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What is Structured Data Markup and Why Should Realtors Care?

February 25, 2013 By Marina Leave a Comment

With Google changing seemingly on a whim to new search technologies that make the process of finding what seekers want more precise, it’s good to be aware of what can help you in the page ranks.

Recently, you may have noticed that some sites stand out from others in the search engine result pages (SERPs). They often have pictures, pullouts, reviews, and pricing information along with the standard site description, and they always seem to rank at the top of the SERPs for a variety of search terms.

You might think that search engines charge a premium for these “special” site descriptions. You would be wrong. It costs nothing but a little time and understanding of data tagging to incorporate the data tags necessary to make your site stand out from the rest. Web designers now use structured data markup to specifically remove any doubt and instruct search engines exactly how to display their sites in the search engine results. Google likes these specific instructions and ranks these sites higher than sites without specific instructions.

Structured Data Markups (SDM)

Structured data means information formatted in a manner that is universally understandable. Structured data resides in fixed fields within a database or a file. Real estate MLS database is a perfect example of structured data. IDX vendors like us use those databases to create listing searches and listing detail pages in real estate website, but when the data is combined in HTML pages, it becomes very difficult for search engines to recognize the original structure of the data, and therefore recognize that the page contains real estate listings information.

As a solution to this recognition issue, Google, Bing, and Yahoo! have united to provide a shared collection of schemas (that is, a shared vocabulary) for webmasters to use.

What are Schemas?

Schemas are the html tags used by web developers to mark up web pages so they are recognized by search engines. The shared collection provided by the big search engines is available at www.schema.org. You can also view the structured markup hierarchy for real estate on schema on that site at: http://schema.org/RealEstateAgent.

Adding structured data markups (or schemas) to a website (which appears behind the scenes, not on the viewable page) helps search engines like Google refine and filter search results to reflect greater accuracy. This all makes it easier for seekers to find the information they’re looking for. Happy searchers make for happy search engines.

The primary benefit of utilizing schemas in your website is that critical data relating to your real estate business found on your website—name, location, specialty, phone number, listings information, etc.—is easily identified by the search engines based on data hidden in the html code and remains invisible to humans.

For example, if someone is trying to find real estate agent in Orange County, California, what does that convey to a search engine? Probably a vague mish-mash of clichéd information of all the realtors and sites in Orange County for page rank.

Below is a sample of how business and contact information might look on a real estate website:

Without schemas, there is no guarantee that a search engine will be able to identify that the information provided is about a real estate agent in Orange County—or even which Orange County the real estate business is located in.

Using schema, your webpage source (code) will identify that information with special HTML markups:

Now, with the special markups, there is no question that the page content is about a real estate agent in Orange County, California. All guesswork by the search engines has been removed with the specific “instructions” in a language readily understood by the search engines, and your site will be returned in the results for a query looking for Orange County real estate agents.

Another significant benefit of using SDM on your real estate website is the ability to have rich snippets appear directly in the search engine results. Rich snippets are short summaries of what a visitor can expect to see on your site and are very powerful for getting searchers to click through. By using industry standard schemas, it is possible to highlight aspects of your website such as your name, picture, phone number, specific properties, and prices. This data will be displayed directly in the SERPs and help attract potential clients to your site. The better Google and other search engines understand the information, the more robust the snippets are.

Structured data markup is the future of SEO, and agents who utilize it today will have a definite edge over their competition. While there are few real estate industry specific schemas available on schema.org, that is sure to change as more agents and real estate professionals begin to use SDM in their websites.

You can use Google Webmaster Tools to test if your website has structured data markups: http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets

Have you tried schemas or other structured data markups for your real estate website? Tell us how they’re working for you in the comments.

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Filed Under: Website Marketing and SEO

Long Tail Keywords Bring Motivated Buyers

February 10, 2013 By Tracy 2 Comments

Descriptions of keywords seem to relate to mammal parts—head terms and long tail keywords, for example. A head term refers to keywords that are more popular and more frequently searched. An example would be “real estate in Los Angeles.” However, the first three sites that appear on Google for that head term are realestate.com, trulia.com and zillow.com. Popular terms like that are expensive and very competitive.

A long tail keyword is more precise. They tend to target a more specific audience, are less competitive and usually less expensive in an AdWords campaign. They bring in fewer but higher quality leads. The thinking is that individuals who are searching this way are more likely to purchase.

So, if you use head terms you will compete with heavy hitters like the realtor.coms and zillows of the net. But if you use long tail keywords like “homes for sale near Encino elementary school,” you will have a better chance to get quality leads.

Sourcing for Long Tail Keywords

The idea is to find a dependable source of long tail keywords that pertain to your site and realtor niche. Some sources you can use to develop keywords include [Read more...]

Filed Under: Search Engine Marketing, Website Marketing and SEO

Get Your Authoritative Face on Google Search

January 28, 2013 By Eric 1 Comment

Lately, one of the questions I’ve been getting frequently from our clients is about the display of author information and photos in Google search result pages.

Take a look at the Google search results screenshot below.

Doesn’t the second entry stand out, especially for [Read more...]

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Quick Tips, Search Engine Marketing

Real Estate Website SEO Trends in 2013

January 23, 2013 By Marina Leave a Comment

Last year was a year with lots of changes in the SEO game. Many websites were affected by Panda and Penguin updates. Google made its way toward favorable user experience. That trend will continue into 2013 and beyond. Following are four SEO trends that we think will impact search engine marketing of real estate websites.

Going Mobile

The stats on the growing use of mobile devices suggest that by 2014 mobile should take over desktop internet usage. Furthermore, currently, one half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices. Traffic coming to your site via mobile means your pages may need design and optimization changes so the benefits of your service and listings can be properly viewed on any device. Responsive web design is one of the solutions in which a site is crafted to provide optimized viewing experience for large screens and portable devices alike.

Quality Content

High quality content is more important than [Read more...]

Filed Under: Search Engine Marketing, Website Marketing and SEO

What We Learned from CES 2013

January 14, 2013 By Marina Leave a Comment

Our constantly curious IDXnetwork Team attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week (January 7^th through the 11^th). As always, we left informed, impressed and even wowed at what we saw there. A few developments that stood out included:

Screens: This includes not only incredible screen resolution (Forget about 3D, 4K is the hottest thing in sharp, see the-pores-on-the-skin viewing.) but massive screens (Samsung’s 110-inch 4K set) and tiny wristwatch screens (the Pebble smartwatch). The screens also go beyond TV with the ability to access web apps written in HTML5, JavaScript and other internet programming languages.
Touch and Voice: More and more devices are jettisoning buttons for touch screens which has further evolved to cars responding to gestures. For example, Hyundai touted cars that allow drivers to change the radio station with a brisk hand swipe.
Talking to phones, TVs and watches also appeared in the wave of cutting-edge processes and devices at the show. Soon, consumers will be talking to their homes, setting alarms and room temperatures via voice.
Wrist Gadgets: While not as flowery as a prom wrist corsage, more and more sophisticated devices can be worn on the wrist. An example is the Pebble smartwatch, which in addition to keeping impeccable time, can connect to an Android or iPhone. There it serves as a caller ID, allows users to receive weather alerts and take a peek at text, Facebook or email messages.

Great Displays

This photo shows how Intel showcased a gallery of devices that use their products.

Overall, the sights and sounds of the 2013 CES gave us a glimpse into the never stop dynamic future in technology developments (especially screens) for all of us. And as web developers, the ability to view a web page using a 2 by 3 inch smart phone or a 110-inch TV screen, encourages us to develop designs and web applications that will accommodate the consumer’s screen choice.

Filed Under: Random Musings