SEO for smarties
Have you, like so many others, been affected by the need for Search Engine Optimization? Since the dawn of the internet, SEO has expanded its grasp on websites around the world and has become an integral aspect of 21st-century life that anyone with a website must face. Fear not. We will walk you through the basics of Search Engine Optimization (or SEO as it’s colloquially known) so you can rid yourself of the fear that grips your chest when its name is uttered, once and for all. Buckle up for your SEO crash course for CRE.
A brief history of SEO
Not so long ago, when the internet was still figuring out its cookies and HTTPS, SEO was founded only a few short years after the first website. It was the year 1997. According to Search Engine Journal, there is a legend that the manager of Jefferson Starship was upset that they only appeared on page four of their search when he understandably wanted the band to be on page one. So began the effort to improve search rankings. A few years later, Google came onto the scene and virtually replaced all its predecessors.
Today, businesses rely on this optimization to appear quickly in related or direct searches. It is through the process of SEO that websites are found. The question stands, how do you optimize your website for search engines? (We’re glad you asked).
Keywords
Keywords are terms or phrases your audience would use to search for your content and play an essential role in helping people find you on Google. Here you want to step into your client’s shoes and ask what they would be searching for. So, for example, “commercial real estate brokers near me” or “find retail space.” Keywords can get complicated and relate back to ad space and organic searching. But for now, we’re going to keep it simple. There are tools to help you determine which keywords will be optimal for you. Check out: Ahrefs, Google Search Console, and SEMRush.
Write valuable content
It’s one thing to get people to your website; it’s another to keep them there, and in the world of the internet, it all plays into ‘the algorithm.’ So the next important step is to write content your audience will find valuable. This comes back to an article we published on marketing that discusses the importance of knowing who your audience is. This critical piece of the marketing puzzle will allow you to target your messaging and ‘hit the bullseye’ every time.
Using those keywords
Once you’ve collected your keywords, you can strategically add them to your writing. Gone are the days of inserting them into every sentence to increase your SEO. ‘The Algorithm” has advanced past that. Infuse your content with various keywords (synonyms are encouraged) to create an enjoyable reading experience for your audience.
Harnessing the power of headers
Different headers break up your content into bite-sized pieces, making it easier to read; they also help ‘the algorithm’ to search your content for keywords, thus bringing you up in the search engine. Use headers in ascending order, so header 1 to header 2,3,4 etc., to assist you in your quest for SEO superstardom.
The little things
Meta description, ALT text and links are all tools you can use to help increase your SEO and require little effort to implement.
- Meta descriptions are about 160-character snippets that summarize what your page is about. It is the snapshot of text you see beside the page title in a Google search.
- ALT text is a description that helps define an image on your website should the picture not appear.
- Linking to related pages on your website also can help your SEO. It doesn’t hurt to link to other sources; for example, linking to Spacelist with Engine can assist with this.
SEO is ever-evolving and requires periodic maintenance to maintain ranking. It never hurts to get an SEO pro to help ensure you are maximizing your efforts.
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