SEO for Home Builders
Search engine optimization can be a very complex process and difficult to understand. However, it helps your website rank higher on Google and other search engines, if done well and kept up to date. Additionally, search engine optimization allows users to quickly and easily find your website to get whatever information they need.
There are some things to take into consideration when it comes to SEO. As mentioned before, it can be a time-consuming and intimidating task, but you can get through some key points that will help get your SEO up and running. Later, you can tweak it and make it perfect. However, it is important to remember that you need to have a working website that makes it easy for users to navigate. Your goal is to get people to click on your search result and keep them on your website for as long as possible, which helps you rank higher in search engines.
In this post, you will also learn how to build a search engine optimization strategy that will help you get started. There are some simple and easy tricks that you can follow to make sure that you can rank at the top of search engines. If you are a home builder who wants to stand out, make sure to keep reading and learn all about SEO.
What is Search Engine Optimization for Home Builders?
Search engine optimization helps you build traffic to your website. SEO is the process of improving your website to make it rank higher when people are searching for services that relate to what you provide. Organic search is the main way for potential customers to find you by simply searching online. It can be a complex process, but SEO focuses on keywords that you can set up on and off your pages to attract people who could be potential clients. The better your SEO, the higher you will rank in search engines and show up more often for people searching services related to yours.
What Makes Good SEO?
There are some aspects to take into consideration when it comes to SEO that will help your business grow. In every industry, especially the home building industry, it is important to stand out and have an online presence. This is why it is so important that you take on the best practices when it comes to SEO.
Choose the Right Keywords
Keywords are the most important part of SEO. Simply put, keywords are words that people will often type in their search engines when looking for home builders in their area. There are three types of keywords: navigational, informational, and transactional.
Navigational Keywords are branded search terms, such as the company’s website and contact information. This type of keyword includes search terms where the user is trying to get somewhere specific. Additionally, navigational keywords allow you to be more visible in searches.
Informational Keywords focus on getting the user information rather than completing a transaction. This type of keyword is for the user that may not need a new home, but they are planning on doing it in the future. Therefore, it is important to have informational content as well. This content can build a rapport with the potential customer and show that you are a credible source in homebuilding. Informational keywords are often in the form of questions so the user can easily get the information she or he needs right away.
Transactional Keywords focus on getting the user to make the conversion. These words are more competitive but can be more general and focused on the user’s location. It is important to take into consideration that Google is very good at including a user’s location in the search results. Therefore, it is good to associate your business with a community and create content based on your location to get yourself out there to potential customers.
Content is Key
The keywords need to go somewhere, and that is where content comes into the playing field. It is very important to write high-quality content that will give potential customers useful information. Nowadays, users want to get information from a brand rather than just a product getting thrown in their face. To create good content, you simply need to write on the topics and themes that are in your keyword research. This is why it is important to keep your keywords updated to fit your audience’s wants and needs. Just do not forget, write meaningful and useful content so users trust you and stay on your website as long as possible.
Choose the Right URL
It is important to have keywords in your URL, which is the first thing a search engine will take into consideration when scanning your page. If you have SEO in your URL, you are already one step ahead and closer to being more visible in searches. A domain like: homebuilder + Location or Location + homebuilder.com would be the perfect place to start.
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions appear underneath the URL in a search results page. This description will not show up on your website, it will only show up in the search results. The meta description needs to provide the user information about what he or she will find when clicking on the page. Additionally, any keywords the user searched will be highlighted, if present in the meta description, which can entice the user to click your website rather than a competitor’s. You can even add a call to action here to get more clicks, such as: get your free quote or click here to learn more about …..
Internal and External Backlinks
Internal links lead to other pages within your website. It is good for users to stay on your website for as long as possible, so Google sees that you have useful information for users. The longer people stay on your website, the higher you will rank in Google and appear higher up in search results. Additionally, this practice allows users to trust your brand since they see that you have extensive knowledge in the homebuilding industry.
External backlinking brings users from another domain into your website. Much like internal links, backlinking also help your ranking with Google. Backlinks are like a recommendation letter or a vote. Another website will direct users to your site to get more information or make a transaction because they trust your business.
How to Build a Strategy
Search engine optimization is always changing since Google often changes how its search engine works. However, there are some steps that you can take to boost your website with SEO.
Do a Site Audit
An SEO site audit examines how your website is performing, and whether the implemented SEO is working properly or not. You can check whether your SEO is being put to good use by checking if all pages in your website have some basic SEO with keywords that target your specific audience. Additionally, it is important to check if your pages are formatted in a way that is easy to navigate and that the user can simply skim through the information to get what he or she wants. Lastly, check your content for backlinks and internal links, since those will help you rank up in Google.
