a must. You need to be sure you’re getting correct and up-to-date information and to do so, you can look into high-authority websites. If you’ve gotten statistics or found specific websites dedicated to your topic, feel free to link them right into your article.
Linking to external websites allows you to keep your content from running overtime, while offering a source for the reader to dive a little deeper if they want more information. You can write a few short sentences, providing the essential information, then guide your audience to another site for a more in-depth look at that particular topic.
For example, if you’re writing a guide to the ins and outs of a particular city in the hopes of enticing potential homebuyers to move to the area, don’t be afraid to link the city’s official government website to your article. This way, you don’t have to write about every section of the city, but homebuyers that are researching the area have the option to investigate more thoroughly after you’ve already captured their interest.
5. Put Stock Into Your Titles
The first thing that a person notices when they plug a topic into a search engine is a snappy title. You need to be able to snag their attention using just 5-10 words. To take full advantage of a search engine, there are a few factors you can keep in mind when creating your title:
- Incorporate your keywords and phrases
- Use numbers – “10 Reasons To live in Golden Hill, San Diego”
- Add a little tease – “Top Attractions In Reno – Here’s What To Know”
- Don’t be too wordy
This goes for headings and subheadings as well. Not only do you want to capture your target audience in the title, but you want to direct their eyes should they decide to quickly scan the article. A potential client may search the content before deciding if this is what they’re looking for. If they see a heading that directly correlates to the topic they’re researching, it’ll cause them to pause and read a little more attentively.
6. Word Count Matters
A decade ago, studies would’ve shown that shorter articles, between 500-800 words, are the way to go. Over the past few years, however, things have changed a little. More and more, the top-ranking articles on Google consist of a healthy dose of content. Very seldom do those short pieces make it to the top listings on that first page. By using tools like Keyword Revealer, you can actually see what length of content the competition has written in order to one-up them.
The average real estate article that ranks highest on Google falls between 1,800-1,900 words. These articles are clearly written, consist of easy-to-read headers and subtitles, and give the reader something to sink their teeth into. Since real estate is such a competitive market, you’re going to want to make sure your blog really stands out among the many blog posts that flood the search engines.
Keep in mind, writing more for the sake of reaching the ideal word count isn’t enough. You can have the “perfect” length, but if the quality of content is no good, readers are going to skip right over those 1,900 words. The combination of a more robust, lengthy article and dynamic content is what will bring you to the top of the rankings.
Following these simple tips and tricks will definitely give you an edge among the competitive world of search engine rankings. The main factors to keep in mind are to keep it simple, write clearly about your selected topic, and create an easy-to-follow layout that’ll grab your reader’s attention. Doing so will ensure that your article floats to the top of Google, providing more exposure to potential clients browsing through the seemingly endless list of results.