One of the keys to success with a real estate website is developing fresh content. And I’m not just talking about updates about what your dog did last week – you need to have real estate related content. Not only does it keep website visitors engaged and coming back but it also gives you juice for search engines. Did you know that search engines regularly (sometimes daily for a good website) spider your sites looking for new content and reward (or ignore) you accordingly in their search results?

Does this all beg the question “where do I get this fresh content”? There are lots of ways to get good content, but one of the best sources of real estate information is to draw on your own knowledge and experiences. After all, you’re the expert right? It doesn’t take much time to develop your own content and it shows your prospects that you really know what you are doing.

Here’s a tip for a fresh topic that is on many of your prospect’s minds these days, or at least would be if they knew about it – the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Put a new page on your website that describes in brief what the credit is and who might qualify for it. If you have the ability to add a lead capture form to the page, add it and ask your prospects to contact you for more information or to find out if they qualify.

If you don’t already know all the details you can get more clarity from the article below from NAR:

http://www.realtor.org/home_buyers_and_sellers/2009_first_time_home_buyer_tax_credit?lid=ronav0019

If you don’t already have information about this on your real estate website, it’s a slam dunk as good, quality content that your prospects are sure to be interested in.

One of the most critical factors for ranking high in search engines has been and remains the number of quality websites that are linking to your website  using relevant keywords. The  more you get, the higher (usually) you will appear in the search engine results. One of the best ways to get quality websites linking to you  is by submitting to quality web directories - and here I must stress QUALITY.

I have compiled a list of directories you should submit to that search engines trust the most, and ones that you should avoid. And remember, always put your chosen keywords (like pacific beach condos)  in the description and title when submitting to these directories - this will help your SEO efforts further. (more…)