In Search of Sales: 8 Ways to Optimize Your Online Marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to driving traffic to your website and can increase it by up to 50% in less than a year, as well as double or triple the number of qualified leads per month. While crafting an SEO strategy might not be in your typical wheelhouse, it can enhance the visibility of your business and increase home sales.

1. Know your competition by searching for them on a search engine like Google to see what specific terms they use, such as "homebuilder." Make sure keywords are used in the website copy, title tags and headers.
2. Research the market by getting feedback from new homebuyers who follow your social media. Use questions potential customers ask to create content. With the right keywords, this content will add value to your website and increase traffic.
3. Select appropriate keywords people have searched with. A tool like Google Keyword Planner makes it easier to research keywords by showing the most popular terms. Include location-specific terms and add top keywords.
4. Blogging adds more pages to your website and can increase search rankings. Writing such content can also increase traffic from new visitors by adding more keywords to search on. A content calendar is useful for planning posts and keeping track of SEO efforts. Invite other businesses to blog and offer to blog for them.
5. Edit images and photos using SEO and alt text (image description), which should include the keyword or page title. This makes it easier to find the website when doing an image search. Size photos appropriately for the website. Compress the image to a file size under 100 kb for faster loading. Rename the image to include the service and location.
6. Take advantage of online business directories like LinkedIn or Yelp; this can help the website show up in more searches. Make sure your business profile on search engines (like Google My Business) is optimized. Listing homes for free on websites like Trulia and Zillow is another way to improve SEO.
7. Analyze your SEO strategy with tools that track the number of visitors and most popular keywords. A good strategy will increase visitors from the various search engines. Regularly monitoring these analytics will lead to what topics to focus on as well as show trends.
8. Optimize your website to be mobile friendly and make sure it loads fast during a search; otherwise, users may leave before it loads (typically after 4 seconds). Link to other pages on your website and consider reciprocal links from other sources. Divide content into sections and keep headings in descending order. Having a Secure Sockets Layer certificate can improve your SEO since search engines prioritize certified sites.

Getting expert help can make a big difference. You can hire an in-house expert if it makes financial sense, or an outside consultant who specializes in SEO in the construction industry. Following these strategies can help you achieve a higher ranking on the search engine and increase traffic to your website, resulting in more leads and sales.