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 35 comments »From the horse's mouth: what Google says about content relevancy to search terms in its leaked training manual
Read also: Bad marketing candy from RSS Pieces Read also: Odysseus Medal Hmmm... is your interest peeked? What Google says in its own manual is that: 1. Sites that have "High quality pages providing real estate listings, or a general overview of real estate in Sedona AZ. Homepages for individual real estate offices located in Sedona AZ" are most relevant. 2. Sites that are "General directory pages about Sedona even if they offer a real estate link" are NOT relevant. Before someone comes in here and says- "they say directories, not websites." The document has a whole lot of other stuff in it and if you read it you will see the intent is to make sure that the sites at the top of the engines are MOST relevant to the search criteria. The gist: if you write mostly about community stuff, you will eventually get outranked by someone that writes mostly about real estate. You see, Google understand that someone searching for "real estate" actually wants to see real estate content like listings. They also understand that someone searching for "Sedona Fourth of July events" probably wants information about what is going on in the community on the Fourth of July. Why do you think most local papers do not rank for real estate related terms even though they have whole sections of the site devoted to it? Because Google "gets" it. The newspaper is a community resource, not a real estate site. Conversely, Google understands your real estate site should not be a community site. Truth is, I am trying to save you all a lot of heartache in the future. I'm not saying don't ever write about community stuff, I'm just saying dial it way back. 80% of the time write about real estate, 20% of the time write about community stuff if you feel you need to.
Why do some people rank for their farm + real estate when they write mostly community pieces?1. They have an old authoritative domain Older sites that have a volume of quality backlinks with good real estate related anchor text will do well even if they write off topic. However, they are still susceptible to new bloggers that over time build backlinks and write on topic. Within a year, an older authoritative domain can be overtaken in the SERPs by a newer on-topic blog. We've seen it happen. 2. They have no competition in their area I saw some comments from people that rank on the first page of Google for real estate in their area even though they write mostly community stuff- they have a default ranking. With almost no competition for their keywords, of course they rank well- they have a blog they update regularly and their title tag is relevant. But wait until another Realtor in their area starts blogging about real estate and I guarantee their site will lose out. *No, I will not post the document. Google has already done it's sweep of the
Internet and requested that sites remove it.
You'll have to find it yourself. And no, this isn't an April Fool's joke. This is the real deal. Related PostsTop 5 On-page Search Engine Optimization Tips for Real Estate BlogsGoogle is NOT the Evil Empire stealing content from real estate blogs Real Estate Blog SEO Tip: How to Research Keywords 45% of all blogs sleep with the fishes within 3 months: how to keep yours alive and kicking The Real Estate Blogger's Guide to SEO Comment from: Todd Carpenter [Visitor]  · http://blogfiesta.mariah.comI read all of the dissenting opinions and wrote one of my own. I don't think any of those positions questioned the validity of this advice from the standpoint of Google & SEO. I fully concede that it is in fact good SEO advice. Just not the best marketing advice. Now you're saying it's OK for bloggers to mention some community post with an 80/20 split. But in your last post you said, "It makes me laugh when I tour the real estate blogosphere and read post after post about where to buy the best skateboard or the bid to save the town's old oak tree or when the next PTA meeting is or where the best places to eat are, yadda yadda." I see a huge difference in these positions. I'd bet most who disagreed with you see them as well. If your post was originally to argue that RE bloggers should try to write predominately about real estate, we would have been on the same page to begin with.  