If you’re in business today, you have a website. That’s almost a given. Smallbusiness.com conducted a survey, through which they estimated 71% of small businesses have websites, and that number grows for the mid-size companies and enterprise businesses. There are some key elements to consider in designing and managing a commercial real estate website, but chief among those is making sure that your site gets found. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in.

A savvy commercial real estate marketing company can help with SEO. Its research department will know the keywords that resonate most often in today’s market. Key placement of words and phrases directs users to what they’re looking for and is a principal strategy for the commercial real estate industry. By incorporating into your website, blog posts and other online media which contain keywords that prospective customers most often type into a search engine, you increase your prominence on the World Wide Web. Does your current marketing team make this a priority for your business?

Websites Rely on SEO Like Commercial Real Estate Relies on Location

Making your website find-able means packing your site with the current verbiage being used by the industry. The National Association of Realtors states that 92% of industry movers and shakers use email, smartphones and, computers every day for conducting business. Making sure your site and your content is found by commercial real estate professionals using these devices will convey your company’s story while offering a user experience that is better than the competition. Including a call to action that identifies your mission and provides links to social media will reinforce your brand and promote your successes and make you even more attractive to search engines.

The critical components of SEO strategy are the placement of keywords particularly in the URL, page title, page description, header 1, and the first paragraph.

4 Ways to Optimize Your CRE Site for SEO

Web page Optimization. Your website is critical. Your marketing team should conduct an audit to ensure your online presence is up to standard. SEO tips include optimizing usability for mobile friendliness—remember, 96% of your target audience is navigating the CRE waters with smartphones, and 50% of them make their initial listing contact through these same devices. If your team isn’t optimizing the page and site structure, ensuring keywords are placed appropriately in the content, and making sure that navigation and redirects are flawless, then you’re not addressing half of what of what’s most important to your site being found.

Engagement is key to your site. Images, videos, and other interactive tool placements provide eye appeal and foster interest that keeps viewers on your site longer. As always, your web team should address all broken links and eliminate redundancies to ensure a great user experience.

Work the Blog. A unique way to optimize SEO is through blog posts. Blogs can range between casual and technical and are a great way to fill your site with optimized content. Work with your marketing team to keep the blogs informational and related to your specific needs. Set them up to publish on a regular calendar schedule, so your audience anticipates them. Your marketing team will find the proper timing to release them so they can attract the most hits from market participants. Include interviews with prominent voices in the industry, while working to make yourself one of those voices, and build your company as a ‘thought leader.’

Social Channels Help Too. Social media is also an ideal tool for optimizing SEO through every avenue you interact with such as the big three of social media, Facebook, Twitter and, LinkedIn. Your website is likely to increase traffic and develop awareness of your offerings as a result of your widespread presence in these channels.

Good Design Practice is a Must. You should expect your marketing team to manage your site to be cohesive and responsive, fast, and easy to navigate. Finally, you want to be conscious of slow loading page, and dead ends that fuel negative impressions with your audience and are not friendly to search engines.

Business nowadays is 24/7/365 and has the potential to reach around the world. Is your marketing team shedding the best light on your business to meet that purpose? SEO allows you to put your best foot forward and should be considered an essential element in your online marketing plan. Consider optimizing your SEO to maximize the number of eyeballs looking at your site, stimulate lead generation, and enable you to close more deals.