SEO - What the heck is that?

So as I told you, www.cometoclearwater.com is doing well on Yahoo.com (see current ranking).

That the site does well is not an accident. There are a number of things that make the site interesting to the search engine spiders - which is what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) attempts to do.

1. First it is written in HTML and is NOT a dynamic/template site. Many of you use a template site for your main site (a la mode, agent access, etc.) - this is not a bad thing but it will limit how high your site can rank. I think that having a main site is great - BUT to get good rankings you may want to have a mini site for each specialization that you might have. For example I have my main site and then www.tampabayunder200K.com and www.clearwater4salebyowner.com. These are VERY specific and made to attract a certain kind of user.

2. Decide EXACTLY what kind of user you are trying to attract. CTC is made to attract out of town buyers and also to serve as a marketing site for potential sellers. I have a free relocation guide offer on every page - last night I got three requests and wrote a contract on a CTC buyer lead. You may be looking for sellers or for 55+ buyers or for people who park their RVs at home - no matter what type of client you want, you must be very specific in your content and your metatags to make sure that you position yourself well.

3. Last for today is metatags. These confuse many people, BUT basically they are the source code that computers use to help catagorize pages and describe your site to the search engines.

1. Title Tag - This is the bar across the top of browser window. It should include words that coincide with the content of your site. CTC's title is "Come to Clearwater - Real Estate and More for Clearwater and the surrounding communities!"

2. Description - This in my estimation is the MOST important tag of all as it is what shows up as the blub on the search engine page when users are trying to decide what link to click on! CTC's description is "Clearwater information and real estate news! Tara Jacobsen is the leading residential real estate specialist for Clearwater and the surrounding communities of Dunedin, Seminole, Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Largo, and Tarpon Springs. She is dedicated to helping you find you dream home. Search for the perfect home on www.cometoclearwater.com."

3. Keywords - Not as important as they once were but still helpful! These are words that you recommend that will help the search engines catagorize your site.

If you have not fallen completely asleep yet and would like to learn more, I am teaching an advanced internet marketing class this month at Keller Williams Palm Harbor. It is Friday the 23rd of February at 1pm!