If you recently launched a new website or are thinking of building one, it’s important to figure out how much you’re going to depend on traffic from online search and take care of your SEO needs accordingly.   What Every Builder Needs At the very least, your website needs to be discoverable in a search, even if it’s just when someone is searching your company name. This includes appropriate meta data optimization, correct sitemap submission, and other technical considerations. We won’t get into the nitty gritty details, but if you’re worried your site may be missing some basic SEO considerations, we provide free audits to check up on all of these items, regardless of who built your site.   What Small, Local Builders Need If you build less than 100 homes per year and are located in one metro area where you plan to stay for the foreseeable future, you’re going to want to focus more on building your brand than worrying about SEO ranking for the most part. Basic SEO is going to be enough for you. You’ll want to rank #1 for someone searching for your business, in the top 10 for the smaller/less competitive cities you build in, and in the top 5 for communities you build in. For advertising, small builders do really well with Facebook marketing. Facebook helps build brand awareness and promotes the hometown vibe that sets local builders apart from their more national and regional competitors. Plus, advertising on Facebook is relatively cheap in comparison to other popular online methods. We often see builders getting more leads from Facebook than a lot of their online feeds, so it’s a good idea to consider halting some of your data feed advertising to give Facebook a try.   What Mid-Sized, Regional Builders Need  If you’re building in over ten communities across a popular metro area or in multiple metros, you’ll want to invest in some SEO. Your website structure and content will determine your potential for success in ranking for keywords in multiple cities. We’ve met many builders who are ranking well for one area they build in, but struggling for visibility anywhere else. The fix for this is SEO. Your website will need to be built with a structure that helps Google understand that you’re located in multiple areas. You’ll also need website content that supports your presence in each location and off-site directory listings that have the consistent address and phone number for each metro you’re building in. Earning links from other local websites, like your HBA or an event you sponsor, is part of SEO and will help increase your ranking in multiple markets. Schema markup on your website can include websites that mention you so that you can be extra sure you’re getting the full value of your link strategy. Mid-sized builders will want to also consider running Google Adwords in each market. This will help drive traffic from search for your most important keywords, especially the ones you’re struggling to rank for.   What Large, National Builders Need National Builders have the advantage of brand recognition, which can definitely help with SEO. However, you’re often competing with sites like Zillow and Trulia for the most ideal spots on Google’s page 1. While smaller builders just can’t compete in this arena, you certainly can with a strong SEO strategy. For national builders wanting to compete in multiple states and metro areas, SEO is critical. In order to rank high, you’ve got to be doing SEO better than anyone else. While online marketing to create brand preference will drive ranking success ongoing, your website is your opportunity to lay a foundation for an ironclad SEO strategy. We recommend investing in every known recommendation for making your website look good to Google. This includes site structure, navigation, content, schema markup, site speed, and user experience (especially on mobile). Your website should be built mobile-first to account for every nuance of a mobile user’s experience (which Google evaluates constantly). You’ll also need to have a stellar page of content on the website for every keyword you’re wanting to rank for. This needs to be what we call 10X content—content that’s ten times better than what your competitors are making. Copy, design, photography, and interactive elements all go into making your content stand out. Once the website is launched, national builders will want to consider partnering with an SEO strategist to maintain or improve their ranking ongoing. When the total monthly search volume for all of your important keywords is over 10,000 you know that SEO is going to play a big role in your ability to attract leads every month.   If you’re curious about your need to evaluate or upgrade your existing SEO strategy contact abby@builderdesigns.com.