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When house hunting, 90 percent of buyers use the internet. In fact, 53 percent of buyers start their search online, according to “The Digital House Hunt,” an extensive report on real estate consumer trends conducted by Google and the National Association of Realtors.

More than ever, people head online when it comes to looking for homes and finding Realtors®. According to the 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 86 percent of home buyers consider real estate websites the most useful source of information when buying a home. The very first step that 44 percent of home buyers make when house hunting is to look online.

Between 2008 and 2012, real estate-related searches increased by 253 percent. With so much opportunity online, realtors can’t afford to miss out on this valuable traffic; for professionals in real estate, SEO is more important than ever.
When it comes to capturing traffic for terms related to real estate, SEO efforts begin with local keyword targets on a personal website.
SEO expert and author Bruce Clay’s advice?

You have to carve out a niche for yourself — think locally, and then expand.
Read on to discover how you can leverage a real estate website to capture traffic (and leads). Here’s how to optimize your real estate website:

1. Target Local Keyword Phrases

Sixty-nine percent of home shoppers begin their research with a local keyword phrase, like “Glendale realtor.”
Most realtors service multiple cities and regions. However, when you start your website, focus on the main city you do business in first. From there, build out silos that target other areas.
Optimize your website for search terms such as:

[City] real estate
[City] homes for sale
[City] real estate listings
[City] realtor
[City] real estate agent

These words can appear on pages throughout your site. For example, a site focusing on just Glendale realty might be organized like this:

Glendale Homes for Sale
Living in Glendale
Glendale Real Estate Testimonials
About Your Glendale Realtor

Throughout these pages, incorporate the local keyword targets, working them into content that is useful to a prospective home buyer.

Clay explained that you should make your website a resource. On a page like “Living in Glendale,” provide information on school districts, crime rates, median income, public transportation, and statistics on the average homeowner.

The more targeted a real estate website can be, the better.

Really focus on capturing local traffic. You have a much better chance to rank for, let’s say, “Glendale realtor” than “Southern California realtor” — as you build your site and traffic, you can eventually target more competitive terms like “Southern California realtor,” but not right out of the gate. You’ll have more success if you take a more targeted approach.

A Note on Using IDX/MLS

It’s common practice for realtors and brokers to use IDX (Internet Data Exchange) to render real estate listings. While this is great for users, it usually does little to influence rankings on search engines because these MLS listings are usually rendered with jQuery, in an iFrame or on a subdomain that appears off of the main site — meaning Google won’t index the content as part of the site. That’s why it’s important to add additional unique content to the listings page, such as:

extra facts and features of a property
excerpts from your testimonials page
videos
photos

2. Write Blog Post on Homes You’re Especially Keen to Sell

A real estate agent can represent hundreds of listings at a time, there are no doubt a few key properties that the realtor is particularly motivated to sell. One way to secure traffic to your site for those specific properties is to write blog posts. Each blog post should target a specific property’s address, which perspective home buyers will be searching for using Google. The address becomes the keyword - follow all SEO best practices such as using the keyword in:

Meta description
Title tag
Alt tag on photos
File name on photos
The content

As for the content itself, come up with 200 words of unique content describing the home’s features in addition to the standard description - and in this case, you don’t have to worry about duplicate content.

Google expects to see those descriptions of homes appear across the web. You won’t be penalized for including standard listing information. However, if you want to rank for the address as a keyword, you’ll have to include unique content, as well.

3. Take Advantage of Photos and Videos

Photos and videos are key engagement objects on all websites, but this is especially true of a real estate site. Home buyers love seeing a video tour of the inside of their prospective new homes. In addition to video tours, consider capturing testimonials on video, too.

Whenever you sell a home, get a testimonial. If you have a video camera, a steady hand and good lighting, try to get that testimonial recorded on the spot. A home buyer is ecstatic right after getting their keys. That’s a great time to ask for a review.

An Australian real estate group reported seeing 403 percent more inquiries for listings with video than those without video, and studies have shown adding a video to a page triples the amount of inbound link.

4. Make Your Site Mobile

The statistics are in and they show that home buyers are searching for real estate on mobile devices. “The Digital House Hunt” report referenced earlier also found:

89 percent of new home shoppers search using a mobile device during the home buying process.
A 300 percent growth of real estate broker-related searches on tablets year over year.
Foreclosure searches have risen 180 percent year over year on mobile devices.

The report found that home buyers are apt to use mobile real estate sites while at home, at work, while waiting in line, at restaurants and in other people’s homes. Home buyers visit real estate websites to:

Read general home information
Get directions to visit a home
Compare prices
Compare features
Search a listing company’s inventory
Call a broker
Locate a listing agent
Read reviews
Research mortgage financing
Email/contact a broker
Watch an online video about a property

With these statistics in mind, it’s clear that making your website mobile is an important factor in real estate SEO. We recommend using responsive design, which is Google’s preferred mobile configuration (read more on responsive design).

