In response to feedback from search engine users, Google took a major step in improving the quality of sites listed on Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) with its Panda/Farmer Update. Since then, I’ve heard from many real estate professionals who feel that this algorithmic change actually made it increasingly difficult to rank well for competitive terms. With that in mind, here are a few actionable steps for those looking to stay ahead of the pack:

* In an industry on which webmasters rely so heavily on IDX data for the majority of their content, it is even more critical to provide unique content that others with the exact same IDX feed do not have. The key emphasis being on UNIQUE, which can translate into providing local area/neighborhood information from YOUR perspective, YOUR analysis of statistics and market trends, real estate advice from YOUR view point (this could be easily achieved with Q&A section, driven by questions from visitors). There is a plethora of methods by which to generate unique content, the only limit would be lack of creativity.

Continue reading this post

I was reading a recent HomeGain article about the relationship between social networking and SEO, and it made me think about the anxiety many real estate brokers must feel as they work hard to position their company and agents for success in this rapidly evolving online world.

Even though agents have been told that they should be blogging, understanding all of the tools, tricks and systems required for implementing an effective Social Media strategy is an overwhelming challenge that most busy real estate agents simply don’t have enough time for.

However, for a real estate company, building a strong web presence must be a priority if they want to help their agents gain a competitive advantage in the local marketplace.

While there are several DIY trail-blazers that are willing to openly share the process of how they failed their way to success on the web, brokerage owners don’t necessarily have the luxury of being able to test a few Internet Marketing strategies until they get it right.

Agents, support staff, listing clients, landlords…. are all counting on their real estate firm to execute an online agenda that provides measurable results.

Continue reading this post

The announcement of Google Instant made shockwaves throughout the online world, far beyond RE.net, with many wondering how that would affect SERPs. In an industry heavily dependent on traffic coming by way of search engines, any major changes in algorhythms, patterns, services, etc., can have a monumental effect and is to be taken seriously.

Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team and summarily the public voice of Google when it comes to SEO practices, answered “Does Google Instant kill search engine optimization (SEO)?” with an unequivocal ‘NO!”

What Google Instant does (and does remarkably well) is bring a functionality that had been lacking: an intuitive ability to search-as-you-type by predicting terms that an individual may be searching for, while remaining relevant and providing an user-friendly experience.

I, for one, did not initially enjoy having terms spelled out for me, after all, my line of thinking was ‘I know what I am searching, I don’t need a silly computer to fill it out for me’. That is until I gave it a chance, it allowed me an effortless, yet more thorough, search experience that went well beyond my expectations.

For now, real estate professionals should continue practicing solid SEO fundamentals/principles of on-site optimization (meta data implementation and valuable content creation) and off-site optimization (to include emphasis on quality link-building).

After all, whether it’s SEO, real estate (and for many of us, a marriage thereof) or any comparable industry, those who are able to conform/adapt to their environments will succeed when their peers do nothing but complain.

Somebody has to be #1.

Most people think about social media in terms of socializing and don’t realize that Twitter can be a powerful tool for SEO. Your Twitter account can be optimized for search engines so that you get the best possible value out of your profile. There are a few very simple tricks and a few not so simple tricks that can help you to get the most out of your Twitter account in Google searches.

Here are 10 ways to turn your Twitter account into an Internet searchable masterpiece:

1. Choose an Actual Name and a Relevant Username

Use a Twitter username that includes the keyword you want to rank high for. If you want people to find your Twitter profile when they search for Real Estate, make sure that ‘Real Estate’ is in your name. For example: @EGrealestate.

Do not use dashes, and make it short and easy to remember. You can use your actual name for this or include the keyword again (this does not help with personalizing your account, though).

For current users, you can fix this in your Twitter account by going into “Settings”.

2. Shorten Your Website URL

To accommodate Twitter using only the first 20 characters of your URL, shorten it with bit.ly and get rid of the www. This will allow people to see the link before they click on it. For example: http://bit.ly/BETArealestate.

To change this, go into your Twitter account, click “Settings”, then go to the “Account” page, and then scroll halfway down the page.

3. Write a Short Bio

Create a bio that is short and to the point, but also shows your personality. With only 160 characters to make your personality shine, you can’t waste your time with words that have no search value. Your bio should represent who you are and how you want others to perceive you. This will affect peoples’ decisions for whether to follow you or not. Include your location because sometimes Google will include this. Continue reading this post

This exclusive real estate video features Eric Blackwell, Director of Technology at RE/MAX who presented a special session at the August 2009 HomeGain Nation Live Real Estate Forum in San Francisco titled “SEO Is A Team Sport”.

Did you put SEO or getting better ranking as a priority for your business this year? What is SEO? Why do search engines put some REALTORS® at the top of search results over others?

SEO is the role that relationships play in helping you get to the top — being “search engine friendly”. Blackwell explains all this and more for what SEO means to REALTORS®, and provides the basic rules of effective SEO strategies.

Watch the SEO TRENDS session video: “SEO Is A Team Sport”

Check back next week to see one more video from this 2009 real estate event, which is the “Trends In Real Estate Marketing” with power presenters Robert Hahn, Patrick Kitano, Jay Thompson, Joseph Ferrara and Louis Cammarosano!

Watch more HomeGain Nation session videos

Also see more HomeGain Nation real estate videos on the HomeGain YouTube channel, on the HomeGain Nation Blog. and in the HomeGain Media Center.

One of the questions that I get from REALTORS all of the time while consulting is something like this…

“Do I need to worry about ranking in Yahoo and MSN as well as Google?”

“How much attention should I pay to Yahoo and  MSN?”

While the questions vary slightly, the meaning is exactly the same. Each search engine is different. It is one thing to rank really well on one search engine. It is another thing entirely to rank on two (or more). In the past (before Bing and Yahoo announced that Bing would be powering Yahoo), the answer was splendidly easy. Just worry about Google. The rest do not matter. They simply do not have enough market share to matter.

But what about after Microsoft has spent over $100 million advertising Bing as the “decision engine”? What about once Yahoo is powered by Bing? Will they have enough market share to matter then?

A couple of insights are helpful. The first of them is to know how to get a monthly snapshot of the search engine market share. Continue reading this post