Real Estate SEO Blogs by Key Yessaad

In a previous blog titled “What does it mean in SEO that Content is King?” I brought into focus the reality that most websites are clones of each other; which of course Search Engines discount since they offer nothing new. In this blogs I am going to flesh out the various kinds of Content and how to think about them; I will focus on four (4) Broad Ideas and describe them a bit. In future Blogs I shall delve even deeper into each Grouping.

So what are the four Primary Content Types:

1. CMS Driven Content – let me define this type of Content; CMS stands for Content Management System. This is the type of Content for Pages that are permanent within your Website. An agent website would probably have 100 to 500 such permanent pages. Examples of such pages are: Bio Pages for you and your company; Testimonial Pages; Landing Pages (which I will Explain in a minute); Contact Pages; Listing Pages; Search Pages; etc. Most websites come with generic version of this content and it is your job to focus it on your market.

The interesting part about this type of Content is the fact that it is Navigational – you must not only create the pages, you must also organize them within the navigation and architecture of your website. This is the part that gets agents a bit disorganized about their website.

Let me talk about Landing Pages; they are Dynamic Pages that have content focused on specific Search Results as in: Foreclosures for Sale in Charlotte North Carolina. A Page like this one would have the latest Active Listings in Charlotte that are deemed as foreclosures and updates as the MLS updates; ergo the term Dynamic. These types of pages are also called 1-Click Searches and can be provided to consumers in Blogs and other types of Content to 1-click and see results immediately! (very Important!!!)

2. Blog Driven Content – This is one of the most important type of content you can learn to master. I must tell you that most Real Estate Website Vendors do not offer a Blog Platform with their Web Services; a shortcoming that stuns me. This complacency is no longer appropriate since many of the Blog Platforms are Open Source – it is a question of will not know-how.

Let’s talk about this type of content: When an agent blogs about her local market she is sharpening her Real Estate Toolkit; You can use your blogs to offer more details on your listings; to describe a  neighborhood and its Real Estate Statistics; to inform the public about the happenings of your town; to focus on a segment of your market and share what Real Estate Deals are happening; to connect with additional Colleagues who offer additional services like Home Warranties, Mortgages; Appraisals, etc.…; to educate the consumer on the Buying Process or Selling Procedures; and so much more…

Blog Platforms are time stamped and allow you to keep a dialogue going with those seeking solutions in your Niche Market. They also allow you to reference your primary Pages in your website and offer a focused traffic for your consumer; let me explain with an example. Say a new school has been built in a market you serve on and you write a blog about it – wouldn’t be nice to add a link to all the listings for sale around that school that is dynamic? This is when you become a Strategist NOT just and Expert – and Blogs are the best medium for sharing those stories.

PS: Blogs are easy on Real Estate Agents because they are Non-Navigational; an agent logs in, writes a post, tags it, publishes it and he is done; the software takes over and organizes the content logically.

3. Social Media Driven Content – This type of content primarily resides in websites like FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.; and is used as referential to content you are creating in your own Website and blog Platform. In essence these platforms are channels of visibility – you use them to tell your friend what you are doing somewhere else.

These Channels are often misused as “Selling Channels” and some agents keep pushing their Listings over and over again, not realizing that their friends might react by blocking them. You want to be thoughtful and connected in Social Media; offer yourself for interactions and share your content thoughtfully.

4. YouTube Driven Content – This is now one of the most important activity an agent and broker can do. Remember that your would-be customers want to meet you before they meet you in person, and video is the most natural venue; in fact YouTube is the Second Largest Search Engine on the Internet after Google. All I will say here is: Embrace Video and integrate them with your Website, Blogs, and Social Media.

Drive your content and make sure your Website Vendor offers you the proper container…

A Strong Note from Key: Real Estate Website Vendors need to get off their High Horse and pretend that Real Estate Agents are too dumb to manage their own Internet Marketing Strategies; offer them a fully functioning CMS, a fully integrated Blog Platform, along with an SEO Scalable IDX Feed – or they will leave you…

Happy Blogging – Key Yessaad, Real Estate SEO Trainer