Tuesday Tip: Local Blogging and How It Can Help Your Real Estate Website
In the real estate business there is no better way to demonstrate your skills than showcasing your knowledge about the area. And what better way to do that than in a blog?
The great thing about local blogging is that it provides you with the platform you need to capture your local expertise, reach out to the community, and all the while, help improve your overall search engine optimization.
It can be a great online marketing tool when done right. Nowadays, people are searching for everything on the web, and those searches are becoming more and more specific and local. No longer do television and newspapers reign over information, it is the local bloggers who are becoming the preferred sources and trusted experts. Everything from food and drink, entertainment and news, local bloggers are providing something that traditional media cannot; personal connection with the readers.
In the online real estate world, local blogging is a great way to capitalize on that information void being filled by local bloggers and help your real estate website rank for local keywords. Search engines love a fresh new blog that’s regularly updated with content. Through local blogging, you can provide that by talking about attractions, events, neighborhoods, history, buildings and so forth, while tying-in any real estate in close-proximity to the topic you're writing about.
In order to rank for these local keywords, you will want to properly use categories and tags when creating your blog post and to also have them distributed throughout your text. Some example of keywords would be cityname apartments, cityname homes for sale, cityname events, cityname activities, cityname news, and so on.
Local blogging is a very SEO-friendly practice and also shows potential clients how in-tuned you are to the area you’re providing real estate services for.
With people becoming more proficient in their search engine abilities, knowing exactly what they want and how to search it, long tail queries are bringing more traffic to blogs than ever before. And with that being said, local blogging when done right can be a powerful real estate SEO tool.
Related Links:
Posted on March 6, 2012 Filed Under Blogging, Blogs, Online marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Search Engine Marketing, Real Estate Search Engine Optimization, Real Estate SEO, Real Estate Web Site, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, SEO Strategy, SEO Technology, Wordpress Blog | Leave a Comment
Creating Your First Sequoia Blog Post
The directions below are to assist you in creating your first blog post in a standard Sequoia Blog. If you chose to upgrade to a WordPress blog, you should refer to the Creating Your First WordPress Blog directions instead.
To create a Blog Post on your Sequoia website, you must first log into your new Sequoia website as a user that has been designated as a Blogger. If you are not a Blogger but would like to be, contact your office administrator to add you as a Blogger, or contact Boston Logic for support.
Once you log into the website as a Blogger, you will automatically be directed to the back end of the website, as usual.
Sample Sequoia 'Back End' Dashboard
However, to access the Sequoia blog, you will need return to the front end of the website. There will be a Home or Homepage link somewhere on the back end, usually either at the bottom or the top of the page. It will look similar to the image below:
Click the 'Home' Button to Return to the 'Front End' of the Website
When you return to the front end of the website, enter the blog like a reader would by clicking on the ‘Blog’ button from the Top Navigation Bar.
Click the 'Blog' Button on the Home Page to Visit the Blog
After you have clicked ‘Blog’, you will be brought to the main landing page of the blog that contains all the Published blog posts in chronological order. (If this is the first blog post, you won't see any posts listed yet).
At the top of the page, you will see a small orange icon and links to your Blog’s RSS and ATOM Feeds, which allows people to subscribe to your blog and receive notices when new posts are published.
Your Sequoia Blog’s RSS and ATOM Feeds
Below this Blog RSS Feed | ATOM Feed links, there will be a text link that says ‘Create Post.’ You will only be able to see this if you are logged in as a blogger for the website.
Click 'Create Post' to Start a New Blog
Once you click on ‘Create Post’ you will be brought back to the edit screen of the blog, which looks a lot like the back end of your Sequoia website. You will be able to add and edit your blog posts from this edit screen.
When you enter your blog Title, it will automatically generate a URL Permalink in the field directly below it.
Please Note: Until you are completely finished composing and editing your post, do not check the “Published” box found right below the Permalink field, or readers will see your blog before you want them to.
Enter and edit the body text of your blog post in the large space provided. Insert images and adjust formatting using the toolbar above the writing space. The buttons function much like the buttons in Microsoft Word. If you're not sure what a button does, hover your mouse over it and a description of the function will appear.
Insert Images & Format Your Blog Using the Toolbar
Be sure to add Categories that relate to your post; these can be found right below the blank space for your text. After a Category is created, it will be saved and available for future blog posts. It is important to categorize your blogs to help users more easily find topics that they would like to read about.
Once you have finished adding your Title, writing your blog, and tagging it with Categories, click the ‘Create Post’ button to preview your blog.
You can click the ‘Edit Post’ link at the bottom of the preview to make more edits to your blog post, or to return to the previous edit screen and check the ‘Publish’ box to post the blog 'live' if you have no further changes.
Edit Your Blog Post by Clicking 'Edit Post' from the Preview Screen
Once you are happy with your blog, you can check off the 'Published' box. Be sure that you click the 'Update Post' button or the blog will still only be saved as a Draft.
Now you're blog is posted and viewable by your audience!
