BDX Digital Marketing Consultant Alaina Latiolais had a chance to catch up with Taylor Metcalf from Sitterle Homes Austin this week. BDX has been working with Sitterle on their SEO and Social Media strategies recently and as you can see from Taylor’s message below, they are thrilled with the results! Want to find out how we can help increase your web traffic and social interactions? Shoot us an email today!
SEO can have a big impact on your marketing strategy and how consumers find you online. But many builders are stumped by this three letter acronym and aren’t sure where to start or how to improve their rankings. In this webinar we will break down the basics of SEO, show you how to properly manage your SEO program, and outline what you can do as a builder to improve your rankings in search results.
FREE WEBINAR: SEO — How To Win At Search Engine Marketing
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Time: 11:00-11:30 Central Standard Time (CST)
Presented by: Dan Vance & Ashley Steel from BDX
As you may be aware, Google has started labeling sites that use Adobe Flash negatively in search engine results. As we began seeing these changes about 6 weeks ago, Google has now announced that Chrome – the second most used browser in the country – will stop supporting Flash in advertising within their browser. Following the typical Google trend, lowering search engine results for sites that use Flash is the next step.
Many people already dislike Flash on web browsers (and it’s already been abandoned on most mobile devices), so it makes sense for Google’s browser to abandon it. Flash takes longer to load, it drains your battery, and it’s your phone’s mortal enemy. Being that Google’s main goal is to serve up great content to users quickly, ditching it is the smart choice.
So, if they don’t support Flash on mobile or PPC, how long until it starts to hurt your SEO?
Google has already begun identifying whether a site uses Flash in the search engine results pages (SERPS) and sooner than later we expect sites using Flash in any form, whether it be ads, sliders, or just playful animations, to begin dropping in search results when compared to Flash-free competitors.
So how do you protect against this Flash-flood of changes? Use our helpful tips to stay ahead of the curve:
Check your website for Flash
The first place on your website to begin looking is the floor plan section. Many builders have added interactive elements to engage buyers, such as virtual tours and options selectors that often utilize Flash.
The second place to check is the sliders or images used to display your portfolio of plans, community lot map and available upgrades.
If you think portions of your site are using Flash, you can easily check the source code. From there, use the “Find” function (Ctrl + F) to search for the terms “object” and “embed” to find Flash, and if you don’t find anything there, look for .swf files.
Update your Flash to HTML5
Being that Google wants you to update your files from Flash to HTML5, they’ve not only provided a tool, but a step by step description. They even went out of their way to buy a cutting edge company named Swiffy – a simple Flash to HTML5 converter to help make files available to a larger audience.
Click here to use the Swiffy tool: https://developers.google.com/swiffy/
For Support: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6249073
Contact your Third Party Advertisers
Whether you posted the content or not, you can be penalized.
If your website serves up any sort of Flash advertising, such as DoubleClick ads, Google will still see that things aren’t running as smoothly as they would like – and who wants to be punished for someone else’s mistakes?
If your advertisers haven’t yet chosen a solution other than Flash, let them know that they need to. If your advertisers choose not to update, it may be more beneficial for you to find a new provider. Additionally, if you’re promoting your homes or communities through ads on other websites that use Flash, it’s time to start updating. BDX has already started this process to try and stay ahead of the curve.
Being that Chrome is the second most used browser in the nation, home builders need to start embracing the change. Don’t stress, if you need help optimizing your website’s Flash, contact the BDX Team at Info@theBDX.com or give us a call at (866) 651-8866.
A study by BrightLocal — an online agency, providing local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools — showed that nearly 9 out of 10 consumers read reviews to determine the quality of a local business, and 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from someone they know.
There is no doubt that your online reputation is important. However, many builders are not taking control of the situation. If you’re not actively working to get new online reviews, you’re likely to see a few bad reviews overshadowing your hard-earned local reputation.
There are at least 3 reasons you should actively try to get reviews from your customers.
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As stated above, customers are looking at online reviews to decide whether to choose you as their builder. If your reviews are worse than your competition, you might lose a prospective customer.
·Reviews affect rankings in search results. As you get more positive reviews, you will see rankings for your website increase in Google search results, as well as the rank of other sites with reviews about you.
·If you do not bolster your online reputation with honest, positive reviews, a few bad reviews may tank your reputation.
The following tips will help you get more reviews and take control of your online reputation.
1. Meet and exceed your customers’ expectations, and provide them with a positive buying experience. The buying experience will give them something to talk about. Make sure they have plenty of great things to say about the process, and are not leaving the situation with a bad taste in their mouth.
2. If you want reviews, you have to ask for them. Remember to follow the terms and conditions of all the websites for which you solicit reviews. You can ask for reviews on most sites, except Yelp, and in no circumstance can you offer compensation for reviews. However, it’s always best to check the guidelines of a review site first.
3. Determine strategic points in the buying process to ask for reviews. These opportunities will usually come at the peak of buyer excitement. For instance, customers are excited just after executing the purchase agreement and again, after the home delivery. These are some of the best times to ask for reviews.
