This week’s post highlights a very simple but important concept:
Real estate investors who want leads from their marketing website had better make sure that they are on Page 1 of a search that actual people are searching.
And that enough people are searching that it will matter. So if you’re ranking in the top 5 of your main search terms but aren’t getting leads… read this blog post on our sister site Carrot we wrote about how to diagnose why you’re not getting real estate leads).
If you aren’t ranked in the top 5, or even on page 1... keep reading this article below to see why it’s so important.
Here’s the best way I’ve found to explain it:
SEO is just like fishing with a net.
When you put the net in the right spot, you’ll catch a lot of fish.
If you set up a net on a dry creek, you’ll never catch any fish.
More on *how to catch the fish* coming up – first, back to the data.
As you can see from the graph above, the first 10 results get the vast majority of clicks:
91.5% of Lead Generation Happens on Page 1.
This data comes from a comprehensive study comparing over 10,000,000 clicks, so it’s pretty durn valid, I’d say.
The point is this:
Very few folks actually click “next page” when they’re searching… they never even see the results of Page 2… nevermind pages 4-9, which are hardly ever seen.
There is 19 times more search engine traffic to page 1 than page 2!
But again, what matters most is that you are ranked well for a search term people actually use.
Too often folks will just google their own name, see that their website comes up near the top, and think “great, I’m ranked!”
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. The only one googling your name is you. And maybe your mom.
If you want to attract sellers, you have to know the search terms they use.
(Remember my “fishy” metaphor above? There aren’t any “fish” googling your name, sorry to break the news.)
Same with buyers, investors, tenants… you have to know your audience.
Fortunately, we already did the homework for you… get your free copy of the SEO Keyword Bible here. That SEO Bible will show you all of the major search terms that real estate investors need to know to get great leads from organic search.
Here are a few terms you can use right away to see how you’re ranking in your local market (just replace [market] with the name of the primary city where you work):
– sell my [market] house fast
– we buy [market] homes
– sell my [market] home
– discount properties in [market]
– wholesale properties in [market]
Here’s a free tool that allows you to check your rankings for each term (it will take you to another website, fyi).
If you want to get your SEO rankings up in your market, we have a great service available… check it out here.
But just a few notes of caution… SEO isn’t a short-term strategy for getting leads.
<<<Sidenote: If you need leads right away, your best is to post the heck out of Craigslist (but don’t violate their Terms of Service or you’ll get banned).
A lot of our investors are getting huge amounts of leads (as many as 30 per week!) straight out of Craiglist.
Why?
It’s simple, really… people are already USED to going to free classified sites like Craigslist to find and sell properties, so if you write a short, compelling ad that sends them straight to your awesome Lead Page right on InvestorCarrot, you can get a ton of leads too.
Pretty soon we’ll be launching a really sweet training program for our Carrot Members focusing just on Craiglist, so stay tuned!
If you’re not already a Carrot Member, you should check out the demo and see what our system can do… you’ll be crazy impressed by all the value that you get from it for a low price… it’s WAY more than just a marketing website template.>>>
Now, back to SEO and the services we offer for our Members:
Our SEO services are built specifically for real estate investors.
We focus solely on SEO for your InvestorCarrot website.
All of our SEO packages we require a 6 MONTH MINIMUM, but give a discount if you lock our services up for 12 months.
Why a 6 month minimum?
Because getting search rankings can take some time in more competitive markets.
In some small markets (under 30,000 population) it can many times be easier to rank on page 1 for search phrases. But in larger cities you have more competition who are all trying to rank for the same phrases.
This competition requires more work to strategically “out SEO” them and can take 3-6 months or more to take full effect within Google search results.
The 6 month minimum ensures that we’re working with clients who are serious about their business and understand SEO isn’t an instant results strategy.
SEO is a long-term strategy that can really pay off when you stick with it.
Just 1 deal with a net profit of only $5,000 will pay for more than a year of our SEO services.
If you want instant results and aren’t patient enough to wait 3-6+ months to see measurable results with SEO in competitive markets, SEO may not be a strategy you want to focus on… it really comes back to the focus of your business.
After all, if you’re not in the business for the long term, don’t call yourself an investor.
It’s not the right word.
People who jump around from one thing to the next are opportunists, not investors.
Investors take the long road with proven strategies for success, like fisherman who have their nets already in place ready before the fish start jumping.
They put in the effort and get the results. They do their homework and they are prepared to capture the leads.
Opportunists often get poor results because they’re busy chasing fish after the season is over.
They weren’t spending their time making sure their net was ready to launch.
Obviously in this fishing story, the net is your InvestorCarrot website. It’s built to catch leads, and we know it works great.
If you want our help as your expert guide, we can provide a high level of SEO service to you… but it does require a serious investment mentality.
If you’re chasing opportunities and not really investing, please don’t sign up for our SEO service. It won’t be the right fit, and you’ll be disappointed.
But if you’re serious about a long-term investment and want a marketing strategy that gets great results, sign up here now.
