The Web Corner >> Website Resources

Adding Resources to Your Real Estate Website

by Brandon Cornett

Want an easy, low-cost way to increase your website's value to readers (and its visibility to search engines)? Create an information-rich resource section of your website. Any website can benefit from having a "Resources" section. Real estate websites, marketing websites ... websites about basket weaving. You name it!

When you add quality articles, resources or tools to your website, you're improving your real estate Internet marketing program in three major ways:

1. First, you're making your website more visible to search engines, because search engines love content. So by developing original content around your website's key phrases, you'll improve your search engine ranking for those phrases.

2. Secondly, you will further position yourself as an authority in your subject area. Everyone knows you have to understand a topic well in order to write about it well. So by building a resource section, you'll demonstrate your expertise.

3. Also, by adding useful content to your website, you'll keep people on the site longer. It's logical that the longer people stay on your website, the better chance you'll have of getting a response or capturing a lead.

The key here is to think like a publisher. You'll hear me say that a lot throughout this guide, but only because it's an important concept.

Whether they work for a local magazine or a major Internet site, professional publishers all have one thing in common. They all know the importance of catering to the needs of their readers. They first find out what it is their readers want, and then they give it to them in spades. Otherwise, they are doomed for failure.

Whey you apply this "publisher's mentality" to your web marketing, you will grow a Web presence that's built on information people want. And the more you do this, the more website traffic you'll get. And that traffic will be easier to convert into business, because your readers will trust you and view you as a prominent expert in your local real estate market.

So while you're at it, think of yourself as the local expert as well. Think like a publisher, and think of yourself as the leading expert in your real estate market. And then build the kind of web-based resources that reflect this.

Bulk Up Your Real Estate Website

Writing content is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase your search engine visibility. It's also a great way to increase the "stickiness" of your website and keep people onsite longer. As an added benefit, a wealth of quality content does wonders for your professional image by further positioning you as an expert.

But this guide is about creating a Web presence and increasing your "findability," so let's talk about the search engine side of things. If two websites are similar in most regards, but one is twice as large as the other, the larger one will rank higher in the search engines. When all other things are equal, size wins.

Creating additional web pages is easier than you might think. If you're not much of a writer, then outline some topics and pay a writer to create the content. You can find plenty of good writers on elance.com. Glossaries and Q&A pages are other ways to implement this tactic.