For those that are pressed for time or not so inclined, there are a number of services available to help through sites such as Homes.com and realtor.com®, among many others. These services will write custom articles, blog posts or tweets, or enable agents to customize the portals’ mobile apps with their own branding, so agents can spend their time showing properties and negotiating deals.
“There are so many options and third parties providing consumers with content,” says Frame. “A key differentiator is your ability as a practitioner to interpret the data in a way that provides meaning to consumers.”
Optimizing for Search Engines
One area that baffles many REALTORS® is website optimization. The good news is that the same approach that will engage would-be buyers will attract the attention of search engines — community information at the neighborhood level.
“Content-rich pages about specific neighborhoods/communities are both useful for potential buyers and attract traffic from the search engines,” says Saul Klein, principal at Point 2. “Content can include specific things like history of the neighborhood, education, health care, transportation, entertainment opportunities, etc. This can be used with a great degree of success, since big portals are not able to provide accurate, personalized information at neighborhood level.”
Optimizing for search engines isn’t about gaming the system, but about providing clues to search engines that your site is highly relevant for users who want particular information, and enabling them to rank your site accordingly.
