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Brokers and Their Web Partners: Anticipating Change
In light of impending alterations stemming from the settlement agreement in the anti-trust litigation, updates to broker and agent websites are inevitable. It is imperative to initiate planning for these modifications immediately. Do not assume that your vendor is already addressing these changes; it is crucial to initiate the conversation proactively. While it may seem like the sky is falling, there is potential for brighter outcomes. "The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated." – Mark Twain Two decades ago, the emergence of IDX and VOW sparked concerns about the future of real estate and the role of agents. However, the enduring value of real estate agents transcends mere gatekeeping for property searches. Despite fluctuations in commissions, driven by home value inflation (more commission per trade) and escalating referral fees to portals (less commission per trade), the necessity of real estate agents remains robust. Even during crises such as the housing bubble burst in 2008, real estate professionals proved indispensable, safeguarding home sellers through tumultuous times. Facing another pivotal moment, the traditional practice of offering compensation to buyer's agents via the MLS is ending. While apprehension abounds, there are compelling reasons to believe in the enduring value of real estate agents. Consumer satisfaction with real estate services remains high, and alternative models like discount brokers and FSBO have failed to gain traction. The full-service approach continues to resonate with consumers and investors alike. Key Rule Changes Impacting Broker Websites: 1. Publication of Buyer Agent Compensation Listing brokers are the only ones allowed to display seller concessions on their websites, enhancing transparency. Collaborate with your vendor to effectively showcase these concessions, leveraging features to make listings more appealing. This presents an opportunity to drive increased traffic and capitalize on lead generation. 2. Requirement of Buyer Representation Agreements Buyers must sign representation agreements before viewing properties. This mandate can serve as a catalyst for enhanced lead conversion. Brokers should focus on streamlining the process and offer seamless digital solutions for negotiating commissions and signing contracts. Planning Ahead for Success It is evident that proactive planning is essential to navigate these impending changes successfully. With the industry likely to undergo simultaneous transformations, the time to act is now. Collaborate with industry experts like WAV Group and your real estate technology vendors to devise strategies that align with the evolving landscape. Waiting until the changes take effect could put your brokerage at a disadvantage. Strategic planning sessions can provide clarity and direction, ensuring readiness for the forthcoming shifts. In conclusion, while change may be daunting, it also presents opportunities for innovation and growth. Embrace the evolving landscape and position yourself for success by planning ahead, and staying ahead of your competition. What's at Risk? Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Movoto, and Redfin are all brokers with billions in revenue at risk. They have robust buyer agent networks, but are prohibited from displaying the seller's concession of listing brokers (except Redfin). Only the listing firm can do that. Not sure how their business model changes, but they are planning. P.S. Does the QR code on your yard sign take you to the landing page of the listing that displays the seller concessions? What about your virtual tours, or automated marketing tools for new listings, pendings, solds, etc.? You need to evaluate everything to get ahead of this. It is an enormous project that will take time. Start now. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group

How to Structure URLs for Your Real Estate Website: A Guide
Welcome to the world of real estate website URLs — it's a bit like a digital maze where every slash and dot has a role to play. But don't worry, we're here to be your friendly guides through this online journey. Imagine us as your digital map, helping you navigate the twists and turns of web addresses. Together, we'll make understanding real estate website URLs as easy as a walk in the park. So, let's embark on this adventure with a simple and smile-inducing guide to tackle those sometimes-tricky website addresses! Why is a Well-Structured URL Important for Real Estate Websites? Having a well-structured URL is crucial for both search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience. A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, serves as the address of a webpage on the internet. It not only helps search engines understand the content of a page, but also impacts how users perceive and interact with your website. A well-structured URL provides clear and concise information about the content of a webpage. It should be descriptive, relevant, and easy to read. By optimizing your URL structure, you can improve your website;s SEO and make it more user-friendly for potential homebuyers or sellers. Let's dive deeper into the components of a URL and explore best practices for real estate websites. Components of a URL Let's break down the different components of a URL. A typical URL consists of several parts, each serving a specific purpose: Protocol: The protocol determines how data is transmitted between a web browser and a web server. The most common protocol is http:// or its secure counterpart https://. Domain: The domain is the main part of a URL and represents the specific website you're visiting. In the case of a real estate website, the domain could be something like www.realestatecompany.com. Subdomain: A subdomain is a part of the main domain and precedes it with a dot. It can