Builder SEO | specializing in search engine optimization for home builders

Here’s another sign that the times of the World Wide Web are ever changing and technology is only getting better, especially when it comes to building a website. Its astonishing to see how far we’ve come just in the last ten years.

The 3 key technologies that exists within a normal website are HTML, CSS and JavaScript. jQuery has been the leader in the JavaScript department and makes it easier and faster to build web pages with Javascript. Many web browsers are not indexing Flash websites anymore is it is even more important to use these new lightweight tools.

For years, Javascript has been used by designers as a way to respond to user interaction and has become the favorite over Flash according to appendTo, LLC, a company dedicated to jQuery and jQuery support. Their research confirms that more and more web developers are using jQuery and Javascript over Flash at a staggering rate. Recent data that they analyzed shows that 48% of the world’s top 17,000 websites are using jQuery, compared to 47% using Flash. This is big news.

The reasons are simple. jQuery is much easier to use, learn and is an open source product. Its compatibility is also a major factor of its popularity. Mostly all web browsers support jQuery, even iPhones and iPads that do not support Flash and probably will not ever.

jQuery is also very light weight, meaning using 1 line of jQuery code to do the same thing as 10 lines of regular Javascript code. It loads extremely fast in comparison with complex Flash files that are larger and take up more space.  jQuery allows developers to have nearly the exact same functionality of Flash when creating animations and computations with much less effort.

This means that tomorrow’s web designers will be embracing the jQuery code and that in turn, web users will be happier with a fast and interactive site websites. This also means that your site’s  SEO will be affected if you have an old Flash website and it is time to upgrade!

Your website is only as good as its content. Its what conveys the message, boosts online presence and traffic. Here are some tips to writing and preparing the best web copy for your website and what you should avoid.

Creating Convincing Copy

Be personable. No one wants to feel pressured when they visit a website. Keep your copy personal and relaxed throughout the site. Simply putting your photo on the About page won’t be enough to convey your company’s personality. Don’t write in 3^rd person or like you’re reciting from Wikipedia. Reach your audience by speaking directly to them and find a way to connect by sharing or relating personal experiences. Be convincing by telling them what you can do for them.

Enrich your Writing. Using keywords in your copy is necessary if you want to draw a crowd and the right web visitors to your site. SEO enriched copy is key. Keywords are not hard to use, just ask yourself what words would you use to find your site? Use them throughout every page but do not overuse them or you will sound spammy or too forceful.

Use Different Text Lengths. Web users want information fast and usually will scan a page quickly. Your copy should include short bursts of text or headlines that stand out to the reader and will make them stop and read or go back and read the smaller text if its what they’re looking for.

Avoid Writing Offending Copy

Don’t be an Ego-maniac. Self centered web copy that is full of ‘we’s’ good practice for marketing and selling your products. Web users don’t really care about the company, they only care about what you can do for them. Your company values and commitments may be important, just relate it to the customer.

Don’t be a Blabbermouth. Long, drawn out web copy is just daunting & boring and it makes people want to leave. Keep it short and simple using key words and messages that get to the point. The website will be able to communicate much easier and quicker to visitors.

Don’t Scream. It may seem that writing copy that is full of hype, written in bold, all-caps will get the attention of your visitors. Not true. Visitors want helpful and informative content that isn’t all in their faces.  You want to express a message that gives reasons why they should be interested and back up your claim.

Combining  good website design with good web copy on your website will prove to be a very powerful tool and result in happy customers ready to do business with you.

You’ve stepped up your efforts and started a marketing campaign online and may have even made the smart decision of improving or upgrading to a new website. Now, you ready for tons of leads to start coming in. The truth is, without the right tools, you’ll be getting very few. Here are some helpful tips to get your online marketing rolling and the leads pouring.

First, spend some time researching. Search for your business online and have someone else try. Try using different scenarios (i.e. Keywords, phrases and locations) that a web user may try using to find your homes online. If you don’t see results you’d like to see, or anything at all, then its time to invest in SEO.

When you are upgrading your online presence, if you aren’t taking advantage of SEO, most of your efforts will not pay off. People need to be driven to what they’re looking for. If you aren’t showing up on the 1^st page of a Google search, that is a real unforgiving disadvantage.  SEO is key to any thriving business online. Check out Jim Adams’ articles here on Homebuilders for some insight.

The next thing you need to look at is, how are people going to contact you? Sure, you have a contact form on your website but how often is it getting sent to you? Having a driving factor, call-to-action on every online page and every piece of email marketing you send out is very important. Again, drive users to what they’re looking for and give them every opportunity to contact you.