Permalink April 01, 2008 16:33:26Comment from: anthony carr [Visitor] · http://commonsenserealestate.com Permalink April 01, 2008 17:41:47Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comTodd, I recommend writing 100% of the time about real estate but I know people still want to write about the sites and scenes- so the least they can do is limit it. Anthony, Case in point. People looking for real estate like real estate content.... thanks for proving the point. Permalink April 01, 2008 17:59:23Comment from: Todd Carpenter [Visitor] · http://blogfiesta.mariah.comOk, I will. Permalink April 01, 2008 18:05:28Comment from: Kevin Tomlinson [Visitor] · http://www.southbeachrealestateblog.comBLOG WAR #2 OF 2008! I'm running out the door to get some mini-Diet Cokes. BLOG WAR! Permalink April 01, 2008 18:26:12Comment from: Laurie.Manny [Member] · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comKevin, Get some popcorn too! Permalink April 01, 2008 18:50:23Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comKevin, get some band-aids while you are at it- this one might get bloody. Permalink April 01, 2008 18:56:54Comment from: Barry Cunningham [Visitor] · http://www.realestateradiousa.com/blogThink it will last long..I gotta see American Idol tonight. Permalink April 01, 2008 19:04:15Comment from: Todd Carpenter [Visitor] · http://blogfiesta.mariah.comI don't think it will Barry, I can't hardly fight while I'm bent over laughing. Permalink April 01, 2008 19:22:58Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comHmm... I wonder what would happen if you submitted some of these sites that rank well for real estate but are primarily about the community for a manual review... Anybody want to offer up their community site as a test of this theory? Permalink April 01, 2008 19:24:08Comment from: Carl Minicucci [Visitor] · http://www.vaughanblog.com>...an internal training manual for a specific type of Google employee was leaked on the Internet. This specific type of employee is responsible for manually reviewing sites and rating them on relevancy to search criteria. Google enjoys a market cap of oh, about $150B. Somehow, I think they'd be a little less carefree about revealing their fundamental intellectual property within the bounds of an employee training manual. Tell me, what was on page 32?...The Colonel's eleven secret herbs and spices? Cmmmon...this is getting ridiculous. Just end the bleeding already. Permalink April 01, 2008 20:16:24Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comCarl, Who said they revealed intellectual property? Nowhere in this did I say a damned thing about intellectual property. It revealed what we already knew- manual reviewers go through sites and help to make searches more relevant based on certain types of criteria. Everyone in the SEO world has read the document I am referring to. Nothing was a secret - it verified a lot of info we already thought and the existence of the type of employee it referred to - there is a document that proves my point and uses real estate as an example. I'm pointing it out here because real estate seems to be so far behind what the rest of the blogosphere already knows. Permalink April 01, 2008 20:25:15Comment from: Jill Wente [Visitor] · http://www.SpringTexasBlog.comPermalink April 01, 2008 21:41:58Comment from: Laurie.Manny [Member] · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comActually Page 32 is Part 4 of the Webspam Guidelines section of the document. I happened upon that document as well. I wish I could remember where I read recently that top notch SEO professionals were earning between $15k and $30k per keyword to put companies into the #1 spot in Google. Gee, I guess that mean that spot is valuable to people in business. That sounds like a $# that is out of the reach of the real estate community. And along comes Mary... And you screw her over... You abuse her... You viciously attack her with emails and in posts... You disect every post she writes and slam her all over the web... You tell her she doesn't know what she is doing... Yet here you are reading every damn word she says... And implementing it as well... Go away... Permalink April 01, 2008 23:32:50Comment from: Laurie.Manny [Member] · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comThe pdf document has since been removed, but was found here: http://searchengineland.com/080314-093056.php Permalink April 01, 2008 23:39:01Comment from: Joanne Hanson [Visitor] · http://www.mountain-living.com/blogPermalink April 02, 2008 01:13:36Comment from: Carl Minicucci [Visitor] · http://www.vaughanblog.comI just read the article and there are many holes in the conclusion drawn. There is much room for interpretation here. For instance, one of the concluding points also refers to broad queries being best matched by broad pages. Dare I say it, but I would still contend that it is debatable. I suppose that qualifies me as the Stubborn Mule in the company of a Yappy Chihuahua, a Talking Horse,and a Mockingbird. Too bad Greg Swann didn't chime in here...he would have been perfectly cast as the Orwellian pig, Napoleon. Too funny. Thanks for hosting a spirited discussion REBloggirl. Permalink April 02, 2008 05:12:35Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comCarl, Laurie, thanks for the support. Lots of closed minded people here. Guess they should just continue writing what they want and not gettng the results they need then complain that blogging doesn't work. Just makes the distance between you and them all the more evident in both the searches and your bank accounts. Permalink April 02, 2008 05:40:59Comment from: Diane Aurit [Visitor] · http://www.BestRealEstateLakeNorman.comHey, just thought you might like to know I got another