"Search engine optimization" (or "SEO") is a phrase that can strike fear into the heart of even the most tech-savvy real estate professional. That's why we're always on the lookout for resources that boil down this important concept to its most essential points. We discovered one such resource in the Tribus whitepaper, "Search Engine Optimization: Top Ten Tips for Real Estate Professionals." We're going to share five of their tips here; the full whitepaper can be downloaded for free at TribusGroup.com.

1) Domain Name
Tribus explains that a best practice is to include a geographic modifier in your domain name, rather than your own name or the name of your business. Your own name and the name of your business are, most likely, unique enough that the many times you mention them on your website are going to be enough to make you rank for them. After all, Tribus argues, "Why not go after traffic that isn't looking for you specifically, but is looking for answers about a particular area?"

2) Meta Description
Meta data for a webpage is information included in the code that does NOT appear on the actual page. Search engines read and index this information – but people visiting your site will not see it. The "meta description" is one of the fields included in a webpage's meta data and should provide a very brief overview of what will be found on the page. According to Tribus, "The description should be a short executive summary of what is written in the post, rather than a selection of content copied over." Also, "make sure you use many of the keywords people would search to find your post if they were interested in your subject."

3) Page Title
It's simply a good policy – for reasons much more than just SEO – to choose your page titles wisely. They should be short, but descriptive, and (ideally) include target keyword phrases. Tribus makes this suggestion: think about the people who are looking for the information that you've included on this page; what search term are they going to type into Google to find it?

4) Alt Text
When you add an image to your website, you should be prompted to provide alternate text ("alt text" or "alt tag") for that image. The alt text should be a short description (less than five words) of the image. Even better, the alt text could be one of your target keyword phrases.

5) Content
We're very content-focused here at RE Technology, so this tip definitely resonates with us. Tribus recommends that, "when you write your content, you should consider whether or not the text you are typing applies to your target audience." You should ask yourself two questions:

• Are you using phrases in your writing that someone might type into a search engine?
• Are you being specific enough? You're never going to rank for generic "real estate" terms; the key is to include geographic modifiers. For instance, Tribus recommends including phrases such as "REALTORS® in [your neighborhood]" or "[local town] homes for sale."

Learn More

• Download the full whitepaper
• Find out about Tribus SEO-friendly agent websites
• Research products for SEO
• Read articles about SEO