Creating content is the No. 1 thing you can do to boost your website’s visibility and your online marketing. If your goal is to create a website that ranks well on search engines, engages visitors and ultimately generates leads for your business, content is the way to get there.
If you are currently creating content for your website, you are already ahead of the curve. But if your content isn’t performing the way you had hoped, here are three mistakes you might be making.
1. You are not consistent
Posting new content on your website every few months is better than nothing — but it won’t get you the results you want. To really start driving traffic and get noticed by search engines, you want to be publishing new content several times a month.
Consistency is key, and the more you post, the more traffic you will receive. If you have a small team, it can be difficult to find the time to write new content for your website, but aiming for two to four posts each month is a great benchmark.
If you’re having trouble coming up with topics to write about, try structuring the type of content you will write each month. On our blog, we aim to write one local post, one market-related post, one opinion post and one just-for-fun post each month. This gives us structure that helps us plan our posts and stick with a consistent schedule.
2. You’ve hired a third party to do it
Creating content is a lot of work — which is why so many real estate professionals hire someone else to do it. But the quality of your content and your ability to write with an authentic voice are key elements to building a successful website.
Although it’s so tempting to hire one of those marketing companies or someone on Fiverr to write, post and schedule your content for you, this will never generate the traffic or the leads that you are aiming for.
Why? If someone else is writing your content, readers will be able to tell that it is not authentic. Your voice comes out in your writing, and you want the content on your website to reflect that. If your content feels inauthentic or flat, people won’t read your articles or reengage with future posts.
You want to build trust with readers so that they continue to engage with and read your content, signaling to search engines that you are providing something of value.
3. You are not targeting local keywords
Unless you already have a powerhouse website, it is best to focus on topics that are oriented around your local area and local real estate market.
We see so many smaller real estate website writing articles like, “What is Happening to Mortgage Rates” or “What Will the Housing Market Do in 2021,” but articles like these will be competing with huge websites like NerdWallet and BankRate — meaning there’s a slim chance you will be able to get your content noticed.
If you want your website content to rank on search engines, focus on your local area. For example, we write posts focused on our local market like, “What is Happening in Bozeman’s Real Estate Market” or “How Can You Buy a Home in Bozeman Right Now.”
We also write posts about what is happening specifically in our community or what people want to know about our area. Think about what people in your area are looking for, and do a quick Google search to see if anyone has written about that topic yet. If no one has, that’s a quick way to get your website to the top of search engine results.
Kate Hulbert is the marketing director at Bozeman Real Estate Group in Bozeman, Montana. Follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
