Search engines are always evolving, and that evolution is only going to continue into the new year. When it comes to implementing strategic SEO, it’s always better to be ahead of the curve than playing catch up.
For 2019, here are five home builder SEO trends to focus on to ensure those rankings stay high!
Content
Consistent content publishing is one of the keys to driving traffic. Stagnant websites can begin to fall down in search engine rankings. A major ranking factor for websites is the “freshness factor,” or how often new content appears on the website. Companies who blog consistently and add new content to their website receive 97% more links to their website.
It isn’t only quantity that matters when it comes to content. More importantly, it’s crucial that you publish quality content that website visitors find valuable and engaging. Search engines reward content that doesn’t lead to a high bounce rate, keeps readers on page for longer and influences visitors to check out more than only one page of a website.
Google My Business
Google My Business is a useful tool for improving visibility on the local level. One of the best parts of Google My Business is that it’s free!
Setting up your business with this Google service, or claiming an existing listing, allows you to take control of the information that searchers find about you. It also helps to boost the chances of your business being seen for local searches like “home builders near me” if the person searching is within a relevant proximity to your business location or communities. Once your listing is set up or claimed, it is crucial to verify your business.
According to Think With Google, there has been a 150% increase in searches for businesses with the qualifier “near me,” than those without it. This alone makes Google My Business a great local SEO tool and invaluable for home builders.
Utilizing Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides a useful tool for analysis, allowing you to see the list of search queries being used to find your site organically. This provides the ability to determine the effectiveness of your targeted keywords and compare them to real search queries.
Using Search Console allows you to monitor your performance in Google Search, allowing you to have more control on how your website is crawled and ensuring that your content delivers engaging results.
It also allows you to discover how Google and searchers view your site. See which search queries are leading to the most traffic, which external sites are providing you with referral traffic through links, and provides reporting on the structured data found on your website.
User Experience
Gone are the days of clunky content and keyword stuffing for the sake of search engines. User engagement metrics now play a much larger role in determining the value of a website.
Site navigability is key when it comes to a seamless user experience. Your navigation bars and menus should be simple and easy to use. Eliminate the use of Adobe Flash, or any other type of content that might require a user to download something and make them work to engage with your site.
Brand Awareness
According to a recent SEO study published by SEMRush, one of the leading ranking factors for websites is the amount of direct traffic that they receive. According to the study, “when many users go to a website directly it is a good sign to Google that the domain has high authority and value.”
While this might make some in the SEO world feel powerless, it should serve as an inspiration for search specialists to work with others in the marketing circle. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. In this case, the village being the marketing team and the child is your website’s ranking!
