Regardless of industry, the most important aspects of content are quality, relevancy and frequency. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. Simply creating content won’t help Google rank you higher. Google isn’t easy to trick, and Google is analyzing content closely to ensure it meets its standards.
Of course, Google isn’t sifting through all the copy that goes up on the internet on a daily basis, but it is fine-tuning its bots so that Google’s search engine delivers exactly what people are looking for.
Before we get into the meat and potatoes, understand that Google’s job is to deliver the best search results. If a buyer is only interested in two-bedroom homes, but a real estate agent shows only four bedroom homes, he or she is going to go elsewhere.
The same holds true for Google. If you search for divorce attorneys in Boca Raton, and the result shows a personal injury attorney, you are likely to head over to Bing!
As a real estate agent, you might want to rank for everything, but that isn’t a good practice. It is best to create a plan along with producing the right content to achieve results.
With that as your foundation, let’s get down to tips:
Search engines value experts
The more knowledge and experience you possess in the particular field you’re writing about, the better. Go ahead and list those credentials that make you an expert.
If you’ve been selling real estate in Palm Beach for 30 years, and you discuss trends in the area, this will boost your ranking. On the other hand, if you aren’t an authority on the subject, feel free to cite someone who is.
It doesn’t mean that you can’t write on a popular subject; just add something original to the story. Go ahead and infuse your expert opinion on a popular subject. Don’t be afraid to show your inner nerd.
Deliver valuable insight
The better able you are to speak on a specific subject, the higher Google will rate and subsequently rank your content. If you don’t know much about a specific community or the homes that sell there, don’t try to increase your rankings by throwing in keywords related to the community.
Google will look at the quality of your writing and how relevant the topic is to your audience as well as if you are sharing a new viewpoint on a subject. Google isn’t interested in poorly written or regurgitated copy. Content must be original.
There is nothing worse that reading a blog and feeling as though you’ve already read it. When hiring a blogger, make sure he or she isn’t taking one of your blogs, changing a few words and selling it to all your competitors. This won’t help you rank higher.
Show that you are trustworthy
This is fairly easy to do. If you are discussing a real estate market report, link out to it. If you’ve written a good article, have someone link to it as a source. That helps Google understand that you are a trustworthy source.
Don’t try to cheat your way into trustworthiness; put in the time it takes. Don’t overstuff your blogs with keywords or include irrelevant links.
If you want to get ranked high, take the time to do it right. Having a poorly written blog might be worse than having no blog.
Creating original, relevant and trustworthy content isn’t as easy as hitting your website’s “blog” button. There are no shortcuts. It requires research, the talent to write copy, some SEO insights and a reliable editor. It is common for people who are not writers to make careless mistakes.
Perform original research, and always identify the proper citations, links, reviews or testimonials that support your content.
Your site’s content should be unique, specific to your audience and well-researched. Google demerits content that is “mass-produced” or outsourced on a large number of other sites. If you decide to hire a blogger, make sure he or she isn’t giving you the same content as other clients.
Never create copy just to help your rankings; create copy that your site visitors want to read and that will help them learn about you. The rankings will sure follow.
Laura Ure is the CEO of Keenability, a marketing agency specializing in lifestyle marketing that targets the affluent buyer. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
