Help w/ this SEO - Please!!

[schemjo]

Can anyone offer some advice on making this site a little more google-friendly (READ: letting people know it's out there!)

http://adreamcometruefor.us

Some very close friends of mine have put up their house for sale a bit ago and there have been no bites so far (but Joe, this economy stinks!! I know I know. This house is worth MUCH more than what their asking for but they just want to sell)

I'm not the greatest at web design or development so this is what the end result is.

Thanks sooo much!
Joe

[TraciKnoppe]

What keyword research have you done on this project? Determine what keyword phrases that people are entering into the search engines that would bring them to this listing: obviously location is one (city, state) but number of bedrooms, house style, etc.. may be another. Do research to see what people in your area are actually searching for - then use those keywords.

Can you get listed in a realtor listing directory (can't think of what they call it at the moment)... the database of available homes. Getting listed on realtor.com, someplace like that is what you need.

[schemjo]

I've actually done some keyword research. There are terms on the site that I found on google's keyword tool. I've also created a sitemap on auditmypc.com and submitted this to the various engines.

They've actually had the house listed with several local Realtors in the past but nothing yet :( They realize the house is priced in the higher market and this is why it's tougher to sell.

Thanks for the quick reply!

[TraciKnoppe]

Is this house listed for sale by owner? If so, I know there are directories/web sites to list those - try getting the site listed there.

You need to think like the home buying market: when I was house-hunting, I did not search Google to find a house, I went to realtor.com and did a search or perhaps a 'for sale by owner' directory. You need to go where the potential home buyers are looking.

[schemjo]

The house is FSBO. Good point though. I guess I had the wrong hat on when initially tackling this :)

I did however list this on several Craigslist sites around the country. I'm also realizing this is such a tough and broad market that getting placement with only one house listing will be nearly impossible.

I'll look for some directories I can place this on and do whatever else I can. Well at least they'll have a site to refer people to when they receive inquiries!

[InspirationalSheila]

Though you were not asking for site design, I have a couple of comments if you are interested. (STOP here, if not).

I think the site looks great, feels great and I had a challenging time reading the description on the "View our home" page. I find one or two sentence paragraphs and lots of space much easier to follow.

If you agree with me and are restricted to the main window height above the window, you could link to a second "more...." page and continue the story. Or, you could bullet it all.

Also, I think a slide show tour of the house is easier, and more enticing, to follow than the single photos.

Simply my thoughts for once they get to the page.

[deniseoberry]

Joe --

This house is just up the road from me! It really is beautiful. The market in this area is totally glutted with houses for sale, plus the unemployment rate is hovering at 12%. Add that to the fact that it is near impossible to get homeowners insurance in this county and you have an annual threat of hurricanes (for 6 months every year!), it may take a while to sell. Many houses in their price range are taking 200 days or more to sell right now, so tell them to be patient. Keep doing what you are doing. Get them some incoming links so they can be found in the search engines.

The site is a bit clumsy to navigate through. You have to keep going back and forth and clicking on links to see one picture at a time. Maybe set up a Flickr slide show or something. I think it would also help to personalize the site. They have a page that says "about us" but it only has one sentence. How about some background? How about a picture? It was after all "their dream home" right? Why are they leaving it?

You might also want to connect a blog to it or place the site on a blog platform. They could create blog posts that talk about the house, their experience in it, the surrounding area, etc. Plus blogs are typically looked on favorably in the SERPs.

Got a little long winded on this ... Hope it helps!

[schemjo]

Sheila - Thanks for the advice...any and all comments are appreciated! I changed the link of 'View Our Home' to the actual details with pictures. It was rather redundant. I've also created a slideshow on slide.com and will incorporate this soon.

Denise - what a small world!!! I was shocked when I read you live right there. Thanks for your advice as well. I didn't even think to put why they chose to sell the house. I'll definitely include some more info.

Thanks to the both of you :)

[Lynn Terry]

Hi Joe,

Which keyword phrase would you most like the main page to rank well for?

Some quick feedback: you need more photo usage. A home search is a visual process. There is only one small thumbnail on the main page. Use the photos to draw your visitors in.

Excessive use of explanation marks (!!!) is unprofessional. Instead use bold or colors to make points stand out on the page. Also, your links are the same color as your text, so most of the options go unnoticed as you scan down the page.

Your main page needs a specific call-to-action. What do you want your visitor to DO when they land on the home page of this site?

As for the SEO, you simply need to place specific keyword phrases in the appropriate places - and then get relevant inbound links.

[lindastacy]

What about video and social media marketing?

And definitely answer the questions in people's minds......

1- Despite the rotten economy when a house price is "reduced" everyone's first reaction is "what's wrong with it?"

2 - Do the people who might be in the market for this house buy FSBO's? If not, then they are wondering why it's not listed with a Realtor.

[AlexNewell]

A few points that I hope will help

(1) put each photo on it's own post with some good copy - benefits not features, use the "all in one seo" plugin to help you
(2) I think you are spot on using craigslist - try other free sites too
(3) go for forums too, I think you have more chance doing this with web 20 than SEO
(4) open a twitter account with the right username and tweet the images
(5) put the photos in all the image sharing sites with careful text and labels and TAGS
(6) word of mouth helps too!

good luck

Alex

[schemjo]

Which keyword phrase would you most like the main page to rank well for?


I'd like to shoot for Florida Waterfront home, Gulf Coast Home, and/or Waterfront Luxury Home.

I've added a slideshow on the main page and removed the exclamation points.

I'll keep going with choosing keywords and appropriately placing them.

Thanks :)

[schemjo]

Alex and Ready-2-Market

All great ideas! If only this day job would give me more time to do some of this!! I'm keeping on it though....

[InspirationalSheila]

Hi Joe,

If by slide show on the Home page you're talking about what appears to be a moving header, I have the following comments:

When I saw it the other day, I thought it was attractive and enticing. When I read slide show today, I went to the "See Our Home" page, expecting to see a slide show there.

Then went back to home page... Clicked on it for enlargements and got to the Rocky You site and was confused and stuck waiting for your slide show.

In my opinion, I think you need a slide show on the View Our Home page where the visitor can see each of the rooms larger than you thumbnails. Too much time involved to click on each one and go back.

There a lot of simple slide shows you can create with Windows and other programs and upload to YouTube, or other, to do this. Many people in this group can help you with that if you need help.

Also, I'm curious. Among the suggestions the other day were more on the "About Us" page and some statement on why they are moving from their dream home... a concern prospective buyers may have.

Hope this helps.

Sheila

[Lynn Terry]

How goes the optimization & rankings Joe?

A good resource: http://www.seofaststart.com (free guide)

[karonthackston]

Hi Joe,

Couple of things I noticed right off the bat:

Your SEO content structure is not aligned. You need to have the same keyphrase(s) in your:

Title Tag
Description Tag
Headline
Copy
Sub-heads
Links

You seem to be mixing and matching individual words from the phrases you listed previously:

Florida Waterfront home
Gulf Coast Home
Waterfront Luxury Home

You'll want to use those primarily as-is. It's OK to include each word individually, but you'll have higher relevance if you use the phrase as it appeared in your keyword research (kwr) results.

Also, there's not a lot of copy on the home page. Tell me what I'm seeing in some of those pics. You can start with location, location, location :) Specifically where is it?

"Perfectly positioned in a quiet inlet just off the Keys, this stunning Florida waterfront home is seated on a rare corner lot. As the sun greets you for each new day on the gulf coast, home is the only place you'll want to be." Go on to describe the experience of living there. Get me excited about the house and what I'll do after I move in.

Good luck!