Search engine optimization (SEO) is the key to turning your real estate website into a powerful lead generation system for your business. That said, for many of us, the idea of implementing all the SEO practices needed to have a strong website presence is incredibly daunting.
Though it does seem complex — in reality, it doesn’t have to be. So, if you want to optimize your website and generate more traffic (which will ultimately result in more leads), here are two simple concepts you need to focus on.
1. Focus on your website’s content
The first piece of the puzzle is your website itself. What content is on your website? What’s going to drive people there? And once they are there, what is their experience going to be like?
To build a strong online presence, you need to create content for your website that offers value to the visitor. Writing blog posts and creating neighborhood guides, profiles of subdivisions or FAQ pages that answer common questions are all ways to build your content.
Now, once those people are on your site, where do they go? The ultimate goal is to be able to generate leads through your website. That’s why you want to think about how to funnel your website visitors to lead-capture forms that are relevant to them.
For example, if they’ve landed on a post about moving to your area, offer them a downloadable resource in exchange for their email address and phone number as the next step.
2. Figure out how to get visitors there
The second piece of SEO is thinking about how people will find your website. Until your site starts to gain some strength in the eyes of search engines, this part of the process will take some legwork.
You want to use things like social media, email campaigns, paid ads, directory sites and forums to drive people to your website. My best tip for success here is to focus on promoting pages on your website that have been created specifically for the group of people you are speaking to, rather than just pushing people to your home page.
As these pages start to get more clicks and engagement from different sources, search engines will start to notice it — and your website’s SEO strength will build.
Kate Hulbert is the marketing director at Bozeman Real Estate Group in Bozeman, Montana. Follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