Focus on the User Experience
Since Google tends to rank a website higher when users stay on it for longer periods, users must enjoy navigating your website. You need to have a user-friendly website for users of all devices and provide quality content. You need to have good content that is easy to read and easy to skim through. Additionally, it is good to include simple language and make sure to add keywords to boost your SEO. Do not forget to make your website mobile-friendly, since many people can search for home building on the go or need some information you might have while away from their computer.
Think of Topic Clusters
The topic cluster model consists of the main pillar page, giving the user an overview of the topic and smaller pages that go into further details. This is helpful because search engines have evolved and now, they focus on understanding the user’s intent and finding the results that would best help him or her. Keywords are a great way to boost your website, but you always need to have some organization that makes it easier for search engines to get your page to user’s results. Remember to keep your website organized, so Google will see more value in it and rank it higher on the results page.
Buyer Personas
A very important aspect to make sure you are creating high-quality and useful content is understanding your buyer persona. The buyer persona is a fictional character that would be your ideal customer. To figure out the persona, you will need to do some research to see who your target audience is. However, personas are a very detailed description of a potential customer rather than an age range or any other demographical aspects. The buyer persona will have an age, profession, and you will be able to understand his or her needs, motivations, and frustrations. If needed, you can have multiple personas and you can target your SEO and content towards each persona.
Get Technical with SEO
It is very important to have a website that works well to keep your Google rankings high. The better your website’s quality, the higher it will rank on Google. Here are a couple of things to pay attention to:
First, HTTPS, which is a secure version of HTTP. Google will warn users if your website is not secure, which often leads to people not accessing your website. With HTTPS, your website is secure, making it more difficult for any malicious party to negatively affect your website. Additionally, it is important to have a secure website when it comes to dealing with transactions.
Next up is semantic markups, which are HTML tags and code that emphasize specific information in your website. Markups allow Google to quickly understand what the page is about, without having to scan the entire content, which makes it much easier for Google to analyze the page.
Lastly are 404 errors, which is a message that leads to a dead-end for users. It is extremely important to fix any errors because they can negatively impact your Google ranking and user might simply leave your website. You can discover these issues by doing an SEO audit. Additionally, you can look into the broken links online and try to write content that covers any of the topics in the broken links. This will allow people to drive traffic to your website because you have the information that others are not able to give.
Think Local
Users who live near your location who are looking for home builders are mainly the ones who will drive traffic to your website. Most people first look for places near them that provide the services or products they need to then look for reviews and choose the ones that seem to be the best in the area. Therefore, you must make sure your local SEO is looking good.
Directories
First of all, make sure that local directories are up to date. Search engines, including Google, often rely on local directories to get additional information on a source. If your local directories are out of date, users might end up running into the wrong information when searching for something related to your business or the services you provide. Some services help you keep your local directory up to date and get rid of any inconsistencies in the data. Here are some directories you should be linked with.
- Definitely Google My Business. Make sure you also get verified and the property links to your website.
- YellowPages. Yes, Yellow Pages is still a thing and one of the most used services to identify outstanding local businesses worldwide.
- Canada411
- MapQuest
- FourSquare
- Cylex
- BBB. Another service that has been around for a long time and has aided in sorting out the legitimate businesses from the phony ones.
- HomeStars, Canada’s home for professional contractors, this service helps people find local pros to help them complete home renovation projects.
- Yelp. Crowdsourced reviews about local businesses.
Landing Page Optimization
Another good way to boost your local SEO is local landing page optimization. You will need local keywords included in different landing pages to hit your target audience when they are searching for your business or the service you provide. You simply need to create landing pages with keywords that are popular in your specific area. Remember that, with SEO, you need to consider the keywords, metadata, page title, headline tags, image alt text, and the content on the actual website.
Build a Network
Lastly, try to get in contact with other businesses in your area and partner with them. This can be contractors, realtors, mortgage brokers, and any other professionals in the home building industry. Once you build a connection with them, you can have backlinks in each other’s websites, to reach another demographic that trusts them and vice versa. Additionally, you can associate with others in your industry at the national, state, or local levels. A home builder association, for instance, is a great way to get information, and have you listed as a member adds credibility to you and your business.
Continue with the Momentum
While it seems that search engine optimization can be a seven-headed monster, it can be done slowly and built up as you continue to grow with your business. There are companies out there that can also help you with SEO and keeping it up to date with the latest Google Algorithm changes. It is of the utmost importance that you keep your website and content up to date, otherwise optimizing it for the best user experience will go nowhere.
Since search engine optimization is always evolving, you need to focus on creating solid content that allows you to build up your SEO slowly and effectively. Not to mention that customers, nowadays, want to get information from a business not just be sold something.
If you need help with SEO for home builders, contact our team today for the ultimate game plan.
