We are real estate agents, stagers, inspectors, and mortgage people. Do people really want to read about mortgages or do they want to apply for one? Do people want to read about real estate or do they want to see the real estate? Do people want to read about staging or do they want to see the staging?
I had an interesting conversation the other day with a gentleman that knows land; more than that, he knows land in East Texas. So much so he has a drone camera the flies over the land to take video and pictures of the land before he lists it for sale. He made the ‘duh’ notion thatpeople don't want to read about the land they want to see the land that they're going to buy. Makes perfect sense to me. So how do we market to the people that want to see the real estate and yet appeal to the search engines with the content that people don't really want to read?
This is an interesting dilemma. And those that are new to blogging may be wondering the same thing."I post pictures of my listings and a brief description. Why would anybody want to read 300 words about this property?"
And that's very true. Nobody wants a wall of words describing how green the grass is or how vibrant the siding is or what the sunset looks like from the front porch. People want to see it. And that's why sites like Pinterest have taken off with a bang. People want to see the pictures. Heck, I don't buy a cookbook and less I can see the pictures of the final product. So how do we appeal to both our readers, A.K.A leads, and yet not just sit on the bottom of the Google page waiting for someone to find our pictures?
Well, because Google is going more social, people are looking for pictures and Google images will start showing those pictures to your friends, family, and those you connect with on search engines and on the search results page. This is why it is even more important to make sure you tag all of your images with keywords and phrases that people would actually search for. When somebody searches for homes in Savannah, they want to see pictures of homes in Savannah on the first page. If your website has enough photos of homes in Savannah, those images will be the first to show up which will link directly back to your listing page.
It's a double edged sword. We must appeal to what Google wants which is content and yet still appeal to our readers (or visual lookers (?) so that we can get the leads and the clientele to our page. Show pictures of the event you are reviewing, photos of the food at that restaurant you wrote about, images of the fabulous sunset overlooking the lake at your newest listing. Show us first, tell us second, get the lead.
Tammy Emineth is an expert in custom content and original articles for blogs, website, press releases and more. Contact me anytime and feel free to subscribe to this blog to stay up to date on my latest blogs and informative information. Email me or contact me for Real Estate Website Marketing and SEO Content Writing.
The information contained in this blog is believed to be true and correct and while every effort is made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible, the author of this blog, and its comments disclaim any implied warranty or representation about it's accuracy for any particular purpose. All information is copy written and the property of Tammy Emineth.
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58 Comments on Blogging is Pointless...
Great blog, Tammy. It's a good point too. People definitely want to see properties. I need to check into Pinetrest, but it's down the list of other things I need to do. 8-) Have a great Sunday.
this is probably one of the best trend identification posts I've read in a long time. Great job and thanks for sharing, Tammy!
Hi Tammy...You have such a way with Words, Kathy Sent us over in her feature today.
Yes I agree, photos speak for themselves, however I have been accused of making a home look better than it is..or so Folks have told me at my Open Houses...The Good news they came to see the real thing.
How about I put my thoughts to print send it to you and you put your magic spin on my posts, I'll stick to taking the photos...ha.
When I first started on AR we could get points for just photos, they were trying to build up the Localism photos for each area then. I still think we should get points for Localism photos....no words!
Cheers
I abandoned my video marketing when I discovered it was not nearly as effective for me.
Tammy - Debbie ( the Flooring Girl) told me eons ago to tag the photos ... how do you do it? I have forgotten..
Tammy, point well taken, not just a good picture but a well tagged picture that helps increase traffic. Excellent points.
Thanks for sharing Tammy - SEO value and also gives visitors to the a site what they want to see.
Rebecca, nobody wants to read a wall of words or any picture that's way too busy. Thanks for the suggestion
Mary, it's hard to figure out how to get people to read what you write and still be interested enough to hang on to every word
Kristin, yes, some posts have a lot of great information a start reading through and realize the post goes on and on and on and we just lose interest
Chris, true. But when we have a minimal amount of time to get her point across online we have to capture the reader immediately. People don't sit down with their the readers to read blog after blog after blog... Typically
Carol, we can get drawn into a really good story, but if it goes on and on and on and we just don't have the time we can fade away without even leaving a comment or having it sink in
Laura, interesting
Mark, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Taking the photos off the outside blog? I'm just not following you can you clarify? Do you mean from the list of our blogs? Didn't they just switch to a list? Is that what you mean
Joanna, I'm glad to! Photos, video, combined with great text all at up to a great blog
Emily, I guess I'm not following Mark's Question. If people are just clicking on our blogs are titles need to be catchy enough to catch their eye to and then the picture needs to keep them there.
Mike, thanks so much! Pinterest is all about photos
Dylan, I noticed you finally put your name on your blog title! YAY people are going for the photos.
Gary, is definitely about a balance. You have to grab your reader with the title keep them there was a photo and make them want more by reading on.
Fred, while, points for pictures? Ehat's awesome! I don't know, making the house look better than it really is is what gets people in the door
Kathy, I am not big into video either. But I do try to find gripping photos and make my blogs short. Seems to work
Gay, you tag the photos when you're uploading them either in the title or description or both. Make sure you tag them exactly what they are or what the title of the blog is about or how you want them to be found.
Adrian, yes those pictures can be found when someone types in your title or your blog topic
David, you're giving the viewer exactly what they want to see.
There is always something to learn with blogging and this is a very good point. Thank you for your blog.
Tammy, Very good post and has many good thoughts for when you put a post together. Picture are great but Google wants content which will may be at odds at times. Photo tagging is very important and I need to be better at it.
Hi Tammy. I can certainly see why an emphasis is placed on photos and videos. Our readers are very visual, and expect to see more images and videos. Photos, Read, and Capture the leads. A smart approach to doing business online.
Good morning Tammy,
And this post is not featured?? Thanks for the great tips on marketing on-line..our customers are visual..just like we are!! Suggested.
Tammy - this is such a good post. I see so many posts that don't have pictures or have little tiny dark ones. Catch the eye first, everyone is visual these days. Why wasn't this featured? I'm suggesting.
Tammy, I found your post via Toni Weidman's re-blog, very good article, you're hitting the nail on the head, I am with Toni, very feature worthy!
Duane, thanks so much. There is always something to learn because things keep changing
Donald, right, and therein lies the rub. We have to please Google and our readers at the same time
Jerry, everyone learns a little differently so we have to try to appeal to everyone if we are marketing to everyone. And that includes the search engines
Cheryl, great idea. People want to see photos of the places that they may want to meet at and when they find you everywhere with great photos you will be the natural fit for real estate
Dorie, Ha I know. At least it's getting some traction :) thanks for the suggestion
Toni, thank you so much for the reblog!I also prefer it when people use the background or the header to shrink the wall of words down to a more manageable size
thank you Tanja, it's a fine line to try to appeal to readers and search engines at the same time
All the changes on what works and doesn't makes me wonder if outsourcing my content would be the best approach. It takes so much time to do video and pictures then optimize each one with keywords, etc. Even my assistant has a hard time keeping up.
Yes, on top of your regular job! it's a lot to keep up with. It may not take a lot of time to sit down and write an article about something you know but that it takes you twice as long to tag every photo and optimize every video and lay it out correctly etc.
Hi Tammy - I think we need both. There are all kinds of people, and they all may be in the market for real estate. Some may want to see only photos, and lots of them, and won't read what you write. Others will glance at the photos and wnat to know all the details. Just make sure your posts and photos are all titled and tagged so Google can't possibly miss them.
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