Finding the Right Real Estate Keywords for Your Site

We all know that using relevant keyword phrases on your website is a great SEO technique; but knowing the right mix of words can be a feat. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Know your niche.
   • Real estate is a very broad business and this results in very general keywords.
   • Where should you begin? Well, you have to know your target customers and the areas you are specializing in.
   • Know how your potential buyers and sellers refer to their homes—condos, villas, or properties—and what types of properties they prefer—oceanfront, midrise, or luxury homes.
   • With that knowledge, you can use keyword phrases like “Downtown San Francisco lofts” instead of something very general like “San Francisco real estate”
2. List down all possible variations.
   • The difference between singular or plural forms of your keywords can sometimes have an effect on how you appear on search results.
   • Make sure to include both singular and plural forms, if possible. Plural forms are used more than singular by most consumers.
   • Avoid inputting one-word nouns such as real, estate, agent, properties, house, etc. Doing this will bring up irrelevant matches when buyers and sellers use them.
   • Search engine analytics have labeled the following keywords as ineffective: real, estate, agent, broker, realtor, properties, house, single, family, and homes.
   • Since these real estate keywords cannot be avoided in your web content, effective combinations or key phrases should be used.
3. Check what your competitors are using.
   • First, type in your keyphrase choices on major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Take into account the number of hits, competitions and featured search results.
   • A keyword phrase that hits more than 500,000 results should be avoided because it will be more difficult to standout amongst them.
   • Sponsored results are also difficult competitions so you may want to avoid phrases that also promote their links.
4. Use Keyword Tools.
   • The Internet provides online applications and tools to help you narrow down your list. These research tools can help you pick the top relevant phrases that can be useful for your website.
     • Google Adwords has unlimited ways for you to search for and filter keyword searches.
     • SEOBook’s Keyword Suggestion Tool brings in search data from an array of reliable sources, and it’s also a good cross-referencing tool.
     • adCenter Add-in (for Excel) only obtains search data from MSN and Microsoft Live Search, but it can still help guide you in planning your keyword strategy.

Keyword phrases may be tricky to figure out at first but it is important in improving your real estate website’s search engine presence. For more SEO advice, hit us up via email.