Web Design & SEO Strategies

Here at Found By Design, we talk a lot about a “ Web Presence.” With all that talk, you might ask yourself, what is a Web Presence? Let’s take a look at that.

A website alone does not give you a Web Presence. As a matter of fact, a website is only part of a Web Presence. The total internet strategy employed that makes your website and your service or business top the results is what takes you to a Web Presence.

Google is a strong example of a Web Presence. Google is everywhere. Not only is the Google home page one of the most widely used and visited, but no matter where you go it seems you will find Google. You see “Google Ads” and “Search powered by Google” almost everywhere. When it comes to internet search engines, Google is the best known website. That is called a Web Presence.

Sure, your website isn’t Google. As a matter of fact, your website and service is probably more specialized and regional than that. But even if you are a real estate agent, a tax advisor or a baby sitting service, you can have a Web Presence that makes your service the tops when searched online.

Take EdNailor.com for example. This website is a mortgage loan officer’s website. The area served is North and South Carolina, with a primary market of Charlotte, NC. If you were to do a search for “Charlotte Home Loans” or “Charlotte FHA Mortgage” in Google, you will see EdNailor.com ranked in the top of Google. (You will also see another website with Ed Nailor listed within the top 10.) As a matter of fact, there are approximately 14 phrases that are commonly searched by when someone in Charlotte NC is considering a mortgage. For these phrases, you will see EdNailor.com listed in the top of Google consistently.

That too is a Web Presence. Of course, if you did a simple search for say “mortgage” you will find different results. But that is ok. The EdNailor.com website was not geared to reach potential mortgage applicants in Billings, Montana. What about you? If you are a Realtor, what searches are you found under? “Realtors” in Google would most likely never find you. But how about your home town? Where do you rank? Would you like to have a Web Presence?

Contact Found By Design Now, or submit for a Free Website Evaluation.

Real Estate Websites with Bells and Whistles!

Sure, there are a ton of real estate website companies out there, and many of them offer so many options it’s hard to determine which one to go with. Unfortunately, too many Realtors get caught up by all the flashy features that may well be meaningless.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: What is the focus of your website?

Are you wanting a website that takes you out of the equation, or do you want a website that entices clients to work with you? What’s the difference?

Too many Realtor’s websites only get visited after they meet the client. They have already been introduced and the Realtor has provided the client with their business card. This is how they found the Realtor’s website. The problem is that all the gadgets and cool features on the website basically eliminate the need for the Realtor. The client is able to get pre-qualified, search homes, contact the listing agent, view the homes and even buy directly from the listing agent (or their cousin that sells real estate on the side.) There was no reason for the client to ever talk to the Realtor again. And because the Realtor’s fancy website isn’t set up to be found by search engines, this cycle will continue.

What a Realtor wants is a real estate website that is found by new prospects that the Realtor has yet to meet. The website must have the right balance of content and features that let the prospective client know that the Realtor is professional and make the client want to contact this professional for thier help. Of course, the website must have some useable features and great content that any client would enjoy. But if you as a Realtor have already met the client, they have already decided to work with you or not, regardless of your website. So your internet focus should be on getting found when someone searches for the service you offer and entice them to reach out to you in some way.

Found By Design knows how to make this happen. We don’t sell websites just for the sake of selling web sites. Our focus and desire is to help you as the Realtor get found online and to generate more business! Let us show you how we can make this happen for you!

I Need a Website. Can you Help?

If you have to ask the question, you probably want to look elsewhere. For example, if you land at some website that advertises computer repair or networking solutions or some other computer related item, but you have to ASK them if they can build a website, then you should around more.

Why?

Where is their focus?  Believe me, running wires and setting up a network does not mean you understand HTML markup language or CSS or PHP programming or search engine results (SEO). These are many of the backbones of web design. As a matter of fact, there are so many different technologies available, which are changing and evolving everyday, that even the most seasoned web designers and builders don’t know all of it!

Results matter. When its all said and done, you need a website that works for you and gets you the results you need. So before you ask that PC technician is he can build websites, why not consult with the ones that build websites from the beginning. I promise you, with Found By Design you will get a great website and fantastic results… but we won’t fix your PC or run networking wires!

In SEO, Proper Linking Makes a World of Difference

All across the internet you will read articles on the importance of getting links coming to your website from other websites. This is known as “backlinking.” However, for SEO purposes, you need to know the proper way to format these links.

The idea is that the text of your hyperlink (known as Anchor Text) should in short “tell” the search engines what the website it points to is all about. Look at the example below:

Wrong Way:

When buying a home in the Charlotte area, there are many options to choose from. One should give serious consideration to the FHA mortgage loans in Charlotte. For more information visit www.EdNailor.com

Proper Way:

When buying a home in the Charlotte area, there are many options to choose from. One should give serious consideration to the FHA mortgage loans in Charlotte. For more information visit Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans

Did you notice the difference?

The first example pointed the reader (and search engine spider) to visit www.EdNailor.com. As far as the search engines know, the website you would land on there is about EdNailor, whatever that is. However, in the second example, the anchor text of the link says Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans, yet the link points to www.EdNailor.com. This actually tells the search engines that the web page it will land on is about FHA Motrtgages in Charlotte. This boost the effectiveness for this keyword phrase and helps boost the results to the top. (example: See Google Rank for this keyphrase Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans)

So as you can see, the proper use of linking and anchor text can make a big difference in SEO results!

Blogging is a Powerful Tool

When I first heard about blogging, I really thought it was only for social web applications. I associated it to websites like Facebook and MySpace. Being in my mid 30’s I did not have a lot of desire to enter the MySpace world, so I ignored blogging.

Soon I began to notice that most of the top results in the search engines were related to blogs. After futher investigation, I noticed that blogs were for more than teens chatting to each other. Businesses could use “business blogging” to really connect with their clients. From that moment, I began a journey that has led me to establish Found By Design.

Blogging has tremendous power. You can connect to potential clients like never before, and since your website’s content is being updated constantly, the search engines keep coming back for more!

Of course, there are strategies that should be employed. You can begin blogging and some how luck up to get ranked, or you can follow steps to ensure your success. As much as you will personally invest with time, energy and passion in to your blogging, you might want to ensure its worthwhile with a well though out blog!

Thats where Found By Design comes in. We can help develop a stratgey to get you found online. Contact us today.

Introducing the Mortgage Information Module

All Real Estate agent websites will now have automated content added in addition to their own unique content. The Mortgage Information Module will allow your website to have weekly posts centered around items relating to the mortgage process.

Some of the items that will be added include:

• Mortgage Basics
• How to Qualify for a Mortgage
• Shopping for a Mortgage
• Differences in Types of Mortgages
• Terms and Definitions relating to Mortgages
• Other ideas as requested by Agents

These posts and articles can be automatically fed to your website without you having to do anything! And with the focus on proper SEO, your real estate website will begin to draw even more home buyers (especially the coveted First Time Home Buyers!) and create more opportunites to you.

All articles will be written in an objective manner by a real mortgage professional on a weekly basis. And if you don’t like the article, you can easily remove it from your site!

Best of all, this added feature will not cost anything extra!

So if you are a Real Estate Professional or Realtor looking for a true real estate website that gets you ranked and found online, you should get Found By Design!