Stand Out Online With

SEOOct. 13, 2011

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Presented by: David FriedmanPresident, Founder of Boston Logic Technology Partners

dfriedman@bostonlogic.com | 617.266.9166

www.bostonlogic.com81 Wareham Street

Boston, Mass.

Define a Strategy & Focus

Find the Right Technology

Promote Quality Content

Monitor Your Success

Questions?

AGENDA OVERVIEW

SEO Strategy – Do’s• Focus!• To start out, pick somewhat niche topics.– Neighborhoods– Types of housing stock– Market idiosyncrasies

• Start small• Produce content regularly. Have a plan.– Be aware of ongoing costs vs upfront costs.– Ask yourself, how much time can I dedicate to SEO?

SEO Strategy – Common Mistake

• SEO is not about 10 or 20 terms• You want to rank for thousands of

terms

The Long Tail• 20% of Google searches every day have

never been performed before

• You will never be able to guess what people will type into the search engines.

“Long Tail” & “Halo” Terms• “Long Tail Keywords” are More Targeted (3+ Word Phrases)

(Ex. “Apartments in Beacon Hill” vs. “Boston Apartments”)

• “Halo Keywords” are Variations of those Keywords.You will naturally rank for these other terms over time by using them in your content.The work required to ranking for a term like “Apartments in Beacon Hill” will help you rank for “Beacon Hill apartments for rent”

Examples:• Property Addresses• Small neighborhoods• Developments• Subdivisions• Building Names

DEVELOPING AN SEO FOCUSBRAINSTORM! Ask Yourself Some Basic Questions

Where Are You?

• Where is your office located?• What geographic areas are you willing

to travel to in order to serve your clients?• Where are your potential clients located?

(Ex: Do you help people relocate from other states / countries?)• Are you trying to expand your service area?

This will help you begin thinking of location-based keywords.

Who Are Your Clients?

• Characterize your most common clients• Who have been your best clients

in the past? Why?• Who have been your worst clients in the past? Why?• What words or phrases might a client use while looking for

your products / services (or a solution to their problem)?

Try to put yourself in a potential client’s shoes! They might not know the industry terminology you do!

Spy On The Competition• View the websites and social media profiles

of your competitors and Industry leaders.

• Companies in your area offering similar products / services.

• Companies in your Industry but in different locations than you.

TAKE NOTE:• What you like / dislike about each site (as a user at first glance?)• How do they organize their information?

TECHNOLOGYYOUR FOUNDATION

The Best Technology for Your Budget• Don’t skimp on the fundamentals• You’re going to pay for it one way or another

Demand to See Numbers!Ask your potential provider to:– Show you sites that rank using their platform– Show you analytics data – Show you leads, not just traffic

Blogging• Should be integrated into your site!– Good:• Yoursite.com/blog• Yoursite.com/posts

– Bad:• Blog.yoursite.com• Yoursite.some-other-site.com• Some-other-blog-site-altogether.com

Syndication

Syndicate Text Content & Listings

Proper Coding - Highlights• HTML Text• HTML Links• HTML Navigation• No FLASH• Unique Page Titles and Descriptions• Fast page loads (Google Cares about UX)• Clickable links to all of your content, not forms• Integrated IDX property search

CONTENTPRODUCE, OPTIMIZE, PROMOTE

Producing Content• Produce content regularly:– At least 2 – 3 times per week – Ideally, you are producing content several times per day

• Chatter Matters more in most recent Google Update!• Have a schedule:– 30 agents, 1 page/month = 1 page every day

• Re-use emails:– Answers to common questions– Make them anonymous, of course

Producing Content – tips & hints!

• Identify yourself authoritatively• Stop talking about yourself• Be authentic• Don’t be a “debbie downer” – DO be positive • Increase Quantity = Improve Exposure• Share interesting content – it gets you views• (Don’t obsess about engaging – it doesn’t get you views!)• Utilize information voids & combined relevance• Best days to publish: Wed, Thurs, Fri• Best days to email: when your competitors aren’t

Content Optimization Check List

Create categories sing specific keywords

CONTENT CREATION AROUND KEYWORDS________________________________________________________

BOLDING / ITALICIZING KEYWORDS________________________________________________________

HEADINGS (H1) & SUBHEADINGS WITH KEYWORDS________________________________________________________

HYPERLINKS TO OTHER PAGES USING KEYWORDS _______________________________________________________

ADD TAGS AND CATEGORIES(BLOG SPECIFIC)________________________________________________________

PHOTO/OTHER ART________________________________________________________

META DATA________________________________________________________

On-Page Optimization Overview

Remember to use relevant keywords throughout

Meta Data Optimization

Create categories sing specific keywords

Keywords: Specific/relevant keywords you want your site to rank

for Description: Describing Your Blog Post or Webpage

Title: Interesting & Engaging.60 Characters or Less.

Meta Data Describes the Web Page or Blog Content.

Google It!Do What Your Clients Will Do

• Don’t forget to test your keywords in the major search engines!

• View the paid ads and organic results for each term.

• Are the results what you expected? Who’s ranking highest?

TAKE NOTE:• If you live in a city with a common name. Ex. Lexington or Springfield

MONITOR YOUR

REFINE YOUR CAMPAIGN AS YOU GO!

• Firefox Rank Checker – Good for quick checks, data exportable

• Track referring sites / PPC Ads, and search terms used to bring visitors to your site for FREE with Google Analytics & Google Webmaster Tools!

• Track what terms people are searching for once on your site, too!

• Google Places Insights - provide a list of search queries used to reach your listing.

• Use the ‘Broad Match’ setting in your PPC Ads, then REFINE YOUR KEYWORDS for ADGROUPS by using the ACTUAL KEYWORDS users entered.

• Ask for help!

TOOLS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

To Pay or Not To Pay?• SEO takes effort. You can put in the

work or pay someone else to do it for you.

• Best results = DO BOTH!

QUESTIONS?

More Resources• BostonLogic’s LogicClassroom Series:

www.bostonlogic.com/logic-classroom• BostonLogic’s Real Estate SEO Blog: www.realestateseo1.com • 3 Pillars of SEO for Real Estate Pros: http://

realtormag.realtor.org/technology/feature/article/2011/08/3-pillars-seo-for-real-estate-pros

• Speaking of Real Estate Blog: http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/

• REALTOR® Magazine Webinars: http://realtormag.realtor.org/webinars

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