Kelly Phelan
Published: 10/10/2012
Posted by: RET Staff

Meta tags, backlinks, keywords, friendly URLs. With terms like these, it's no wonder newcomers can be intimidated by Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Thankfully, making your website SEO friendly is a lot easier than it sounds.

In a video released by HomeFinder.com, CEO Doug Breaker outlined three simple steps that will improve your search engine rankings.

Step 1: Find Out What People Want

Before you can optimize your site for search engines, you have to know what real estate consumers are looking for. According to HomeFinder, the most frequent search terms are "[City name] homes for sale" and "[City name] real estate" and, on a listing level, by property address (123 Main St, for example).

This can vary, however. Perhaps people in your area prefer to add a state abbreviation to their search--e.g., Boston MA real estate. By using the Google Keywords Tool, you can find out exactly what terms are being used. Just type "[City] real estate" in the Word or Phrase box and Google will show you how often that term and related ones are being searched for.