Quality content will drive conversions and rankings

Page content that is valuable and well written is your number one key to a successful website. Every site owner wants to appear in the top ten of the search results, but to get there you have to offer content that both site visitors and search engines find relevant. You cannot just post a couple of pictures of for sale homes on your listings page and expect site visitors and search engine to come running. You must offer them both something they want.

The most successful real estate website owners offer their site visitors more than just the canned content you get with most template-based websites. Successful site owners give visitors real information about their business and their community. Remember: your site visitors have NO loyalty to you and will leave in a second if they cannot find the information they are looking for.

Knowing who your potential client is and what type of information they are looking for is essential if you are to provide quality page content. You will have to think about this carefully, and build pages that speak directly to those clients.

For example, if you are selling in a community that offers outstanding retirement living opportunities, information about the local school system is probably not going to help you attract clients. The same goes if you are targeting a strictly investor market.

Provide content that can cross-sell your site visitors. If you offer seasonal rentals or have a vacation home market, be sure to include a page or two about your area, its attractions and recreation choices. One word of warning: on pages like this, it is best to soft sell your visitors.

Whatever content you create, be sure to use your power keywords naturally throughout the text. You should successfully try to target 3-5 keywords per page; include variations of these targeted phrases in your page title, as well. Also remember to use anchor text links to other pages of your site if appropriate.

Helpful and useful content is also important in assisting you in getting links from other websites. In fact, the best links aren't those you buy or solicit, but links that come from having such great content that other sites will link to it without asking or telling you. You may think this is difficult for a real estate site, but it is possible.

If you do not feel comfortable or do not feel you have the right skills to write good content on your own, you should consider hiring a professional who is experienced with writing keyword driven web copy. In the long run, your conversions through having great content will justify the initial expense.