The property market has changed dramatically over the last few years. From marketing on public sitting benches and billboards to digital property listings and complex SEO strategies, the internet has been a game changer for the industry–with rules that are continually evolving. It is no longer enough to have a simple website outlining your services. Competition, especially in the property management realm, is getting stiffer by the day. Businesses are working harder to get noticed, and while some are winning, others are losing clients to competitors with better digital strategies and optimized lead generation. In the following blog, we give you seven essential tips to help upgrade your search engine marketing tactics for property management teams anywhere!
How Does SEO For Property Management Companies Work?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is different for property management businesses–and more complex, given that these types of ventures strive to attract two types of clients: tenants and landlords. As a business owner running a property management agency, you do not want to draw owners if you don’t have potential tenants for them. On the other hand, you also can’t afford to promise the tenants properties that you do not have. This means a second effort is required to strike a balance and gain leads that can be converted into a thriving property management business. SEO can be a little daunting, but as experts in this field, we can confidently advise you to consider the following tactics for successful property management marketing.
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SEO Tactics for Property Management Companies
User-Friendly Website:
A modern, up-to-date website is the very foundation of SEO. Optimizing your business’ web pages is like organizing your office–only it exists in virtual space! The truth is site visitors will judge the quality of your services depending on how your website looks, so think about it as a physical office. Do you think clients would be happy walking into a cluttered office through a tiny door with dull walls, dirty floors, and no decor? In the digital world, this would translate into things like the quality of website content, grammatical errors, mobile-friendliness, and loading/buffering speed, among others.
Simply put, you ought to focus on user experience (UX) when creating your property management website and it should load as fast as possible according to industry standard and consumer demand. According to recent digital research, businesses have only 2 seconds to impress site visitors with their website loading speed. If your site loads for longer than 2 seconds, the bounce rate increases, thus compromising your ability to earn digital business leads.
Your property management website should also be mobile-friendly since a lot of searches today are being made through smartphones. Therefore, site visitors need to be able to view content comfortably on their mobile screens without having to zoom in or out. When it comes to front page layout, particularly your menu items, the material should be clean, bright, and simple. We recommend that you have four essential menu items on that front page: 1) Owners, 2) Tenants, 3) Property Management Services, and 4) Realtor Referrals. These items capture the essence of your business without confusing site visitors and potential clients.
Relevant Keywords:
Keep in mind that very few potential clients will Google your business name directly. Most of them will search more general, related terms such as “2 bedroom apartments near me” or “how to sell my property online.” If you have the right keywords in your content, then your website is likely to show up every time someone makes these search queries in your area. It’s not that simple, however, especially with over a billion websites floating around the internet.
Two things stand out when it comes to keywords: keyword density and long tail keywords. Keyword density refers to the number of relevant keywords embedded within your web content on the front and back end. The higher your keyword density (more keywords), the higher your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). However, be careful not to sound too spammy by stuffing keywords carelessly.
When writing web content, it is essential first to perform keyword research to establish which terms have a higher search volume. Incorporate these related search terms into your content naturally to increase keyword density. Long tail keywords are phrases with more than one search term. They usually sentence that particular answer question, which is likely to receive many searches. For example, “1 bedroom apartment in Silver Lake” would be an example of a long tail keyword phrase in the property management world — the more specific, the better. Seventy-percent of web page views are a direct result of long tail keywords, so using such phrases increases your chances of getting a snippet at the very top of a search engine page as well as attracting the right kind of traffic.
Local SEO:
According to statistics, 72% of internet visitors conduct location-based searches online. These types of visitors also end up visiting a physical business near them if they find the right information online. This is a figure that no company should overlook, which is why it is vital to localize your SEO approach. Local SEO entails using tools such as Google My Business, which is a profile offered by Google to give customers who make local searches the perfect experience. It is a summary of your business’ most basic details, like your company website, business location, images, and hours of operation. Having a Google My Business Account increases your chances of ranking higher on search results, especially when real prospects are looking for services within your area. This account also allows you to accept reviews from existing customers, which can be great at displaying social proof and convincing users to consider your services.