Real Estate SEO: Beyond Your Website
In addition to optimizing your personal website for traffic, there are steps you can take off-site to entice prospective clients, as well, such as optimizing your bio page on your real estate agency’s website, getting listed in directories and using social media strategically.

5. Get Listed in Directories

Real estate agent directories get a lot of traffic, so it’s worth your while to get listed in them. Each of the following highly trafficked real estate sites have directories available to realtors:

Zillow alone had 498 million page views in a single month and Trulia had 277 million. There’s a lot of potential traffic to be captured by getting listed in the right real estate directory.

6. Optimize Your Bio on Your Broker’s Website

If you’re a realtor working with an agency, your brokerage house more than likely hosts a web page for each realtor. While it is unlikely that this sub-domain can rank for a local keyword target, this is a great page to optimize for your name. People will Google your name, so it’s something you should optimize for.

Clay recommended including your full name in the title tag and meta description. This might be challenging, however, because on the broker site, you’re operating on a domain that you don’t have full control over. Find out what you can and cannot change — if you can alter the meta data, optimize those fields for your name.

In addition to ranking for your name, you can also use the bio page to provide contact information and link to your personal website. For additional tips on ranking for your name, check out “Rank for Your Name,” which has more insights on why and how to use your name as a keyword.

7. Incorporate Social Media

When it comes to client relations, social media is a great way to start relationships or strengthen existing ones. A realtor with an active social media presence is able to interact with clients where they are every day: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and/or Instagram. Do your research and find out where your target clients are most active socially.

Real estate is all about relationships — any record you can build on social media that shows your expertise is important. When people vet you and discover a healthy, professional social media presence, it’s going to signal trust.

Because photos and videos are key components in real estate sales, Pinterest and Instagram are particularly useful platforms for realtors. On Facebook, consider joining location-based groups and on Google+, get active in local communities. Across all platforms, use social media strategically, employing hashtags like #realestate or #listing. For more tips on leveraging each of these networks, read “Social Media for Business.”

This article was originally published in 2014 and updated for 2017.

About the Author

Social Media Editor Kristi Kellogg is a journalist, news hound and social (media) butterfly. Her articles appear in newspapers, magazines, across the Internet and in books such as "Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals" and "The Media Relations Guidebook." Head to Kristi's author profile to connect with her on Twitter and Google+.

Electrical repairs are something that not everyone can handle. There are DIY tasks and there are simply tasks that are best left to the experts – handling electricity is definitely one of the latter.

There is a need to determine which electrical tasks need to be performed by professionals. There are considerable risks when attempting to handle electrical repairs minus the proper training. The risks could be burning, or worse, death by electrocution. If you are in doubt whether you can take on an electrical task, it is best to get the services of a professional.

Professional Electrician Services

The services of an expert electrician are needed when you have to set up the general wiring for your home or a commercial building. Changing or rewiring old wiring systems also require the help of expert electricians.

If you need to maintain an existing electrical system, more so in commercial structures, then this must also be the responsibility of an electrician. Anything that poses a risk should be place in the hands of licensed experts.

Other services that are provided by electricians include handling wirings with high voltage, the inspection of electrical systems, testing, and setting up intricate wire connections.

Electricians undergo specific education or apprenticeship programs before they are given a license. These professionals are aware that there are specific rules that govern the performance of electrical works.

There are, however, some electrical works that can be done safely just as long as you know the guidelines. For instance, the installation of a battery-operated smoke detector can be done by a non-professional. Cutting an opening for an air conditioning unit (this does not include connecting the unit) is also another.

These DIY tasks require electrical supplies, though; which is why it is still best to call an electrician and let him take care of the simple task for you instead.

For appliance repairs: If you think that repairing appliances is as easy as reading a manual, then you are terribly mistaken. Many home appliances may appear simple to repair at one glance but they are actually made of switches, moving parts and the most complex systems.

From drains, water inlet lines and waste water lines, there are many connections that can complicate the repair job and can create the most serious issues. When electricity is not handled correctly, a simple appliance repair could result into an expense that’s worth thousands of dollars.

Why save a few bucks in repairing your refrigerator or microwave oven? And why risk having a gas leak or water damage when you can get the experts to do the job for you? These professionals have had years of hands-on training as well as specific education. More so, they have the correct tools to appropriately handle appliances.

For installations and other repairs: Unless you are a licensed electrical contractor, it is best for you to not tackle household electrical repair tasks and installations. Whether you would like to diagnose an electrical issue or if you already know what needs to be installed; you still need to let the experts do the troubleshooting for you.

DIY electrical projects are not worth delving into!

If you need the installation of landscape lighting or if you simply want to replace a malfunctioning switch, remember to still get in touch with the electrical professionals. Large or small, just leave your electrical work to them. By doing so, you are investing in your own and your family’s safety.

Even the experienced DIYers confess that electrical issues are still risky. So rather than face the possibility of electrocution, it is best to have just spend a few more dollars and buy yourself that peace of mind.