|
HOW TO CONTROL SEARCH ENGINES
In order to join the very select
group of real estate agent Websites that rank in the top 30 on
the major search engines you must either pay for placement or
follow major search engine guidelines for Website ranking. Even
following a search engine’s guidelines exactly no longer
assures you of a Free Ride as some of the major engines require
a submission fee. At this writing there are still some engines
that will index Websites at no charge.
PAID PLACEMENT
At this time, Overture and
Google are the top engines that offer paid advertising or paid
position options. Your budget for this type of marketing may
vary from several hundred to several thousand dollars per month
depending on the keyword phrases you choose. It is very
important to study the positioning guidelines for these options
as costs can easily get out of hand unless you know what you are
doing.
SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION
If paid positioning is not your
cup of tea or not in your budget, then you will need to engage
in some form of Web Promotion. You can either submit your
Website individually to each of the major search engines or you
can utilize a Web Promotion Service to take care of this on your
behalf. A third option is to subscribe to the Search Engine
Guide to ensure that you submit your site effectively.
Regardless of the option you
choose, successful submission depends on following search engine
requirements as closely as possible.
SEARCH ENGINE GUIDELINES
Search engines have their own
rules or guidelines or ideas about what constitutes a good Web
page. The closer your Web pages come to actually meeting a
search engine’s page guidelines, the better your chances are
of being indexed and ranked predominantly on that engine. While
no two search engines will necessarily have the same
requirements or ideas about page set up, there are some
commonalties.
Search engines favor Websites
whose pages contain original and meaningful content that is
relevant to the keyword phrase being used. Search engines do not
SEE graphics and at this writing have difficulty with Java
Script and Flash Graphics. Obviously, if you want to rank well
with the search engines it is a good idea to avoid the things
they do not like.
WHO IS CONTROLLING WHOM?
Is it beginning to sound like
the search engines are controlling YOU rather than the other way
around? Well, remember that any advertising medium has its rules
including newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. Also, search
engine requirements are not based on arbitrary rules but really
do make good marketing sense.
SEARCH ENGINE FEES
Whether you submit on your own
with help from the Search Engine Guide or rely on our
professional Search Engine Submission services you still must
budget for a growing number of Search Engines that charge
submission fees. Yahoo requires a $299 fee to accompany your
submission to its directory. LookSmart has the same kind of
requirement. Many other search engines charge smaller fees based
on the number of keyword phrases you submit and you can expect
this trend to continue. Even with Search Engine fees becoming
the norm, good search engine placement is a fantastic and cost
effective strategy for any real estate agent who wants to target
buyers.
ARE YOU READY FOR SEARCH
ENGINES?
Before you invest your time or
budget on Search Engine Promotion, make sure you are Set for
Success. If you Know Your Market, have Good Web Appeal and you
are Ready for E-Customers, you chances of profiting from Search
Engine and Directory rankings are high.
Noel Markham, Marketing
Consultant provides custom Web design, online sales training and
Internet marketing for Real Estate Professionals.
Contact Noel toll free at 888-814-5347.
|