Social networking: a more tangible benefit
How to use social networking to optimize search engine rankings
In my last Insider article about Social Networking we explored how networks like Facebook, Active Rain, and LinkedIn, are really just technological extensions of the things you (should) do on a daily basis – connecting, sharing, and promoting. Many readers responded saying that they’re quickly adding Social Networking plans to their marketing strategy, further solidifying that real estate professionals indeed see the benefits.
But of course, I got a few responses from professionals who are still skeptical. That’s to be expected any time someone suggests anything other than “business as usual”. So this time, I want to talk about a far more tangible benefit to social networking – search engine ranking.
Try this quick experiment on your own: Google just a few names of people you know that are listed on MySpace. Maybe it’s a coworker, a son or daughter, or (GASP!) your parents. I’ll bet you find a few of your acquaintances listed in the first couple of pages of Google — probably ahead of their own personal websites.
That’s because Google and all the other major search engines crawl the content of the Social Networking sites, and because those networking sites are chock-full of super-specific information, these sites are phenomenal drivers of search engine rankings. So much so that a whole new business – Social Network Optimization (SNO) – is springing up to capitalize on the opportunity.Hopefully that experiment was enough to pique your interest in getting started with Social Networking. If it was, here are a few things to keep in mind as you start using Social Networks to drive search engine rankings for you and your website.
Stuff your Social Networking pages with content about you and your service areas – Since most consumers search for homes on a “hyper-local” level (by neighborhood, school district, etc.), it’s important that your Social Network pages are stuffed with that content. You’ll want to post information and pictures of the neighborhoods you serve and perhaps blog about school events and local political topics. Doing this associates your name with your selling areas in search engines.
Join the conversation – It’s not enough to just have a page on a Social Networking site. You’ll also want to join the conversation. Since your blog responses and message board posts link back to your social profile (which is stuffed with local content) you’ll further associate your name with your farm areas. Plus, you’ll benefit from inbound links to your main webpage.
Link like crazy – It’s enormously important to link back to your main webpage (your XSite) as often as possible. Since Google and the other search engines consider inbound links, continually posting your website URL on your Social Networking sites, along with blog and message board replies can drive up your relevance in the eyes of the search engines.
Keep it relevant – Marketing through social networks requires intense self-control. Your Social Network profiles and posts should always be about you and your selling areas. Straying off into cutesy, non-professional conversations won’t necessarily harm your search engine rankings, but it very well could turn up your name in a search that you don’t want your business to be associated with. So just make sure you’re using your professional name, and keep your conversations on topic.
Like anything, you’ll want to evaluate how Social Networking will be received by your target customers. If your best clients have little or no desire to run a Google search to find you, these probably aren’t the tactics you’ll want to try. But, if your Yellow Pages ad isn’t making the phone ring like it used to, or you’re trying to target anyone under the age of 35, these things definitely need to happen for you to improve your business.
Want to see a great example of social networking from one of our agent customers? Click here to check out Ryan Hukill’s page on Active Rain.
More questions about Social Networking? Or have stories about how it worked for you? I’d really like to hear them for a future Q&A story about Social Networks. E-mail me at dustin.moore@alamode.com. I’d love to talk about them with you.