Related Links:
Posted on January 25, 2011 Filed Under Help, real estate blogging, Real Estate Online Marketing, realtor internet marketing, realtor website marketing, sequoia system | 6 Comments
All About Real Estate Website Blogs Q & A Tuesday #1: 9/7/2010
Today will be the first installment of Q & A Tuesday. We'll be posting common questions about the Sequoia platform here each Tuesday. We get A LOT of questions. We know many of you would like to have the same answers. So, here we go:
Q: Can my website include a blog?
A: Yes, the Sequoia platform offers a blog as an optional component to the system. We HIGHLY recommend signing up for this component. Blogging is very helpful for search engine optimization. Blogging is also a great way to educate your customers and generate leads by positioning yourself and/or your company brand as an authority.
Q: How much does the blog cost?
A: The blog costs just $20/month with your Sequoia site.
Q: What should I write about on the blog?
A: Check out this blog and our real estate seo blog for TONS of ideas on what to blog, how to blog, how often, and lost of other useful information.
Q: Does Boston Logic Provide blog content?
A: Yes! We do provide blog content as part of many of our search engine optimization and social media campaigns. Depending on the size and scope of your campaign, we will produce targeted, keyword rich content for your blog. If you'd like to learn more about this, click here: Search Engine Optimization
Q: What about WordPress?
A: We can either launch your blog using our proprietary blogging software or we can develop your blog on top of the wordpress platform.
Q: What's the difference between the WordPress platform and the blogging component that's part of the Sequoia Real Estate Website platform?
A: The blogging component that is part of the Sequoia real estate website platform is an integrated solution. Agents and brokers have 1 account and 1 place to login in order to blog, manage leads, manage their site, access the intranet, and use all of the other features that the Sequoia system offers. If we launch your blog on the WordPress platform, then you're going to be adding another technology to the mix. We often find that clients do not want to train themselves and/or their team to use 2 different pieces of software. Other clients are comfortable with WordPress already and would prefer to stay with what they already know. So, we offer both.
Related Links:
Posted on September 7, 2010 Filed Under Q & A, real estate blogging, SEO and Social Media, Sequioa Real Estate Website Design, Websites for real estate offices, websites for realtors | Leave a Comment
Drive more traffic to your real estate website with your Sequoia Blog! 9/2/2010
Why Blog?
Blogging is an important aspect of establishing a web presence for you and your website. Not only does it pump your real estate website design with keyword rich content that allows leads to find you through search engines, but it also helps you establish your brand identity and can color your business with a personal touch.
You'll now be writing for potential clients and people interested in real estate, so think about topics that you think they could find useful, or what you'd like to read about. For real estate SEO purposes, it is also helpful to center most of your blog posts around some of your keywords that you've identified with your real estate website.
Lastly, blogging is about being active. Read other blogs within your industry, have guest bloggers, and comment frequently. You'll be surprised how these things can increase your website traffic, and how you will become part of an online community!
Outlined below are some of the basics of your blog's toolbar. Feel free to experiment and explore other tools and capabilities that your blog has!
If you don't already have a blog integrated with your website, contact us and we can set you up with one for only $20 per month!
1. Log in to your website, this will give you the ability to create, edit and delete blogs.
2. Go to Settings > Bloggers in the backend to add the users you would like to have blogging capability
3. To blog, stay logged into your system and go to your blog (www.yourdomain.com/posts)
4. As a blogger, a link will be available at the top of your blog to "Create Post"
6. In the large white section, you will type your blog text.
7. To insert a link into the text of your post, simply highlight the selected text you'd like the link to be. Next, click the globe with the chain (i.e., "link") icon in the toolbar, and a window will pop up and prompt you to enter the URL for link. You can type this out or copy and paste it.
8. To insert an image, click on the yellow icon with the mountain in the foreground. From here, an "Image Properties" window will pop up.
b. Click "Browse", then select the image you'd like to insert into your blog post.
c. Your image is now uploaded to the server. Locate the file name in the list of images, click it, and hit "Upload".
d. Your image is uploaded into the "Image Properties" window. Click "OK", and your image is now inserted into your blog post!
9. You can also adjust the size of the image by double clicking it, and then clicking on any of the corners (which should have a white square) to drag your image to the desired size.
10. To change the image's alignment, (centering an image is recommended) click the image, then click any of the 3 alignment options on the toolbar.
These are the basics of your blog's toolbar. Feel free to experiment and explore other tools and capabilities that your blog has!
Okay, so you have a blog and are ready to start writing: now what do you write about? Or maybe you have been blogging for a while but now you are stumped? Here are some suggestions to get you started!
· Featured property listings. This is a great way to hand-select and talk more about certain apartments that you have, and potential leads love reading additional info on a listing.
· Attend a real estate conference or networking event and write about your experience
· Write a book review that can provide relevant insight to the real estate industry
· Browse through real estate blogs that you find interesting, and think about how you can take the aspects that you like and make them your own.
You can also visit our real estate SEO blog to read more about real estate blog post suggestions. And browse through real estate blogs that you find interesting, and think about how you can take the aspects that you like and make them your own.
Related Links:
Posted on September 2, 2010 Filed Under Help, Real Estate Website Design, Realtor Web Design, websites for realtors | 1 Comment