The Internet has greatly changed the way homebuyers search for properties. According to the National Association of REALTORS® and Google, real estate-related queries on the search engine grew by 253% from 2009 to 2013. This number proves that having a website is imperative for real estate agents if they want to turn those queries into leads.
But if you are to have a website, be sure it’s one you actually own, not the barebone “site” that your brokerage provides you for free. And if you are going to commission real estate website design, there’s only one platform to consider—WordPress.
Why? Simple: WordPress is one of the most search engine optimization (SEO) friendly content management systems out there. As you might have heard, SEO involves performing tweaks to your site’s codes and its content that make it easier for search engines to parse, which positively affects your site’s ranking in search results. Luckily, Google happens to really like WordPress, as you’ll see below:
Search Friendly URLs
Have you ever encountered a webpage URL that’s a jumble of letters and characters? You might have wondered why the author didn’t just change it so it’s reflective of the page’s content. As it happens, you and Google are thinking the same thing. With WordPress, though, you can conveniently customize your URLs so search engines can easily make sense of your site’s contents.
Auto Ping
Every time you upload new content on your site, WordPress automatically sends out a “ping” to search engines alerting them of your latest post. This is crucial because Google tends to prioritize sites and pages that regularly post new content in search results.
SEO Plugins
WordPress also has a robust plugin selection, including those designed to automate search engine optimization. For instance, whenever you create new content, the SEO plugin will remind you to use keywords in the title and description of your post. As such, you can publish SEO-friendly content even after your website developer turns over control of the site to you.
Three-Click Rule
Good SEO practice dictates that all pages in your site should be accessible in three clicks or less. This is important because user experience also factors heavily into how Google ranks your site. Luckily, WordPress makes it easy to structure your website’s internal linking so that it follows this maxim.
Indeed, having your own website is one of the best realtor marketing ideas in today’s digital-savvy era. If you want to build your own website, make sure to ask your developer to use WordPress as your platform. And if you need help with developing your site, don’t hesitate to contact the experts for guidance on this process.
Sources:
Real Estate Searches Up 253%, Realtor.org
Why Search Engines Love WordPress, SEODesk.org
I recently published a post on Active Rain about SEO for property videos.