ASK MR. INTERNET
Michael Russer answers your Internet marketing questions
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an Internet speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. You'll see his column on REALTOR® Magazine Online every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your questions to help@askmrinternet.com.
Finding you
How to Get a Search Engine 'High'
Don't obsess, but don't overlook the strategies for getting your site to appear high in search engine results.
DEAR MR. INTERNET:
How can I get my site to place consistently high in the top search engines?
Sharon Hodnett
Century 21 Mike Bowman, REALTORS®
Euless, Texas
DEAR SHARON:
Depending on the search engine, you can accomplish this either with a great deal of work or by buying your way to the top.
Given that more than 87 percent of Web sites are found via search engines, according to Georgia Tech University's 10th Internet survey, the ability to consistently rank high is a key component of your online marketing plan.
The process of getting your site to place in the top 10 positions is called search engine optimization. And it's an ongoing cycle.
Register, first
You let search engines know your site exists by registering with them—providing your contact information and brief descriptions of your site. Unfortunately, since each search engine follows different rules or algorithms that determine how it ranks Web pages in a particular search, this process isn't straightforward.
Online services, such as SubmitIt!, help you automate the registration process. But many won't keep track of how often you resubmit pages. For maximum optimization, you want to resubmit frequently.
But, and here's the catch: Not too often. Resubmit too often, and you could find your site censored for search engine spamming. Too infrequently, and your site could lose ranking. How do you know what's too much? Unfortunately, each search engine has its own magic number.
Unlock results with keywords
Choosing keywords and phrases that people are likely to use when searching for real estate services is key to optimization. They should be incorporated directly into your site. (More on this later.)
Since real estate is geographically oriented, your keywords should include a reference to your location. If you're a buyer's agent specializing in luxury homes, for example, keywords and phrases to consider are [your location] relocation; [your location] buyer's agent; [your location] schools; [your location] fine homes.
If you work in Denver, you'd substitute the words “Denver,” “Denver, Colo.,” and “Denver, Colorado” as well as every suburb, township, and county in which you work for "location."
To identify how often specific keywords and similar terms were used in the previous month, use a free service at search engine GoTo.com. The results will show you how prospects search and suggest other terms that you haven't considered.
Where to add keywords
Search engines find keywords in the content of your site. Add them to
Metatags: Special tags within your site's HTML code—hidden from users’ view—that describe your site's content.
Page title: Text that shows up in the title bar of the browser when the page is loaded.
Body text: The actual text users see at your site.
Domain names: Include select keywords within your Web address separated by hyphens: denver-homes-relo-realestate.com
File names: Use keywords in your HTML file, such as denver_real_estate.html. This is the file you or your developer creates that gets uploaded to your server as a Web page.
At least one search engine, GoTo.com, lets you bid your site's ranking for any number of given search keywords at its site. Enter “[your city] real estate" (without the quotes and substitute your location for [your city]) in the search field to see what comes up. Each of the top returned results will have a dollar amount associated with them. This is the amount that site owners pay each time someone clicks their link. To save money, bid for the third or fourth position.
Is there an easy way?
It's probably becoming clear that real-life search engine optimization isn't for the faint of heart. A software solution may help. WebPosition Gold handles everything I've described (including knowing how many times to resubmit your site to each search engine) and tests for results.
Or, hire a pro. You've probably received e-mail promising top ranking in the search engines (all 400 them) for a mere $49 or something similar. Don't bother. Professionals charge a minimum of $1,000 just to get started and will limit who they work with in any particular geographical area. The folks who make WebPosition Gold make recommendations on their site.
Judy McCutchin--a winner in the recent REALTOR® Magazine Online/Mr. Internet Internet Marketing Contest 2000--receives thousands of visitors to her site. But few were coming via search engines until she hired a pro. Now, she says, she's seen a marked increase in those results.
If you decide to use search engines, expect a major investment of time and money. But don't obsess over placement. It's just one of many online business-building tools available to the Internet-savvy professional.
Editor’s note: For answers to frequently asked questions about search engines, visit SearchEngineWatch.com.
