The journey to real estate search engine marketing domination starts with SEO. This quest for power is why big brands such as Zillow and realtor.com spend millions of dollars each year on SEO (search engine optimization) services to dominate search engine result pages for almost all the real estate keywords you can imagine.
Right about now, you’re probably thinking that if you can rank your website on principal keywords, just like Zillow and realtor.com do, then all your lead generation problems are gone.
I am sorry to disappoint you, but that will lead you only halfway — SEO is not the end of the journey.
Why, you might ask?
That is simply because SEO is a continuous process that keeps changing and evolving with every update released by Google or Bing, including the latest Google mobile update on April 21.
This process requires outranking your competitors to remain on the first page of Google result pages, which is accomplished by building more valuable links.
Either way, for you to remain relevant in the eyes of Google, you have to work constantly toward making Google fall in love with your website or blog over and over again.
It never ends. So, never have the notion that if you are occupying first position now, that it will always be that way. It can change overnight if you drop your guard.
How to remain relevant on search engine result pages:
- Make your link building look natural: When Google Panda was rolled out, all the websites and blogs that made their link profile look natural were not affected by those updates. You can’t tell if what you are doing today that is lawful in the sight of Google could be outlawed tomorrow. To prevent that from happening, look at all the links and ask yourself if the links look natural or spammy before building any more links to your website or blog.
- Pay attention to algorithm changes; always pay close attention to what goes on in the search engine world, so that you won’t be caught unawares if there are any new search engine ranking updates. If there are updates, adjust to meet the current criteria.
- Monitor your competitor’s backlink, so you will be able to mine or duplicate good backlinks your competitors are generating.
- Carefully watch your backlink so that you don’t get attacked by negative SEO.
- Keep track of your search engine rankings, so you will be able to tell in record time when things go wrong with your rankings.
- Watch your search engine click-thru rate; keeping tabs on your click-thru and engagement rates will help maintain your search engine rankings because links get you higher rankings on search engine result pages. But click-thru and engagement rates will help you capture that spot.
Final thought
Every savvy specialist knows SEO is in two forms: getting higher rankings and maintaining your position in search engine result pages.
The first form has a destination that ends when you hit No. 1 on the search engine page, but the second form is an endless journey that requires your attention and effort to keep it locked on the first page.
Ibemere Obinna is a Realtor and an Internet marketing expert. He blogs about real estate Internet marketing and SEO on his blog, Realtor Guide.
