I know a bit about this topic and have written a number of blog posts on my original blog, Realtor Marketing and Branding about slogans and taglines that have been read/viewed by more than 283,0o0 people.
Some are a great source of information not covered in this post.
I have visited thousands of website in the last 18 years and I think is the first buyer-centric website, at least in Canada. Yes, a website designed to attract buyers. If this is the only website targeting buyers there is little or no competition. As Realtors® you know the pros and cons of working with sellers and buyers and there are fewer Realtors® wanting to work with buyers than sellers, but the Walker Ottawa team see things a bit differently. Click here to view the live website.
The concept was to make it as easy as possible for a buyer to drill down to the home, condo or townhouse of their dreams.
On the Home Page you have three choices. Are you looking for a house, townhouses or condo? That’s it!
On April 21, 2015 Google went public with a change to their algorithm that sent website users into a panic. As of this date, it was reported mobile-friendly websites would rank better than non-mobile optimized websites.
According to MOZ a leading source of Google algorithm information “In a rare move, Google pre-announced an algorithm update, telling us that mobile rankings would differ for mobile-friendly sites starting on April 21st. ”
Mobile-first indexing means Google predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. Since the majority of users now access Google Search with a mobile device, Googlebot primarily crawls and indexes pages with the smartphone agent going forward. If your website is one of the original looks or the “Kuni 920 widescreen” template (see below for examples) your search rankings are being negatively affected. The solution is to update to a mobile-ready responsive template.
There is a great article and the infographic below provided by www.fobtoronto.ca . Here is an excerpt. You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.
Google MyBusiness Tips to grow your search engine optimization and ranking on Google Maps. Stay ahead of the competition with our infographic about GMB. Follow these DO’s and DONT’s when improving your ranking on Google. Google is the most used search engine in the world. It is important to learn how to rank higher as your business grows if you want to improve.
Be sure to follow the Google MyBusiness guidelines to avoid problems and improve your position on Google: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en
Your customers will notice if you are ranking high on Google and you do not want your competitors to be higher than you. If you follow all of these Google MyBusiness tips, your business will do better in the long run!
BRANDING
Even if you have never spent a penny on branding you are a brand already.
There’s a lot of confusion about the term “branding.” This list comes from What Language are We Speaking? Understanding the Day-To-Day Jargon of Designers & Printers, care of Unisource Canada, Inc.
A brand promises a result and experience you can count on.
A Brand is intangible – It is the meaning or feelings you associate with a service, company or product. If five people are asked to describe a well-known brand, you may get different descriptions; however, there will be similarities. These similarities are the brand, and they are very powerful.
A Brand is not a logo – A logo only identifies the brand; it is an entry point.
A Brand is not an identity system – An identity system only controls the expression of the brand. Identity systems (often called branding systems) are created to express the brand in a consistent and cost-effective way.
A Brand is not a product – Many people talk about managing their brand, but they really are managing their product. The brand is often the reason we buy the product. People, corporations and countries can have brands.
Voice search essentially allows users to speak into a device as opposed to typing keywords into a search query to generate results. Instead of typing in the search “4 bedroom homes for sale“, buyers are dictating much longer searches such as “4 bedroom homes for sale under $900,000 with 3 bathrooms and a finished basement near shopping“. Very few people would type such a long search string.
So what does this mean to you? Google puts websites on page 1 that answer search queries in context. In other words, if you don’t have enough of the words that are in a search you will most likely not be on page 1.
We will ensure your company’s brand is not only relevant, but consistent, working with you to develop an identity that is recognizable and memorable.
I found this great post on blog.homespotter.com titled What’s the Difference Between Virtual Tours, Virtual Showings and Virtual Open Houses? When Should I Use Each of These Offerings?
I suggest you read the whole post by clicking here, but here are some excerpts. The original post provides best practices advice for all three:
It’s your customer’s first experience, your voice and your badge of honour. It helps customers to remember you and differentiate you from other businesses. Good logos should be clean and unique to potential customers.A company should not only be different, it must be seen as different. Like a musical theme, your brand is the big idea that colours and connects every aspect of communication as well as the cultural identity and appeal of its products, people and services. Given a clear and consistent branding strategy, the value, purpose and energy of a company works in unison for the benefit of all concerned.
According to data published by Realtor.ca here are the top keywords searched in West Vancouver.
Keywords are gathered from what a visitor enters into the keyword search field, found in the “filters” section of REALTOR.ca
