Our last article stated seven things a web presence must accomplish for the real estate professional if they want to create commissions from site visitors. One of the critical ingredients required to create an effective website is great SEO (Search Engine Optimization). While Google is still the giant on the block, Bing, Yahoo and AOL are also important search engines used by millions of people. No matter which search engines your clients and prospects use, all of them have one thing in common; “presence of keywords and key phrases” is an important ranking factor amongst all search engines.
IDX – Two Approaches
An effective website must deliver an IDX search that is comprehensive and easy to use. Your website visitors want to search for properties using a map, as well as keywords, features, bedrooms, bathrooms and other characteristics. A site simply cannot attract and keep viable visitors for future business without a good IDX solution. How do most sites accomplish this now? One is a framed solution, and the other is an Integrated IDX solution.
An effective website must deliver an IDX search that is comprehensive and easy to use. Your website visitors want to search for properties using a map, as well as keywords, features, bedrooms, bathrooms and other characteristics. A site simply cannot attract and keep viable visitors for future business without a good IDX solution. How do most sites accomplish this now? One is a framed solution, and the other is an Integrated IDX solution.
Frameable IDX
If you’re unfamiliar with the term “framing,” it’s having pages or portions of one site show up in another. Frequently it can be done with design and colors that make the framed content look like it’s part of the site where it’s displayed. However, it is not there physically, instead it’s being hosted on another website. The “frame” merely places part of the other site in a “window” if you will, showing it on your real estate website, but not having it physically present there. A search engine doesn’t index framed material as part of the site where it’s displayed. Far and away, the majority of sites are using a framed IDX. Why? For the most part, because their IDX function is provided by a vendor other than the vendor providing their website. There’s simply no way to integrate it any other way without the real estate professional hiring expensive programmers.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term “framing,” it’s having pages or portions of one site show up in another. Frequently it can be done with design and colors that make the framed content look like it’s part of the site where it’s displayed. However, it is not there physically, instead it’s being hosted on another website. The “frame” merely places part of the other site in a “window” if you will, showing it on your real estate website, but not having it physically present there. A search engine doesn’t index framed material as part of the site where it’s displayed. Far and away, the majority of sites are using a framed IDX. Why? For the most part, because their IDX function is provided by a vendor other than the vendor providing their website. There’s simply no way to integrate it any other way without the real estate professional hiring expensive programmers.
Integrated IDX
Now, how can this hurdle be overcome? We must get the IDX search text and images, and remember we’re talking about a LOT of text and images, integrated into the site itself, residing there for the search engine to index? Think of the value if this can be accomplished. Think of all those keywords and phrases related to local real estate that are in each listing displayed in the IDX search results. There are bedrooms, baths, area or neighborhood names, land and home descriptive words and phrases, and more. And, they’re all repeated over and over with each new listing displayed. While all of that value is lost in a framed solution, it’s indexed and a big SEO boost for the site that can have their IDX residing on the site without framing.
Now, how can this hurdle be overcome? We must get the IDX search text and images, and remember we’re talking about a LOT of text and images, integrated into the site itself, residing there for the search engine to index? Think of the value if this can be accomplished. Think of all those keywords and phrases related to local real estate that are in each listing displayed in the IDX search results. There are bedrooms, baths, area or neighborhood names, land and home descriptive words and phrases, and more. And, they’re all repeated over and over with each new listing displayed. While all of that value is lost in a framed solution, it’s indexed and a big SEO boost for the site that can have their IDX residing on the site without framing.
While there are hundreds, or even thousands in some areas, of real estate websites all fighting for first page position for the search phrase “theirtown real estate,” there are a few who have recognized the value of the many search phrases that are far less competitive (long tail keywords), yet bring focused visitors to the site. And, it’s these words and phrases that are repeated over and over in IDX search results.
So, What’s The Answer?
The answer is simply to have an indexable IDX solution that resides on your website so that all of the words and images are easily indexed by search engines and used to your benefit. Simple answer, but not so simple to do. That is unless you check out RealtySoft.com’s integrated, indexable IDX solution! Check out the short video below to find out more:
The answer is simply to have an indexable IDX solution that resides on your website so that all of the words and images are easily indexed by search engines and used to your benefit. Simple answer, but not so simple to do. That is unless you check out RealtySoft.com’s integrated, indexable IDX solution! Check out the short video below to find out more:
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