Having the right contact form that will generate leads is another important element to examine. Carefully look at the details of the form. You want it to very user friendly and create as little friction as possible. Requiring less information, such as name, email & phone number only, makes some visitors more comfortable. You’ll get the bare minimum but you can warm them right up with a prompt phone call. Of course, requesting more information is always good.

An immediate follow up is an absolute must when converting sales online. Make sure that the contact form is going directly to you or your sales agent and they get a phone call right away. Remember, as soon as they leave your site, they could be looking at your competition’s. Shoppers expect a very quick response. Check out Mike Lyon’s video on the subject.

If you follow these steps when beefing up your online presence, you will be successful. You may have the greatest marketing program in place but its up to you to act. Remember that persistence pays off and you will have to be proactive in order to get the best results possible.

If you have heard the latest buzz in the mobile networking industry lately, you know that mobile sites are the way of the future for web pages. It is predicted by the year 2013, more consumers will access information and search on their mobile devices than on their computers. This being said, adding a mobile site to your companies website will be crucial in order for consumers to access your company quickly and easily on their mobile devices.

Companies whose websites do not have mobile sites are not only difficult to load and navigate, but very time consuming for a consumer to find out any information, often leading them to search for a site with a mobile page.

Having a mobile site allows clients to access your site anywhere at anytime. Mobile websites allow rapid website load time, immediate access to phone numbers, directions, hours, contact information, and easy to navigate pages.

Adding a mobile website to your company site will have a major impact on your web traffic bringing you leads and increased visibility.

The creation of Facebook opened the door as the mega-mind of social media and networking. After all, how many other social media sites have a Hollywood movie based off of them? So what happens when the top search engine attempts to compete with the top social networking site? Time will tell, but Google has created the +1 button, which is comparable to Facebook’s “Like” button. Google’s +1 button allows users to click this button when they like a search result or ad. This feature allows the user to share their preferences with users on their network.

Google launched this application in March to mixed reviews of consumers. Many suspect this is the first part of Google’s plan in creating their own social media site that will try and compete with Facebook.

For those who don’t know how Google +1 works, the +1 is already visible to those who are logged into their Google accounts. Now users can see what search results or ads others in their Google network have liked or for better terms “+1.”

A spokesperson for Google says this new feature is an attempt to improve search quality, while evolving into the world of social search and improving the searching experience.

If you own a website, read on. If you have had your website for over three years and have not maintained the site or re-designed the site at all, it is time to start planning an update today.

There are three key reasons you should follow the three year update or re-design plan.

First, your business objectives changed. To put it simply, over time the objectives of your business will change.  If you want your website to reflect your business, your site must also change. When you talk to clients and tell them the objective of your company, it is crucial your website follows the same mindset you are selling to them.

Second, your site is based too heavily on Flash. This Web development technology prevented sites to be properly indexed by search engines. Now, search engines can index Flash files as long as they are properly optimized. If you are wondering if you website falls under this category, ask yourself this: When your website was created, did you have to watch a loading video that re-sized your browser, or made all kinds of clicking sounds when placing your cursor on something? Those are bad sites because they are still invisible to search engines since they were not created with user-friendly search parameters for Flash. If a customer cannot find you on a search engine, or is irritated by your out of date website, your business relationships will suffer.

Third, your site suffers from the “Frankenstein’s syndrome.” Most companies make a major investment in creating a website. Unfortunately, many think that this is a one-time expense. The truth is, just as companies evolve, technology is also evolving at a rapid pace. This requires any company that owns a website to regularly update and enhance their site in order to compete with other companies. If you do not update frequently or only update one part of your site at a time, this can leave your site looking patched and un-uniform. A re-design is often the best way to ensure your company gives off a professional image to the public and provides users with optimal experience, which in the end leads to business.

Green building practices are becoming more and more of a demand by homebuyers, with energy efficiency cited as being top priority. Over half of all home shoppers report that green home features are an important part of their purchasing decision. Interestingly, only 1% of home listings market these features to buyers, according to a national survey by real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

So, how do you incorporate green marketing into your internet campaign? Here are some tips to help green building entrepreneurs understand how the web can benefit them.

Check your Concept. Before you even begin to launch a new campaign, ask friends and colleagues to give you feedback. You could even run a test or pilot campaign.

Mock other successful campaigns. If there are things that worked for your business in the past, use them. Also, look at some green building competitors’ websites to see how they promote their services.