Also, be sure to utilize location sensitive keywords. The terms “near me” or “In X City” are becoming very common within search queries as people turn to online sources for references. The average person is likely to Google a product or service first before making final purchasing decisions. It is therefore advisable to add such terms into your content to attract local clients (who make up the most significant part of your target audience).
Lastly, Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is essential for any local SEO strategy. All businesses aim to attract organic traffic, but a little bit of online advertising can give your natural approach the boost it needs. Pay-per-click advertising on Google allows you to target potential customers by specifying their location details. This tool can help you reach out to the most relevant audiences willing to buy while improving your local SEO strategy.
Link Earning:
External links have proven to be the most significant criterion used by search engines to index and rank websites. The more quality backlinks you have, the higher your chances are for ranking at the top of search results. There are several ways to get other sites to link back to you. First, publishing quality content attracts readers who end up tying your site when writing blog posts. Second, guest posting on top tier publications can earn you the best quality backlinks. For instance, if you’re an expert in the property management industry, you may consider writing articles for relevant publications with high volumes of traffic. Third, professional link building software also comes in handy if you’re not so much of a writer and these programs can help you earn hundreds of backlinks. Lastly, linking other people’s website when writing blog posts can also make you the right kind of online relationships and eventually lead to link earning.
In a nutshell, whichever method you choose, ensure that your business is earning as many quality backlinks as possible, as this will increase your website’s overall domain authority.
Post Quality Content:
Search engines thrive on quality content. If there were no content on the internet, people would not spend time searching for information. Publishing quality content can be rewarding in two ways. First, search engines will show their gratitude by indexing your site if you consistently distribute relevant streams of content. At the same time, the masses are attracted to informative content, and if you give them what they want, they will always come back for more. If your content is excellent, they might bring a friend or two onboard by sharing what you’ve published. In return, this will earn you more traffic, leads, and backlinks.
If possible, maintain a blog through which you educate people about property management. You could offer tips on how to sell or rent and use this content to include calls to action. One other benefit of maintaining a blog is the ability to incorporate as many keywords as possible without sounding spammy. A blog post with over 1000 words creates enough room for up to 10 keywords, while an optimized home page does not.
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Develop a Social Media Presence:
More than half of the world is on social media, and this is where your digital marketing efforts also need to be. The property management world is quite visual since people are drawn to beautiful images of houses and landscapes. A tenant will move into a home because of its design and appearance. You can utilize social media effectively by posting pictures of properties listed on your website. This will help attract tenants as well as homeowners. Also, social media is a great place to connect with all of your target audiences less formally. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow you to get a little cheeky or add humor to your posts, thus giving your brand a personality.
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Optimize Off-Page Factors:
As search engines expand their reach, they’re beginning to pay attention to factors outside your company’s web pages. These search algorithms want to know what other platforms think or say about you. If you’re going to understand the importance of off-site factors, merely Google your business name. You will notice that your website might be at the top followed by your business profiles on social media and mentions by other publications. Off-page factors such as social media posts, citations, mentions by others, and guests posts are crucial since they will be indexed whether you like it or not, and people will click these links as a way to seek more information. You do not want to be associated with a Facebook Page that has two followers and no likes or comments. You also can’t afford to be featured in a blog which tarnishes your name or your services. Therefore pay attention to optimizing these off-page factors to ensure your overall footprint in the digital world is presentable and noticeable.
Do you want more website traffic and customers?
Just pay attention to your search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing strategies. If these tactics seem confusing or full of jargon, we can help you tackle any one of them professionally. At GoMarketing, we specialize in digital lead generation for property management companies. We have been in the industry for over 15 years–long enough to understand the technicalities of SEO and stay ahead of the curve. We were there when SEO was nothing more than a few checklist items, and we’re still here as SEO protocol becomes more complicated. We are well-positioned to understand what will work for your specific business and industry.
Most importantly, we adapt our approach to suit your company goals and style. All you need to do is reach out to us, and we’ll handle the rest. Call us at 805-413-7893 to get started on your custom digital marketing plan today!