4. Decide the best ways to ask for reviews. For example, you can mention the review verbally in person, and also include a reminder in your next email with a link to the page where you’re hoping to get a review.
5. Include links to your preferred review sites — like your Google Plus, Yelp and Facebook page — in your email signature. For every email you send, this will subtly remind the client that they have multiple opportunities to review you.
6. Be specific on what you would like the client to review (Sales process, Warranties, etc.), and make it easy on the client by sending them a link to the specific review site in question. To build a strong reputation across multiple review sites, ask different buyers to write reviews on separate sites.
7. Ask open-ended, yet specific questions that are likely to lead to longer, more detailed reviews that will help your rankings. For example, you might ask, “Could you share your home buying experience on Google +?” or “Could you tell us how we did throughout the delivery process on Google+?”
8. NEVER ask specifically for positive reviews, as this violates the nature and integrity of online review sites.
9. Turn all feedback into a review. If a customer gives you praise via email, with the client’s permission, use that as a testimonial on your website or sales collateral.
10. Send a follow up survey to your customers. Make sure there is a place for them to leave comments along with an opt-in agreement that authorizes you to use the comments in promotional materials. You can then post these comments to the reviews section of you website.
11. Don’t be afraid of reviews that are not 100 percent perfect. The home building process is a long, complicated and human business. Honest reviews that reveal minor flaws will feel more authentic to the future buyer.
While all these tactics are great ways to garner reviews, implementing all of them may leave your customers feeling bombarded by sales people asking for reviews. It’s crucial for you to look over these tips and choose that ones that work best for your business. From there, you can determine how, and when, to implement them into the sales process.
Developing a great reputation comes from hard work, and years of experience. However, selling that reputation in the online sphere is easy. With these simple tips, you will start to see reviews popping up throughout the web, building a strong foundation for your online reputation. Need help managing your online reputation? We can help! Contact us at info@thebdx.com.
If you engage in any type of online marketing, you have probably heard of link building. You may have been contacted on LinkedIn by a company offering to build links, or seen link building sold as part of a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) package.
So what is link building?
Google and other search engines count links to a page as endorsements or votes. As a website earns quality links, its domain authority will increase making it more likely that the site will rank for its targeted keywords.
What is a quality link?
A quality link is an inbound link from a website that’s relevant to your brand, product or industry. When it comes to home builders, for example, a link from a local chamber of commerce to your site is a quality link that makes sense. However, a link from a small web directory or comment on a random blog is not the type of link search engines deem as quality.
Link building continues to be the best way to increase rank and visibility for a website, and should be a key component of any SEO strategy. Beyond the SEO gains that come from attaining new links, building links also increases brand awareness and drives potential customers to your website.
How can a home builder gain links?
For home builders, local link building is the way to go. Home builders want to send ranking signals that allow them to rank for local keywords. By getting links from local sites, Google will view this as relevant to that area. Below are a few examples of ways to build local links.
Reach out to other companies you work with and ask for a link. Many businesses have a webpage dedicated to the companies they partner with. This is often an easy place for your partners to link to you. However, if such a page doesn’t exist on your partner’s website, another way to easily acquire a link is to send your partner a positive endorsement. Simply send them some praise that they can add to their website. Then, have your partner include a link back to your site by attributing the quote to you and the company you represent.
Chances are you are involved in the surrounding community in some way. If you aren’t, getting more involved will do a lot more for your brand than any amount of SEO. Think about sponsoring a local charity or hosting a local event. You can create a scholarship fund and give it to a local student. But no matter what role you play in your community, there’s opportunity for link building, and it’s important to create online connections within your community.
Within the community, it’s important to seek out and establish an active presence amongst local professional groups such as a home builders association. Oftentimes, by becoming a member of your B
BB, local chamber or other professional organization you can gain links from relevant sources.
Create localized content on your site in order to become a community resource. Think about your typical customer and create content that answers the questions that they might have. For example, you can create a relocation guide that will make moving to your city easier, or you can offer move-in tips that suggest the best local moving companies to work with.
Help prospective clients get to know the area by making lists of top things to do, best restaurants, etc. and be sure to interview local experts. For example you can ask a local interior designer for tips on decorating a new home. Once you create all this content, people will share it and link to it as a great resource. When you mention a business, let them know. They are likely to link to the content as well.
Have some news to share? Create a press release and submit it to your local papers and professional organizations. You can contact your local paper directly or do a paid press release online.
A citation is not always a link, but it serves a similar purpose. A citation is simply your name, address and phone number, or NAP, listed somewhere online. To build citations, claim your address on Google Local, social media sites and other directories. Make sure your NAP is exactly the same on every site and that there are no differences in abbreviations like Ct. vs. Court. A consistent NAP helps Google to identify and recall your information correctly in the search results.
Use a tool like Open Site Explorer that will show you links that your competitors are getting. Mine this list of competitor’s links, and see what links you can also get by reaching out to the webmasters of these sites.
As you can see there are many ways to build links to your website and with just a few links you should be able to start seeing results. However, keep in mind that link building is an on-going effort that requires patience. Even after links are built, it takes time to see results. Contact us at info@theBDX.com if you need help with linking building or SEO!
