A strong online presence is important if you’re running a real estate business in Sydney. Your website is often the first point of contact for potential clients, so it’s crucial that it accurately represents your brand and makes a good impression. But with so many factors to consider, it can be difficult to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive SEO audit checklist for real estate to help you improve your website and boost your visibility online.
So, let’s dive in! Here are the key elements you should consider when conducting an SEO audit for your real estate website:
Improve your online presence with this SEO audit checklist for real estate
Website structure and navigation
When it comes to your real estate website, first impressions matter. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure that your website is not only visually appealing, but also easy to navigate. A well-structured website not only makes for a positive user experience, but it also helps search engines understand the hierarchy and relevance of your content, which can have a big impact on your search engine rankings.
Here’s how to get your website structure and navigation in tip-top shape:
- Clear and Logical Structure
- Organize your content into categories that make sense for your business
- Use headings and subheadings to break up your content and make it easier to read
- User-Friendly Navigation
- Keep your navigation menu simple and straightforward
- Label each menu item clearly so users know exactly where to find what they’re looking for
- Use drop-down menus or sub-menus to keep your main navigation clean and concise
- Descriptive Page Titles
- Make sure each of your pages has a unique, descriptive page title
- Use keywords relevant to your business and location in your page titles
- Keep your page titles short and to the point
Content quality
When it comes to improving your online presence, the quality of your website content is key. As a real estate agent or business in Sydney, you want to make sure that your website accurately represents your brand and provides valuable information to potential clients. So, how do you ensure that your content is top-notch?
Here’s what you need to know:
- Relevance
- Make sure that your content is relevant to your target audience and addresses their needs and interests
- Ensure that your content is up-to-date and covers the latest industry trends and developments
- Clarity and conciseness
- Write clear, concise, and easy-to-understand content
- Avoid using technical jargon or complicated language
- Originality
- Create original content that sets you apart from your competition
- Avoid copying or duplicating content from other websites
- Optimisation
- Include keywords relevant to your business and location in your content
- Make sure that your content is optimised for search engines, but don’t overuse keywords or sacrifice readability
- User experience
- Make sure that your website is easy to navigate and provides a great user experience
- Ensure that your content is visually appealing and well-organized
Keyword optimisation
As you dive into improving your online presence, one important factor to consider is keyword optimisation. Essentially, this means making sure your website content is tailored to the keywords that people are using to search for businesses like yours in Sydney. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of keyword optimisation:
- Research relevant keywords
- Figure out which keywords and phrases people are using to search for businesses like yours in Sydney
- Use keyword research tools, like Google’s Keyword Planner, to get a better idea of search volume and competition
- Include keywords in your content
- Make sure that the keywords you’ve researched are included in your page titles, headings, and content
- Don’t overdo it, though! Google penalizes websites that stuff too many keywords into their content, a practice known as “keyword stuffing”
- Optimize for search engines
- Make sure your website is optimised for search engines, including having a clear and logical structure, high-quality content, and a mobile-friendly design
- Include meta descriptions for each page that accurately reflect the content and include your keywords
- Keep your content fresh and up-to-date
- Regularly update your website with new and relevant content to keep search engines interested and show users that your business is active and engaged
Backlinks
As a real estate agent or business in Sydney, you know that having a strong online presence is key to attracting new clients and building your brand. One of the most important elements of a successful online presence is backlinks. But what are backlinks, and why are they so important for your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO)?
Let’s break it down! Here’s what you need to know about backlinks and how they can help improve your online presence:
- What are backlinks?
- Backlinks are links from other websites to your website.
- They serve as “votes of confidence” from other sites, telling search engines that your site is a reputable and valuable source of information.
- Why are backlinks important for SEO?
- The more high-quality backlinks your site has, the higher it will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Backlinks help search engines determine the relevance and authority of your site, which can improve your visibility and drive more traffic to your site.
- How to get high-quality backlinks
- Create valuable, high-quality content that other websites will want to link to
- Reach out to other websites in your industry and ask for links
- Network with other businesses and organizations in your community to build relationships that can lead to backlinks
- Red flags to watch out for
- Low-quality or spammy websites that offer to sell you backlinks
- Links from websites with a low domain authority
- Too many backlinks too quickly, which can look unnatural to search engines
Local search optimisation
As a real estate agent or business in Sydney, it’s important to have a strong online presence and show up when potential clients search for properties or real estate services in your area. That’s where local search optimisation comes in!
By optimizing your website for local search, you can improve your visibility and increase the chances of appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for relevant keywords in your area. This, in turn, can drive more traffic to your website and help you reach more potential clients.
Here’s how you can optimise your website for local search:
- Claim your Google My Business listing
- Make sure that your business is listed on Google My Business (GMB), Google’s free business listing service
- Ensure that your GMB listing is complete and up-to-date, including your business name, address, and phone number (NAP)
- Add photos, business hours, and a description to showcase your brand and help customers learn more about your business
- Include your NAP on your website
- Make sure that your business name, address, and phone number are listed on every page of your website
- Ensure that your NAP is consistent across all of your online listings
- Optimize your website for keywords relevant to your location
- Research keywords related to your business and location
- Include these keywords in your page titles, headings, and content
- Make sure that your meta descriptions accurately reflect the content of your pages
- Get listed on local business directories
- Check that your business is listed on relevant local business directories
- Ensure that your NAP is consistent across all of your online listings
Analytics and tracking
So you’ve worked your way through our SEO audit checklist and you’re feeling pretty good about your website’s structure, content, and local search optimisation. But there’s one more crucial piece of the puzzle that you need to consider: analytics and tracking.
Why is this so important? Analytics and tracking help you understand how your website is performing and identify areas for improvement. They give you valuable insights into your visitors’ behavior, including how they find your website, what pages they visit, and how long they stay.
Here’s a quick rundown of the key elements of analytics and tracking:
- Setting up Google Analytics
- Creating a free account with Google Analytics
- Installing the tracking code on your website
- Understanding your website’s traffic
- Tracking the number of visitors to your website
- Measuring the sources of your traffic, including search engines, referral websites, and direct traffic
- Monitoring user behavior
- Tracking how long visitors stay on your website
- Measuring your website’s bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who leave after only viewing one page
- Measuring conversion rates
- Setting up goals to track important actions on your website, such as contact form submissions
- Measuring the percentage of visitors who complete your goals
By following this SEO audit checklist, you can ensure that your real estate website is optimised for search engines and provides a great user experience. Remember, it’s all about making a great first impression and showcasing your brand in the best light possible.