Real Estate Web Design and Marketing Blog

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A Word About Missing Keywords

Often our clients will create new pages, and write a bit of copy with their easy to use Agent Backdoor site editor. Maybe the article is about “New Construction”. When you write the tile “New Construction” always place a geographic reference in the tile for search engines and site visitors. The same is true when you write copy that includes references to “Realtor” or real estate agent. I suggest you add Raleigh Realtor, then link that phrase to your “About You” page.

Make the Call - The Call to Take Action!

I love it when real estate agents include a strong call to action at the end of their articles and I always suggest you conclude each page with a strong call to action:

Contact me to get a free copy of my new construction guide and to take that first step in building your next dream home.

Take a good look at that sentence. How would you improve it from an SEO perspective? That’s right, add the area keyword and a sense of urgency; “Contact me today to get a free copy of my new construction guide and to take that first step in building your next dream home in Raleigh.“

One Voice!

When adding new content to your real estate website via your Agent Backdoor, be careful to ensure you write consistently in one voice. I like reading web copy in the first person and not third person. It’s more personal when information is written in the first person. If you add new web pages to your website be consistent and avoid leading your site visitor to believe you are schizophrenic. It’s really strange to see some pages written in the first person and some written in the third person!

Fonts - Keep Them Clean and Simple

Also be consistent with font styles, sizes and colors. One sure fire way to make a website look less professional is to add web content that looks different with yellow highlighted text, or text in loud bolded underlined colors. It makes your website look like it was built in the 80’s.

Time to Take a Closer Look at Your Real Estate Website!

Now would be a great time to take a closer look at your website. Does it have a variety of wacky font styles, colors, weird bolded words that are underlined for no apparent reason. If your website suffers from these issues, make the corrections now.

Stay tuned for even more tips on website design and SEO.

Bobby

P.S. My thanks to Raleigh real estate agent Jenn Nowalk and her husband Rich for being kind enough to be placed in the Dakno website review “hot seat”.

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Occasionally, I like to take a glance at our Dakno client’s new real estate websites just to see how they are coming along. It’s exciting to see our clients creating unlimited web pages with their Agent Backdoor site editor, uploading neighborhood pages and adding high-value content to their sites. I have decided to offer a few tips based on some observations I commonly see once a client begins to “grow” their Dakno website.

Don’t Forget the Tags!

Often, a client will create a new web page and forget to add keywords to the title tag, meta tag and meta keywords for the page. Here is an example of such a page. When creating new pages don’t forget to always add a geographic keyword reference to your content and to your headlines for superior organic search engine optimization too. In this example I recommended the agent add a smidgen of copy at the top of this page to help with SEO.

Maybe add something like this,

“Are you ready to hit the links in the Triangle? If so, you will find Raleigh golf courses offer a wide range of championship caliber tracts. Many have been rated 4 stars or higher by numerous national golfing magazines. And the weather in Raleigh is conducive for year-round play. For more information on the Raleigh golf courses listed below, just click on the links provided for green fees, tee times and more information.“

I also encouraged this client to add a wee bit more information for each golf course, like is it private or public, number of holes, length of the tract, etc. Now you’re offering real value to your site visitor. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

A Comment About Linking Resource Pages

Let’s face it, the easiest way to add content to a website is to create a link resource page. I’m not a big fan of this strategy for a couple of reasons. You paid hard earned money to build a real estate website to have people visit it and maybe even encourage them to connect with you. So why in the world are we so eager to send our traffic away providing links to everywhere? Why not write a bit of copy about every one of those golf courses and keep your site visitors to your self. So my question to you is this, are you creating a leaky website by offering a resource center for links?

More Website Tips After Your Website Goes Live

In a future post I’ll recommend even more tips to help your real estate website offer greater value so it is seen as the rich resource worthy of many return visitors.

Bobby

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It seems the favorite theme song for most real estate professionals is the one performed by Country & Western star Toby Keith titled “I Wanna Talk About Me“. The lone exception most agents would take to this song is the reference Toby makes  that says “occasionally I want to talk about me“. Want proof? Take a look at most “About Me” pages on agent real estate websites and blogs. While this example below is a slight exaggeration, it’s closer to reality than you think:

I am a top Realtor in Ego County. I am the greatest agent. I have lots of awards, I can help you buy or sell because I have more experience than you! Call me so I can tell you more about how great I am!

The above example might seem a bit extreme but you would be surprised at how bad some about pages really are! Instead of focusing on you (count all the I’s), and giving the usual laundry list of all your awards, credentials and more; focus on your clients for a change. Take a look at this outstanding example of a great About Me” page by Dakno client and Phoenix real estate agent Elena Thurston.

Treating You Like Family!

Buying a home in Phoenix is so much more than the price you pay for a piece of property. Selecting and making a house a home where life-long memories are made - now that goes straight to the heart of the matter. That’s why I love the Phoenix real estate business. When my families come to me after they have found their home where they can nurture their children and say; “I picked you because we share a common bond and you have kids.” that’s music to my ears!

Elena knows her audience and she effectively connects with moms and dads in a very emotional way. Notice how she weaves testimonials and success stories in her about page? Elena was even smart enough to add those great geographic keywords for her market - AWESOME! Combining those strategies is a great approach and enhances her SEO too!

Use Your About Page to Spotlight the Success of Others!

Be a cheerleader for your clients! Your readers want to know what’s in it for them and it is far more effective and powerful if you allow others to validate your value. Now that’s an effective way to use your about page to connect with your readers rather than singing all your self adulation.

Talk Directly to the Visitor

People often ask us “Should I write in 1st person or 3rd person?” Many people think it’s better to write in 3rd person. After all, it sounds conceded to “toot your own horn.” But here is the thing. Bad copy is bad copy. It’s doesn’t matter if it’s written in 1st or 3rd person! My advice is to write your about page in 1st person. This gives you an opportunity to speak directly to the consumer – just like a face to face conversation. Isn’t that the goal anyway?

Keep It Personal!

I say make your about you page personal. Allow it to show who you are and by all means, keep it focused on how you help them! Personally, I am a fan of letter style about page. Need more inspiration? I recommend you continue reading Elena’s “About” page titled “Family Ties” at her Finding Phoenix Neighborhoods real estate blog.

Your Challenge

Do you have an about you page on your website or blog? Most people do. Now go back and reread your about you page. I suspect you’ll find it’s time to make some changes - all for the better I’m sure.

Helping you connect with your audience,

Brad

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