Templated websites & the importance of content.

I am astounded when I view the competition's websites only to find that much of the content and layout is almost entirely unchanged. Many Realtors utilize templated webpage providers to get a fast and easy site up and running so that they can advertise their listings and get on board with a stronger online presence.

There is one major problem with the approach that most Realtors appear to be content taking and that's simpy having no traffic and no leads ending up on these websites. Why pay hundreds of dollars a year for a beautiful website template if you aren't going to take the time to personalize your presence?

Google hates duplicate content, and by leaving a website unchanged you have a website that is likely identical to hundreds of other competitors and Google will be content to leave you at page 264 of its search engine for your local area.

Blogging seems to be king from what I hear time and time again from industry experts. Unique, relevant content sets you apart from the competition and Google rewards those who are willing to take the time to load their website up with something worth reading. One of the things I like best about the ActiveRain community is the shared understanding and appreciation for the value of blogging.

Consistency also prevails, as it doesn't take long browsing the competition to realize that many Realtors give up blogging after only a couple of months, and their websites last update might have been back in May 2012. Even blogging once a month would set you ahead of the majority of the competition, but depending on the size of your market you probably will not be in the running without a greater frequency than that.

When I look at what my competition is doing on their webpages, it inspires me by demonstrating the sort of content that is required to reach the top. Fooling Google is a thing of the past, the algorithms they use are growing increasingly clever at determining what websites are valued by users, and we continue to see things like key word density becoming less important because Google knows that humans don't communicate by saying North Vancouver Real Estate every second sentence.

Users have to love you before Google will love you, and giving them access to the information that they want when looking for Real Estate is the key to ensuring they keep coming back. Having listings and access to the MLS is insufficient because there are simply too many websites out there with access to identical information.

Add locations and content about schools, community centres, neighbourhood history, and Google and its users will start to view you as an expert on the topics you're writing about.

Lead generation for me has transformed from door knocking and cold calls, to blogs and content and it's something I do on a daily basis to ensure Google knows that my website is relevant and updated regularly. I have a long way to go but so far my website on North Vancouver Real Estate is well on its way to being a top contender in my market www.andrewgreenhomes.com.