I read it every day, "SEO doesn't matter... don't worry about SEO." Fact is, I couldn't disagree more. SEO is important. Why? Because when you rank for your prime short tail keywords, you
1. Garner more qualified traffic looking to buy or sell a home
2. Generate more real estate leads
I can categorically PROVE that SEO matters:
Let's clear the air- I don't sell SEO and nor have I ever sold SEO services to Realtors. I do, however, help Realtors SEO their sites for FREE and have helped to pull a number of Realtor sites back from Google penalties very quickly. Why? Because SEO isn't rocket science and enough people have their hands in a Realtor's pocket for me to need to sell a service you could easily and more effectively do yourself. Now, because I think SEO is important, doesn't mean I think it is the THE most important thing or that you shouldn't focus on writing on good, quality, engaging content. You need to do both. But knowing what terms to target and how to optimize your site so you can get found by those terms is critical to quickly ranking in Google.
Read also: How to select the best possible keywords for real estate blogs
Tool: KeywordDiscovery
Think SEO doesn't matter? Laurie Manny increased her real estate lead generation by 600% by hitting the number 1 spot in Google.
Case Study: When Laurie Manny jumped from the second position in Google to the first and second she went from 5 leads per day to 30. That is a 600% increase in real estate leads. Her traffic also took a flying leap forward from about 3500 visitors per day to upwards of 5000. So, clearly , the number one position in Google is more valuable than the number two position or any other position, for that matter. Therefore, you should do everything necessary to beg, borrow, steal, step over the competition to get to that coveted #1 position! Good news is, you don't have to beg, borrow or steal to step over your competition, you just need to know the basic premise of SEO. And that is: write keyword rich content, link to other posts on your site (a flat architecture is important) and build a few backlinks from other sites to yours.
See how when Laurie went to the #1 and #2 positions her traffic dramatically increased:
See how her real estate lead generation increased as well
How did she get to #1 in Google for such a short tail keyword with such a high conversion value? She used on and off page SEO tactics. No secret sauce, no magic, just very trusted SEO techniques like a keyword rich domain, title tags and content coupled with a solid backlinking campaign on a platform designed to produce results when fed the right kind of content. The results are evident and undeniable.
Simple stuff you can do today to improve your search positioning.
1. Use keywords in title tag
2. Use keywords in heading tags
3. Use keywords throughout your posts where they make sense and sound natural
4. Build backlinks
5. Write new posts or update old posts 3-5 times per week
Read also: How to put your real estate blog on Page 1 of Google guaranteed
Can you get to #1 in Google without an SEO strategy?
Of course, but I can guarantee you it will take you a lot less time to rank if you have an SEO strategy that considers what your keywords are and how to use them effectively throughout your writing. I don't want you to become an SEO expert, but you should be educated on the subject.
Read also: 5 on-page SEO tactics that will improve your real estate blog
Tool: Where do you rank in Google for your keywords?
Now, I always point to Laurie, but we have a large percentage of our clients that are on the first page of Google for their prime, most valuable key terms, so here are just a few:
Marc Blasi
Mariana Wagner
Ann Cummings
Ines Garcia
Heck, for my own site, I rank #4 for the very valuable and short tail term, "real estate leads."
Geez, you'd almost think we know what we are doing with SEO and lead generation. Who put the leads in my SEO? is exactly what RSS Pieces is about.
Long Beach Real Estate Blog Success Path
4 months old - Page 1 in Google
6 months old - #2 position on Page 1 in Google, generating 1-5 leads per day
1 year old - #1 and 2 position in Google, generating 30 leads per day
If SEO doesn't matter, then I challenge you to turn on the no follow no index meta tags.
Now, of course I know nobody in their right mind would do that- essentially tell Google not to index or crawl their site. I mean, Google is where you should be finding most of your new traffic from and as we have proven, you can generate some serious business from Google if you use the rigth tools.
How much traffic can you get from the various positions in Google
*2008 traffic percentages for each of the first 10 positions in Google (Data Source: SEOmoz):
- Number 1 receives 42.1%
- Number 2 receives 11.9%
- Number 3 receives 8.5%
- Number 4 receives 6.1%
- Number 5 receives 4.9%
- Number 6 receives 4.1%
- Number 7 receives 3.4%
- Number 8 receives 3.0%
- Number 9 receives 2.8%
- Number 10 receives 3.0%
Why do some blogs on the first page of Google not get any business?
I had this question asked in one of my webinars. This Realtor ranked on the first page of Google and said they ddn't get any business. The answer was clear when i visited the site. They were not asking for the business and therefore were not getting it! Sites without quality calls to action or effective lead generators do not guide the visitor through to the most important place for both them and you- the search for homes/lead generator, so be sure to call visitors to action and dump them into yoru lead gen.
Real Estate sites without calls to action and lead generators are guns with no bullets.
Read also: How to call readers to action and get the real estate lead.
Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google.
LOGIN AS A PANELIST TO TALK
Monday 1 PM: SEO Training
Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar. Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google. This seminar focuses on basic on-page and off-page optimization techniques that will help your blog place for prime short tail keywords in 90 days or less.
Register to Attend this Meeting Today:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webinar/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl
Webinar ID: 319349955
GoToWebinar Conference Call Service:
United States
Panelist: (616) 883-8033, access code 554-678-843
Attendee: (616) 883-8055, access code 566-114-708
Tuesday1 PM: Blogging Training
Join me for a 45 minute real estate blog training seminar. Learn how to write focused scan-able and engaging content that both readers and search engines will come back for. This course focuses on proven SEO copywriting techniques and provides a system for writing blog posts in 30 minutes or less.
Register to Attend this Meeting Today:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webinar/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl
Webinar ID: 862131674
GoToWebinar Conference Call Service:
United States
Panelist: (641) 715-3399, access code 540-223-065
Attendee: (641) 715-3222, access code 347-992-934
Wednesday 1 PM: Backlink Building Workshop
Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar on how to build high quality backlinks. Learn just how many backlinks you need to have to be a PR 5 and what kind of quality backlinks you should spend your time building. This is a workshop where I will take you through the process of building 10-15 very high quality backlinks to your site. Be prepared to work.
Register to Attend this Meeting Today:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webinar/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl
Webinar ID: 495528189
GoToWebinar Conference Call Service:
United States
Panelist: (616) 883-8033, access code 299-542-878
Attendee: (616) 883-8055, access code 636-350-700
Webinar Password: Not required
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I'm surprised there are still people out there that think SEO does not matter. I would guess they would also believe the Internet is a fad.