Received a question by email. Somebody wanted to know what I really thought about the importance of Search Engine Optimization.
Key statement? SEO is the single most important factor to help an agent get traffic to a web site and thereby to sell houses.
Portions of My reply below:
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Search Engine Optimization is the single most important factor for web site traffic because it brings a lot of visitors at NO COST once it is in place. Visitors become leads, leads become prospects, and prospects become clients.
Other methods such as Pay Per Click or advertising your domain name in print or direct mail all cost money and stop working when you stop paying. But good search engine optimization of your web site will drive traffic long after the work is done.
For example: My own real estate web site averaged 50 to 100 visitors a day, most from search engines. In Toledo Ohio, this is very high traffic. A survey of visitors is on the home page showing that over 80% of my visitors come from search engines. Again, those are pretty impressive numbers for Toledo. I would tell you what coaching clients experienced, in terms of traffic increase, but that might be viewed as self promotion, so I defer.
Agents who have read my free eBook or otherwise engaged the project of SEO have reported obtaining listings or buyer deals as a direct result, within 30 days. Agents who have done their SEO work by any means, reading, online study, taking classes, or coaching, have reported elsewhere on other blogs that their web site traffic tripled. This seems like a reasonable expectation for many agents.
Now do you have an idea about how important this subject is?
With SEO, the results improve within 30 days and continue over time.
It's really not that hard to elevate a web site rank at Google to as high as page one for very competitive terms such as Real Estate CityName or CityName Real Estate. You can also address "long tail" searches and niche market terms.
The simple truth is that there is No other method of promoting your site will work as well, for as long, for as little money!