In my ten years in the Web marketing business, in a wide variety of roles (we now focus on link building), I have come to view certain corners of the SEO world with a great deal of well-justified skepticism.
Here's why....We regularly see "theories' floated by the most vocal of the SEO gurus. They are the so-called "stars" of the SEO world.
Quite often, we find that these theories fails to hold up to the most cursory of real world analysis, using real world search results. It all "sounds good on paper", to those who want to believe a well-crafted story, so these theories get republished and re-distributed by the disciples of that particular guru. They take on a life of their own, and eventually, might well become "common wisdom" within the SEO world.
I can state, with great confidence, that much of that "common wisdom", especially as it relates to linking, is just total bunk.
These gurus will send you off on a "wild link chase", looking for a specific "quality" of link that meet their imagined criteria, but may not really exist in the real world with much regularity. It's Don Quixote, tilting at windmills. It's a lot of hand-wringing.
Meanwhile, your competitors are far less constrained, and they simply go out and get a lot of relevant links, and rank well, for a lot less cost and headache.
Here's my advice to anyone who wants a more sane approach to link building. Ignore the SEO theories, and look at WHAT WORKS for real sites, in real markets, using REAL SEARCH RESULTS. If you do that, you will find that the theories and the reality are quite divergent.
I am not here to argure specific theories. A lot of things work. For anyone who has one, then don't TELL me how wonderful it is. I get bored with theoretical SEO arguments. Instead, SHOW ME dozens of examples, in competitive, real world situations, that support it. If you can do that, then I am ready, willing, and able to acknowledge that it works. And no, one or two incidental examples in weak markets does not count.
Because I am, and alwasy have been, all about WHAT WORKS consistently, affordably, and is duplicable by most agents. If it works, and it is a legitimate means of getting links, I'll find a way to apply it, for our clients. Nothing more. Nothing less. I really don't know how else someone can approach this task with any certainty.
In the last six months, we have seen examples of link building that have required that I revise my own concepts about "what works". Because they have demonstrated pervasive, repeatable success in real world search results. Some methods were legitimate, and some were just blatant spamming. You have to leave the spam at the curb, as it alwasy gets blasted, sooner or later.
The ONLY way to see this is with A LOT of in depth research into the back link profiles of well-ranking real estate sites. There are no secrets in SEO, as far as I am concerned. It's all out there, publicly, for anyone who wants to look into it. Any well-ranking site can be dissected and reverse-engineered. We do that all the time, here, and we use it as our guidepost. It's all based on real world analysis, and it is also open to revision, after enough data has supported it.
From what I see, far too few of the leading SEO gurus do that. Instead, they concoct imaginary theories about what Google likes and does not like, and then they put that forward as a strategy, regardless of the return-on-investment and competitive considerations.
If your SEO advisor is not using real world competitive analysis as the basis for their advice, you might want to find another one.
https://teamcoker.robertpaul.com - Falmouth, MA
Heath Coker Berkshire Hathaway HS Robert Paul Prop
Search Engine Optimization in the real estate realm is very difficult. Theory and practice are also different. And of course, there are the constant changes in each search engine.
Jun 03, 2008 03:18 AM
The Adam and Eric Group - Fullerton, CA
The Adam and Eric Group, Fullerton's Finest
Get back to basics. Social networks and bookmarking sites. It takes time - make comments with link backs.
Jun 03, 2008 03:21 AM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Heath:
As someone who works directly with dozens and dozens of sites, in a lot of situations, and then we analyze many more than that, I might respectfully disagree. SEO in other areas is far more challenging than local real estate.
SEO in local real estate markets is actually quite straightforward, and not all that complex. Usually because the other local competition is doing little or nothing. Please see my post here:
Why the "Lead Generator" sites dominate YOUR local search results!
Heath, what worked five years ago continues to work well today. Too many SEO gurus want to play wizard behind the curtain, and they use complexity and fear as their stock in trade. This is not rocket science, by any means.
You just have to know what works, consistently. We think that we've done enough of this to know. I am trying to pass this along to other agents, whether they use us or not.
Here's a multi-page document that was specifically written for real estate professionals, using real estate examples:
Search Engine Optimization Basics For Real Estate-Related Websites
http://www.domaindrivers.com/seobasics-realestate-main.htm
I hope it helps you sort this out.
Jun 03, 2008 03:30 AM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Adam, can you give me (privately, at djohnson@roiewebsites, not publicly in this thread) several examples in different and competitive markets, that rely on "Social networks and bookmarking sites" for the bulk of their links to get good rnakings?
I am not trying to be combative. Quite the contrary. I believe you, but I have not really seen any direct examples of it being a "primary" force in link building. From what I have seen, the total link count from unique domains is often quite limited. Good for adding to a link foundation, but not the foundation itself.
So, my thinking is that social networks and bookmarking sites alone can work to put a site to the first page in a non-competitive markets. But I want to see that done in places like Phoenix, etc.
I sincerely want to see examples in competitive markets, and where and how the links were placed.
Again, I am alwasy open minded, but it has to manifest in real results, consistently.
