Real Estate Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

In comparing the value of SEO, Search Engine Optimization to SEM, Search Engine Marketing to the real estate website, it's important that you know the differences. SEO is optimizing your site to try and get as high a position in the search engines as possible in the "organic" free results. There are a number of very basic ways in which you can create content to rank higher in the search engines, and there are hundreds of thousands of pages of content advising you of how to do it. Many are actually discouraging you to do it yourself, and encouraging you to hire someone.

Search engine marketing (SEM)is paying for your position in search engines, or PPC, Pay Per Click marketing. This short article isn't meant to explain in detail how SEO and SEM are accomplished, or how to set up PPC campaigns, as in using Google Adwords. However, this article is all about the results you can expect, when you can expect them, and the relative value of each to your real estate website marketing.

While every real estate website hopes to get into the top five or so of Google's (biggest search engine) search results for the most used real estate phrase "theirtown real estate," only five can be there, and only ten can be on the first page at all. And, very few searchers go past the first page results to research and search listings on the Web. So, if you're in a larger city, there could be thousands of sites competing for those top five to ten positions. Even in my tiny market, with only about 250 real estate professionals in the MLS, the competition is fierce for those positions.

I would never argue against constant attention to SEO, and shooting to capture first page position for the best key phrases for your market. It gives you free and very valuable exposure. However, let's get real about the potential. If you don't spend a lot of money for SEO professionals, it's highly unlikely that your site will see that first page positioning in the reasonable future, or maybe never.

So, recognizing this reality, and looking at where you spend your marketing dollars, is there better potential in SEM, Search Engine Marketing and PPC? Absolutely is the irrefutable answer. Not only do you have some control over where you appear on search pages, this control is manifested immediately, with setup or changes taking effect in minutes. You can buy your position in the paid search results and have it take effect immediately.

There are some critical considerations that must be observed so that you don't waste the money you're paying for clicks, but the results can be immediate and you can generate focused leads with PPC marketing. For the purposes of articles in this series, the dominant search engine will be used for examples, Google.