Key Word and Phrase MarketingOnce you get yourself set up with a new website you need to address the biggest question your new visitors are going to ask."What have you got for me?" This isn't a selfish question; the search engines are asking this also. Just having a website that is search engine friendly, cross linked and well referred does not guarantee that traffic and visitors will turn into valuable leads and customers. You must have a worthwhile content and a compelling call to action. A call to action can be as simple as a "Contact Us" link or more complicated like a free report visitors can sign up to receive. For a real estate themed website the best call to action is in the form of property searches, enticing buyers to sign up and search your personal listings or the entire MLS system (with cooperation from your broker.) If your lucky, say a member of Agenthelper, your new website will already have some canned content to get you started. However, this only gives you breathing room and time to start personalizing your website. Remember, a canned website won't reveal who you are, how you do business or give any good reason for a potential client to start a relationship with you. That is what you want to have happen, and where a website can be a better tool than a newspaper ad, billboard or postcard. A website offers the opportunity of unlimited depth in information, the very thing those visitors are looking for. Canned content, created by robots for robots, does not represent you or your business, you must take the time to personalize and even regionalize that content, if not start from scratch with new articles altogether. Even if you are starting out with canned content, there are straightforward steps to take in order to get best advantage out them for new visitors and those pesky search engines. Pick your topics, try to keep them connectedStart out with 5 articles, 3 that can be a page or more and two shorter ones. Present the subject from a personal point of view. The visitor has unlimited opportunity to learn about buying, selling or balloon mortgages, but they only have this chance to learn what you think and your experiences. Give them the chance to get to know you, how you operate and how your work hard for them. Decide if you want to make them 'free reports' or 'articles'.You can decide to present your article in full, and then ask visitors to contact you with their own questions, or you can hide the articles behind a sign up form. Both formats work well, but one format might be better for your personality and business strengths. You can also choose to mix and match depending on the topic. Just remember, that choosing all 'free reports' will require that you write excellent summaries later, so keep that in mind. Also, 'free reports' should err on the side of length, at least a page or two. Visitors might feel cheated if they fork over their personal information for a paragraph or two of the obvious. Research, research, researchNot everyone is an expert on everything. While you should start with the subjects you know best, you should also take the time to polish up on that knowledge. Use Google to research, the same way your visitors will. This not only keeps you up-to-date, but will show you what your competitors and the web in general are saying on the topic. With this in mind you can choose to take a different angle. Remember to speak from experience. If you have done a couple of short sales, write about that. Talk about the quirks and special circumstances, without revealing personal stuff about the client, of course. People want to know why they should choose you; glossy photos and fancy graphics prove you can hire a nice photography and good web guy. Reading about your experiences will show them how you work and whether that works for them. Write your articles for your audienceIf you are trying to attract first time buyers, but sure to speak to their inexperience. If you are looking for investor clients, include good information on how you maximize their investment and close the deal quickly. You know your business and you know how to work with clients. This is your chance to show it. Pick your key words and phrasesGo through your articles and pick out the key words and phrases that are appropriate for the other articles your writing. Make those key words and phrases cross links, so a reader can jump to another subject when ever they want. Remember, they can just as easily jump back, or leave altogether if they don't find what they are looking for. Present opportunities for the visitor to continue the conversation with you! be sure to check the Google Adwords External Keyword Tool to see what traffic already exists for the keyworks and phrases you are picking. Also check Mike's Marketing Tools for similar help (Thanks to Lee Goodman for the reminder on that useful site.) Check your spelling and grammerGive your articles to family and collegues to read through. Spelling and grammer checkers can see the most obvious mistakes, but real people can make good suggestion to improve your language and clarify points. Personalize and regionalize the informationRemember, your visitors are looking for a reason to pick you as their business partner. Give them the best chance to make that decision by speaking from the heart and personalizing your articles. You should also take the time to regionalize your articles. If you are focusing your efforts on Lewis Center, then talk about the advantages of that subject and drawbacks as well for that area. Show off your knowledge as an expert in your field. People want to see that. When you're satisfied with the basic articles arrange them by topic and how |
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