be used to organize different sections of a website or target specific markets. For example, blog.realestatecompany.com could be the subdomain for a blog section. Path: The path refers to the specific location of a webpage within a website. It's often represented by a series of slashes ("/") and can include directories, categories, or individual pages. For instance, /listings/properties could lead to a page showcasing available properties. Parameters: Parameters are additional information included in a URL that provides instructions or data to the webpage. They are usually represented by question marks ("?") and ampersands ("&"). For example, /listings/properties?city=NewYork could filter the properties based on the city of New York. Now that we have a clear understanding of the components of a URL, let's move on to the next steps — how we can optimize it for real estate websites. Ways to Optimize URL Structure To optimize your real estate website's URL structure, consider the following best practices: Incorporating keywords in your URL Including relevant keywords in your URL can significantly improve the visibility of your real estate website in search engine results. When search engines crawl and index your website, they analyze the URL to determine its relevance to a user's search query. By incorporating keywords related to your real estate niche or specific property listings, you increase the chances of ranking higher in search results. For example, instead of using a generic URL like /properties/12345, consider utilizing a keyword-rich URL such as /luxury-villas-for-sale-in-malibu. This not only helps search engines understand the content of the page, but also provides potential visitors with a clear indication of what they can expect. If you want more information about keyword strategy of your website, check out this article: Real Estate Keywords. Make it easy to read and understand It's crucial to create user-friendly URLs that are easy to read and understand. A user-friendly URL should provide a clear indication of the content on the page and help visitors navigate your real estate website more efficiently. Avoid using long, complex URLs with unnecessary characters or numbers. Instead, opt for shorter, descriptive URLs that accurately represent the content of the page. For instance, a URL like /listings/condos/central-park-view is much more user-friendly than /listings/12345?property_id=6789. URL structure listings and property pages Real estate websites often feature a vast number of listings and property pages. To optimize the URL structure for these pages, it's crucial to follow a logical hierarchy and incorporate relevant keywords. For instance, consider structuring your URL as follows: /listings/city/category/property-name. This structure provides clear navigation paths and helps search engines understand the context of each listing. Additionally, incorporating relevant keywords, such as the city name and property type, can boost your website's visibility in local search results. More Tips to Maximize Your URLs' Effect on SEO Keep it simple and concise: Long and complicated URLs can be difficult for users to remember and share. Aim for shorter URLs that accurately describe the content of the page. For example, www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/condos-for-sale is much simpler and more user-friendly than www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/listings/condos/buy/marketplace/sale. Use hyphens to separate words: Hyphens are preferred over underscores or spaces in URLs because they are more readable to both users and search engines. For instance, www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/3-bedroom-homes is more readable than www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/3bedroomhomes or www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/3_bedroom_homes. Avoid using unnecessary characters: Special characters, such as exclamation marks or ampersands, can make URLs appear cluttered and confusing. Stick to alphanumeric characters and hyphens to ensure compatibility across different platforms and devices. Be consistent in URL structure: Consistency in URL structure not only helps users navigate your website more easily, but also assists search engines in understanding the hierarchy of your site. For example, if your main categories are "buy" and "rent," use a consistent structure like www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/buy/property-type and www.yourrealestatewebsite.com/rent/property-type. That's it! Utilize these simple tips and tricks to help improve your website visibility in search results. If you enjoyed this article, you might like these two, too: Optimizing Crawl Budget for Real Estate Websites SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions for Real Estate SEO Thank you — let's keep SEO-ing! To view the original article, visit the Realtyna

5 Common Google Search Console Errors for Real Estate Websites
Is your real estate website not ranking as well as you'd like on Google? It could be due to some common errors in your Google Search Console (GSC). As you know, SEO is an on going process, so if you want to keep your pages up in search results, you must constantly update your website and monitor it to fix issues. One of the greatest tools for monitoring your performance and also fixing your issue is Google Search Console. This tool is owned by Google, so it's really crucial to use. If you want to improve your real estate website SEO, this article will help you understand GSC errors. Common Errors in Google Search Console Crawl errors Mobile usability issues Structured data errors Page speed problems (CWV) Security issues Let's talk about all of them more exclusively: Error 1: Crawl errors Crawl errors can prevent Google from properly indexing your pages, leading to lower rankings for your real estate website. These errors occur when Google's