Undressing SEO (Part 2) Content
Content is King is not a new concept and I have written many posts on the topic, including my most recent post on The Real Estate Weenie, the bad blog cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand. There is a battle going on for our content, I say we should keep it. It is ours and it is a powerful tool for generating business.
In my last post I suggested that R E bloggers have become obsessed with SEO, when what they should be obsessed with is content. If the goal of the a local Realtors blog is to meet people and win clients content is key.
Writing about other blogs or writing about what everyone else is writing about isn’t the answer, unless of course you are the very best writer then you can do anything you want to. There are many excellent writers out there writing real estate content every day but not many if any writing about your neighborhood or town.
The best blog posts come from last nights conversation with the sellers of that new listing, or some comments buyers made while they were in your car. The question a neighbor asked, or your mothers remark about Realtors.
Numbers make great content but if they are charts or numbers that are available through multiple sources they are not as powerful. Your commentary or analysis of those numbers as they pertain to your neighborhood or town are needed to make the content unqiue. Providing facts and figures can make a blog boring to read so don’t do it everyday.
Humor works well in local real estate content. People seem to appreciate posts that make fun of Realtors or maybe something in the city that isn’t quite right.
Local content comes from being local, your own observations about your city or neighborhood. Show blog readers your town or neighborhood through your eyes, it is the best way for them to get to know you and at the same time learn about your market area.
Photos make great posts. Not everyone has spectacular views of oceans, mountains or rivers to photograph but that is OK. Taking pictures of the ordinary helps blog readers see your town and understand it. Pictures of houses, buildings, local shops and parks work just fine.
Often real estate bloggers don’t understand the importance of posting every day. It does take discipline. I consider writing a blog post to be part of my job and I treat it as such. When I can’t write a blog post and have no stored content to draw from I find a guest author, or take a picture. A short post is OK too, it is usually better than no post.
Keep it focused. Google will do the rest, and people will find your blog. Posts should be about your town or about real estate. Keep in mind that while it is nice to have other real estate professionals and friends reading your blog, they are not your audience. Write to your clients past present and future and to your neighbors. It doesn’t matter what other bloggers or other real estate professionals think of your content or if they read it at all.
The biggest obstacles for real estate bloggers are writing and coming up with topics to write about. I can’t believe I am doing this but I would like to say something about writing. I am not a writer and I don’t see writing as one of my strengths. I pull it off because I think about the reader.
I hear, or read people commenting on posts that are “well written”. I don’t understand what that means and I never have, it is subjective. I think the point is to use a conversational tone and create posts that are easy to read and to understand.
Keep it simple and most importantly keep it real. Imitating someone else’s style or their blog isn’t going to work. Find your own style. It will be comfortable and easy. Get ideas from the blogs you like to read but make the posts your own.