Plan, plan, plan. Test every part of your campaign in conjunction with each other. Does your email blast work with the landing page on your website? Schedule actions and events and stick to your deadlines. Do not take on more projects than you can manage.

Test and Track. Market research, testing, measuring and optimizing everything in your campaign is essential.  Google Analytics is a wonderful tool for doing this by tracking all online activity such as the number of vistors what they do on the site.

SEO is #1. The online strategy that is guaranteed to transform any marketing is search engine optimization. SEO uses keywords to get on page one of Google, that are the search terms that your prospects use to search and buy products. SEO is crucial investment to any business online and being on page one has the best ROI.

Remember, of the biggest mistakes that green marketing professionals make is relying on the creative aspects of their work, and not paying attention to the boring stuff like measuring and evaluating their results. Successful internet marketing needs both our right and left brains to work together to create great ideas and use logic to implement those ideas.

Search engine optimization is often a daunting task for new home builders. First, as home builders, “we build homes – we’re not technology experts”. Second, “our resources are limited – our marketing person often has other important responsibilities in addition to their marketing responsibilities”. Third, “SEO is complex and is a moving target everyday – there is no way we can even begin to get a good handle on it”.

So whether you are attempting SEO in-house or are contracting SEO out to an SEO company, knowing what to do and what not to do can boggle one’s mind.

Here are three things you can do today to ensure your organic search engine optimization efforts are on track. The great things about these three steps are:

You can do them yourself.

You can do them in a very short time.

These are very important components that have a strong effect on your Google rankings.

Limit Your Landing Page To One Target Keyword Phrase. Often times we’re lured into being greedy. We want to shoot for the most competitive keyword phrases because those phrases are searched thousands of times a day and would drive the most traffic to our site. A good example of this is attempting to optimize a webpage for both ‘[city] new homes’ and ‘[city] real estate’ on the same page. I see this a lot – a page will include search term optimization for ‘Dallas Real Estate’ and ‘New Homes Dallas‘ on the same page.First, we don’t realize that ‘new homes Dallas’ is already a very competitive search term and is very difficult to earn a top ten ranking. Second, we don’t realize that ‘Dallas real estate’ is even more competitive than ‘new homes Dallas’. We end up sabotaging our SEO efforts by broadening our landing page’s focus, when really what we need to be doing, is creating a laser like focus.

Make Sure All Page Title Tags Have Unique Titles. A webpages title tag is one most important components of all SEO. A webpage title tag is similar to a printed book title. If you walked into a library and none of the books had titles on their covers, it would be so confusing, you most likely would walk right out.The title tag holds a similar importance to search engines. When any of your webpages have the exact same title tag, it confuses the search engine. It would be just like going to the library, finding two different books by the same author, with the same title. That would be very confusing to the prospective reader. The same goes for Google. All webpage title tags should be unique.

Make Sure All Page Description Tags Have Unique Descriptions. The uniqueness principle of point number two applies here also. Make sure all your webpage description tags are unique.

As with any other business, revenue and profitability is the objective of all search engines.

Search engines obtain revenue from search advertising.

Search advertising is a result of the sheer number of users.

The number of users is a direct result of how good the search results are. No one is going to use a search engine that produces poor search results. In the search engine world, relevance equals money.

Relevant results = users = search advertising = revenue.

If you want higher rankings, make sure your content is the most relevant to the keywords you want to be found for.

Have you noticed while surfing online, the meaningless jargon of a URL in your browser? It might look like this: http://www.domain.com/index.php?y2345&m=11&d=23id=49887

Ugly isn’t it? Use a URL that looks like this: http://domain.com/communities/model/model_detail.php It looks much cleaner and meaningful, especially if you have a well designed, user friendly website.

URLs don’t have to be unreadable and it makes a huge difference if they are easy to understand, for both the user and for search engines. Changing your URL will improve your relevancy in search and help you get a higher Google rating, especially if the keywords in the URL match the content on your site.

If your website is already has a nicely designed and organized layout, you want tidy URLs. It is your responsibility as a web developer to keep your company and make it easy for them to browse. The Apache server’s module named mod_rewrite allows you to create rules for rewriting requested URLs quickly. Before you start, make sure that you or your designer & programmer have a basic knowledge of PHP programming and have mod_rewrite and .htaccess files.  There are many tutorials and troubleshooting web forums on how to use the application available online such as http://forum.modrewrite.com/.

Ultimately, using clean URLs make a difference to the user and that is what really matters. Satisfying the user with quality content and a well organized interface is the best way to have them coming back and linking back to your website, the two most important things that help search engine optimization.