Jun 03, 2008 03:39 AM
Stephens Design - Battle Ground, WA
Real Estate Website Design
I would have to agree with Dirk that real estate SEO isn't that difficult except in a few very competitive markets like San Diego and Phoenix. The highly ranked sites in Heath's Cape Cod market appear to be using conventional link exchanges; a quick browse of their incoming links did not reveal any insurmountable obstacles. The top few sites were less than ten years old and had relatively few inbound links. And some markets are ripe for picking, such as one that I looked at yesterday, Petersburg VA. Dirk offers a reasonably priced service that may be more cost effective for agents than burning up their time trying to generate links through alternative means such as the social networking sites.
Jun 03, 2008 04:33 AM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Hi Suzanne,
You are right, agents who can afford it probably have far better things to do with their time than building links. It's boring, detailed grunt work, especially when it's done manually. That same time could be spent generating leads, or taking a vacation. :)
We have data processes in place that make link building efficient, affordable, and turnkey. We can accomplish in an hour what it would take an agent several.
Likewise, on the site design side, learning HTML code for a single site is not a productive use of time for most agents. Learning to use HTML code well takes a while, not to mention Photoshop, Fireworks/Illustrator, etc.
Having a good feel for the capabilities of a technology is actually a good thing. It can help, especially with SEO. But overall, agents with means should not be doing these things any more than they should be tuning up their own car. There are better uses of their time, and they get better results using pros, to boot.
Jun 03, 2008 05:31 AM
Stephens Design - Battle Ground, WA
Real Estate Website Design
And once you learn HTML and Photoshop, to create an effective web site, a real estate agent may still need to go get that 4-year college degree in marketing communications and graphic design!
Jun 03, 2008 05:37 AM
Arizona Luxury & Lifestyle Living - Cave Creek, AZ
Arizona Homes For Sale, Sun City Grand
Hi Dirk! Thank you for the informative piece. I've printed off your
Search Engine Optimization Basics
For Real Estate-Related Websites
to review while on floor duty today.
Jun 04, 2008 01:09 AM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Kathy _ Thanks!
I like to say that we are all on the learning curve somewhere. What matters is that you are taking positive action to move up the curve.
For others, here's that link to our SEO guide that Kathy printed:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/seobasics-realestate-main.htm
It takes about an hour to read. With coffee...:)
I just did a search in Google for your primary term, "Sun City AZ Real Estate", (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Sun+City+AZ+Real+Estate&btnG=Google+Search)
Only two of the top ten listings are local agents, it seems. The rest are the national lead generator sites. You could drive a truck through it..
Please see my post on that subject:
Why the "Lead Generator" sites dominate YOUR local search results!
Thanks again, and good luck! Let me know if we can help, in any way.
Jun 04, 2008 02:22 AM
Enovabiz Solutions - Dallas, TX
Real Estate SEO
Link building benefits but a distinction has to be made between link building through reciprocal links and links from social sites, artcile directories. I find asking for reciprocal links quite a waste of time. but since, my sites rank in top 5 or Top 10 , I usually get lot of requests. This saves me lot of time , i can piakc and choose my links and at the same time i get all the benefits of link exchange!
Jun 16, 2008 06:44 PM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Aniruddha: Thanks for posting
Yes, if you can generate reciprocal links by waiting for decent ones to come to you, that's one way to go about it. I'd call that "passive reciprocation".
Every agent can manage that with a couple of simple pages on their site, or get their virtual assistant to do it. It's worth doing.
Sometimes agents need a lot of links to compete, quickly. Active reciprocation campaigns can fill that need. It does take a lot of work, as only about 10% of sites respond, but the benefits are there, and the earned link counts are in the hundreds.
My suggestion to do that is...hire a pro link builder, if you need a lot of links quickly. See my profile :)
Jun 17, 2008 01:11 AM
eXp Realty & Working The Magic, LLC - Bellingham, WA
Hey Dirk,
Agreed... The proof is in the pudding and the eating it... There is a ton of Mythinformation (a term I got from Gary Keller) out there on SEO. Bottom line is there are a number of ways to get traffic. Blogging, linking, content, linking, more blogging, and more linking, and content, content, content, content... Maybe even throw in PPC and the occassional offline ad... All are valid strategies however not all of them have the same ROI.
All the Best,
Glenn Sanford
--
Founder and CEO
Working The Magic, LLC
Check out our Real Estate SEO Blog
Jun 17, 2008 01:42 PM
DomainDrivers.com - Potomac Falls, VA
Glenn:
Mythinformation. I like that one. It's the work output of Mythologists.
And, man, you hit it right on the head with ROI....so few people in the SEO world ever consider the ROI of a particular strategy or a course of action.
I actually wrote a post about that, but it did not seem to resonate with anyone...
Jun 18, 2008 03:59 AM
eXp Realty - Frederick, MD
Integrity, Experience, Enthusiasm!
It takes me just as long to figure out and complete the linking as it does to post a content-rich, keyword-filled post. I'm afraid sometimes content takes a back-seat for people, and you can't keep folks on your site for more than 30 seconds without rich content.
Jan 15, 2009 01:25 AM
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