multi-million dollar buyer yesterday...from my blog! Thanks for ALL of your prodding! Permalink April 02, 2008 09:18:24Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comDiane, You deserve it! Looks like you are proving the ROI on blogging alongside Laurie. Permalink April 02, 2008 11:08:49Comment from: Carl Minicucci [Visitor] · http://www.vaughanblog.comMary, I actually did read the article. That's what I was referring to in the first sentence of my last post when I wrote, well, "I read the article". Now, please don't beat me like a Tibetan monk for referring to it as an "article" and not "a document". As a matter of fact, please don't refer to me, a reader and commenter of your Blog, as close-minded... Ad hominem arguments and reaching out to your blogging clique for a virtual hug do nothing to help further a discussion, debate in the hope of greater knowledge. What it does do, is demonstate a novice chatroom like approach to blogging. Scorning people on a personal level only demonstrates leaves doubt and insecurity about the message being delivered. Unconditional agreement, support and praise are best left for the Nursery and the Church. Permalink April 02, 2008 11:34:20Comment from: Daniel Bates [Visitor] · http://www.mymcclellanville.netI don't want to join a war and I actually see both sides of the arguement, but I don't think you should take offense to others opinions. I haven't read one comment that said you didn't know what you are talking about in the SEO realm, they are simply questioning whether the approach may lose customers for the sake of SEO. I don't know, I'm not an expert, you are and obviously people wouldn't read your posts if you weren't. I know about real estate in the one little corner of world where I live and depend on SEO advise from trial and error and folks like you that freely give it for the betterment of society. It's true that real estate articles are harder to write if you put substance in them and so some us choose to write more community articles than those (you can call it being lazy, but I think if you're successfully blogging, than you're still doing better than 99% of the other agents as long as you aren't talking about your cats or SKATEBOARDING :-)). However, it's also true that there's a lot more community life going on as well as background building to provide data about your town than there is specific real estate information (even if it's changing every day). Some people searching on the internet may be looking for real estate information, some may not have made up there mind on where they want to live yet and would like community information. I think to get the most bang for your buck, BOTH should be addressed on your blog. I won't offer my site up for review BECAUSE I openly admit that I need more real estate content on there already, so you wouldn't prove anything to me. However what I will do (primarily because I've already been planning to do this) is write mostly real estate related articles and see how call volume changes, etc and report back to you. I got a call today from someone that thought I was a visitors center because my website is so chocked full of community info. Now I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, because I enjoy the service that it provides to my community, gets me side business as a rental manager, and promotes my home town's tourism which in turn helps local businesses, promotes growth and hopefully long term referrals. All that being said I blog to sell homes and you are correct on the simple fact that writing about a "bid to save the town's old oak tree" won't sell a single tree, I think you're mistaken about the large effect that it plays in showing people that you care about the place you call home and the people living there. Buyers and Sellers both want an agent they can trust and blogging is a great way to build that trust. PS - Although I may disagree with you at times, it does not mean that I don't value the information you provide. If people don't challenge thought provoking ideas, you won't know if they stand the test of time or not. Permalink April 02, 2008 18:19:17Comment from: Broker Bryant [Visitor] · http://brokerbryant.comWhat does Google say about me dressing up in drag and talking about my buttocks in a video? Just curious:) Permalink April 02, 2008 21:06:31Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comGoogle thinks men in Drag are hot, Bryant. Permalink April 02, 2008 22:25:19Comment from: James Bridges [Visitor] · http://www.onlinerealestatesuccess.comWow, quite a few comments on these last few posts :). At the core of it all it always amazes me that people don't find it more apparent. Focus your content on what you want to be found on. The search engines are, after all, largely based on algorithms and models (got that there are some manual reviewers as well, but guessing with the number of pages out there, it would make it tough to review all the pages) so patterns must be picked up. With Latent Semantic Indexing getting more involved in the decision making process, you have to figure