bots encounter issues while crawling your site. There are several crawl errors on GSC. The most common crawl issues in real estate websites are: Not Found (404) Crawled – currently not indexed Discovered – currently not indexed Page with redirect Server error (5xx) Fixing each one of these requires knowledge about SEO, and also a little about SEO plugins if you are using WordPress as your CMS. Error 2: Mobile usability issues In today's mobile-driven world, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial for real estate businesses. Mobile usability issues can negatively impact your website's performance and rankings on Google. If your site is not optimized for mobile devices, you may be missing out on potential leads and traffic. To identify mobile usability issues, go to the "Mobile Usability" report in your Google Search Console. This report will highlight any issues affecting the mobile user experience on your website, such as text that is too small to read, clickable elements that are too close together, or viewport configuration errors. Here are some solutions to common mobile usability issues: Use responsive design: Ensure your website is built using responsive design principles. This means that the website's layout and content will automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device being used. Optimize font sizes: Make sure text on your website is easily readable on mobile devices. Use a font size that is large enough to be legible without zooming in. Space out clickable elements: Ensure that clickable elements, such as buttons and links, are spaced out enough so that users can easily tap on them without accidentally tapping on adjacent elements. Note that the Mobile-usability report will retire at the end of the 2023. Google announced that, in modern times, virtually all websites are mobile friendly and there is no need to have either this or the mobile usability test anymore. Error 3: Structured data errors Structured data helps search engines understand the content and context of your real estate website. It provides additional information about your properties, such as price, location, and availability. However, if there are errors in your structured data implementation, it can cause Google to misinterpret your website's content and potentially impact your rankings. To identify structured data errors, navigate to the "Enhancements" report in your Google Search Console. This report will show you any issues with your structured data markup, such as missing fields, incorrect values, or invalid markup. To resolve structured data errors: Use structured data testing tools: Google provides a structured data testing tool that allows you to validate your structured data markup. Use this tool to identify any errors and make the necessary corrections. Follow Google's guidelines: Ensure that your structured data markup follows Google's guidelines for real estate websites. This includes using the appropriate schema types and properties to accurately represent your properties. Test and monitor: After making corrections to your structured data markup, use the testing tool again to verify that the errors have been resolved. Regularly monitor your Google Search Console for any new structured data errors that may arise. Error 4: Page speed problems (CWV) Page speed is a crucial factor that directly influences user experience and search engine rankings. In the realm of real estate websites, where competition is fierce and user expectations are high, addressing page speed problems is paramount. One significant aspect of page speed that Google emphasizes is the Core Web Vitals (CWV). Understanding Core Web Vitals (CWV): Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors that Google considers when evaluating the overall user experience of a webpage. The three main components of CWV are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the loading performance of a webpage by assessing the time it takes for the largest content element to become visible. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Assesses the visual stability of a webpage by measuring unexpected layout shifts during the loading process. First Input Delay (FID): Evaluates the interactivity of a page by measuring the time it takes for a user to interact with the page after the initial click. Note that Google has just announced that FID is going to be replaced by Interaction to Next Paint (INP) very soon. Error 5: Security issues Website security is crucial for protecting your real estate website and the sensitive information of your visitors. Google takes website security seriously and may penalize websites that have security vulnerabilities. To identify security issues, use the "Security Issues" report in your Google Search Console. This report will alert you to any security-related problems detected on your website, such as malware infections or hacked content. To secure your website: Install an SSL certificate: An SSL certificate encrypts the data transmitted between your website and users' browsers. This ensures that sensitive information, such as login credentials and contact forms, is secure. Update your software: Keep your website's CMS, plugins, and themes up to date. Software updates often include security patches that protect against known vulnerabilities. Use strong passwords: Ensure that all user accounts on your website have strong, unique passwords. Encourage your users to do the same. Regularly backup your website: Perform regular backups of your website's files and database. This allows you to restore your website to a previous state in case of a security breach. That's it, These are the most common Google Search Console issues that might happen to your real estate website, No matter the type of real estate website you are using, you can increase the likelihood of ranking by solving these issues. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna