If more real estate customers are looking online nowadays, how can you ensure they will find you? Forbes.com recently highlighted some of the following top search engine optimization trends for marketers to pay attention, including:
1. Optimize for multiple screens: Marketers would be wise to pay attention to optimization for multi-screen and smartphone and tablet use. “You can’t afford not to have a mobile friendly website,” says Bart Gibby, vice president of SEO for Boostability.
However, make sure you do it correctly. Having a mobile-friendly website that is not done correctly can hurt your site’s performance in Google searches. For example, marketers may be using different or separate URLs or locations for mobile friendly sites rather than having a single website.
“This is a problem, as the same content is now located on more than one URL or location,” the Forbest article notes. Search engines don’t know which URL to show in searches. “Responsive + Web design” can adjust the layout and size of websites according to the screen or window size on whatever device the user is using and can eliminate the need for hosting separate mobile sites.
2. Local search competition: According to Google, 20 percent of searches on Google are related to location. What’s more, comscore shows that 56 percent of mobile phone users are using their browser for local searches. As such, small and local businesses need to take special efforts to establish themselves online. Gibby notes one way is by having optimized profile pages, such as Google+ and Bing optimized business listings.
The profile pages can help businesses optimize local search for all of their business locations. Also, for those who already have profile pages, optimizing their profiles or freshening up their profiles such as by adding new images or information can also help boost their findability online, Gibby says.
3. Jump on Pinterest: The social network has surged in growth with 50 million subscribers in the U.S. as of July 2013. If its growth rate continues, Pinterest is expected to overtake Twitter in number of user accounts. What’s more, Pinterest users tend to be active: 21 million users are considered “active” by having been on their accounts at least once in the month, according to a study by Semiocast.
4. Instagram: Long are the days of everyone marketing on Facebook. Although it is a great source of marketing, Instagram has become the new wave of technology. Other than posting selfies, you can post house selfies! Home buyers and sellers are everywhere and that includes Instagram.