that you want to write "high value content". I am not one to write on community events because I just don't see a ton of value. It's a pretty simple formula if you follow the guidelines and write content on what you are an expert on. Last time I checked, realtors aren't an expert on the local fair, but might know the difference in home sizes between one neighborhood and the next. Focused content = powerful results :) Permalink April 04, 2008 02:10:25Comment from: Shane Wilson [Visitor] · http://www.georgiabuyer.comI think a lot of it depends on your goals and agendas. A more community focused site will appeal more to your local community if your advertising your site in your local area. Who in your local area will come back to read a site about boring real estate. However, if it keeps them updated on community happenings then they might keep coming back to your site which helps to build your brand which is you. If you want to target a more global audience and possibly those looking to move in from out of town then a more targeted SEO approach is needed because your goal to find clients outside your community. I'm not an agent but I am a real estate investor. The site I run is my blog at http://www.georgiabuyer.com which I try to play with in helping its rankings because my goal is to sell my products to a global market. I think it all depends on your goals. Permalink April 04, 2008 10:45:35Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comShane, I agree with you. However Realtors are not selling anything but real estate in their local area, so getting general consumer traffic for community stuff attracts non transactional visitors. Clearly, if they want people that have a real estate need, they need to blog to people searching for real estate not people searching for Fourth of July events.
James,
Permalink April 04, 2008 11:51:11Comment from: Mike Farmer [Visitor] · http://www.bonzai.squarespace.comYou could write about real estate carefully placing words that are then hyper linked to local information or community articles you wrote for this hyper link purpose. That way it is about real estate and provides links to other information. Permalink April 04, 2008 13:55:38Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comMike, That is a great way to get local info into a real estate blog and I second your suggestion! Permalink April 04, 2008 14:51:19Comment from: Mike Farmer [Visitor] · http://www.bonzai.squarespace.comThanks Mary. I thought I was blackballed -- it took so long for my comment to be approved :) Just kidding, I know how systems are sometimes. Do you know if the statistic going around is true -- only 3% of real estate agents blog? Permalink April 05, 2008 21:09:54Comment from: Mary.MCKNIGHT [Member] · http://www.rsspieces.comMike, I hear the stats are actually lower. Somewhere around 1.7%. The RE Blogosphere just isn't that big yet- the biggest problem now is that we need to prove ROI- so these early adopters will be the ones to make or break the technology for the rest of the ones watching from the side lines. I mean, who wants to invest all this time blogging if it can't ever translate to real dollars. Notice all the posts recently about ROI for real estate. Permalink April 05, 2008 21:15:13Comment from: Susan Milner [Member] · http://www.Florida-Future-Realty.comOk I'm late here, but I have been trying VERY hard to blog about relevant content, at least on my MAIN blog. It is not all hard core real estate. I write about different aspects to keep readers entertained. I think ALL hard core real estate would be boring but I also am not, nor do I want to be, the recipe go-to blog, community go-to person, or some other NON Real Estate go-to either. As others have stated, focus on that of which you would like to attract. Permalink April 07, 2008 00:35:57Comment from: Desiree.Daniels [Member] · http://www.robbinsvillehomesforsale.com/ As always the information you provide is so relative to what I am trying to accomplish. Poo Poo on those who don’t like it. Thanks Mary!! Permalink April 30, 2008 13:45:15Comment from: Pam Pugmire [Visitor] · http://www.dreamhomesinidaho.comThanks Mary, I am new to blogging and was getting off the beaten path! Thanks for telling like it is and getting me back on the straight and narrow. I can't remember if it was on this post, or one of the linking ones that you talked about having a template for listing blogs and updating that. I don't quite understand what you mean by that. Could you recommend another post where this was addressed? Thanks again! Permalink May 31, 2008 04:02:48Comment from: Ron Sosa [Visitor] · http://www.inkansun.comPersonally, I hate it when realtors talk about fluff and community BS, I just want to know the meat and potatoes about their real estate market. We see a lot this trash on active rain, where people are writing nonsense and non-related real estate stuff to increase their points. Permalink June 19, 2008 02:25:24Comment on this article This post has no feedback awaiting moderation... |
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