If you are thinking about finally getting your own web site or if you already have a web site you should be aware that misinformation abounds when it comes to the effectiveness of web sites and search engine placement.

I hear stories of disappointment on a daily basis from agents who are using some of the most popular template web site systems and also from those who are using designers that produced some very visually appealing web sites. But a web site without search engine placement is about as useful as a Realtor without a license to practice. , some of which are guilty of hyping what they can do to get you found in search engines by consumers. Others don't provide search engine placement services at all, leaving you with a great-looking product without a way for consumers to find you.

Under the "This is not what I wanted to hear!" category, here are 10 things to watch out for to help you see through all the hype.

1. If search engine positioning is not the major element around which a web site is built the site will never place well in search engines, and you will do no business from the web site.
2. Most web sites will never place well in search engines for the keywords searchers actually use no matter how often they are submitted. Statements like "We automatically submit your website to the major engines every month" are common but unless the site has been designed to place well before the first code is written - it never will.
3. Guarantees of search engine placement are worthless. They always include a couple of terms that are rarely searched for and will not be used by any other web site - which ensure top placement for those terms for your site and guarantee they will never have to make good on the "guarantee".
4. You will get zero results from a search engine submission or placement company if, in conjunction with the submission, no changes are made to your site to optimize it for the keywords searchers use when searching the major search engines. Just submitting a site will do nothing.
5. Keyword Meta Tags count for as close to nothing as you can get as far as search engines are concerned - and improper use will actually hurt you more than they help you.
6. Your site will never place well in search engines for competitive keywords (those actually used by searchers) if you are using a provider whose system allows you to make your own changes to your site through a web based administration area.

   This is because the areas that you can access - search engines can't. As well, other than having Meta Tags (see #4 above), these systems have none of the elements search engines look for. Nobody can fix this for you either - so don't bother trying to hire someone to endeavor to improve your positioning.

7. All web site providers will tell you that their sites are designed to place well in search engines. What do they mean?

   What they are saying is that their web sites have Meta Tags (see #4 above). It is a very rare thing to find one that actually knows what it really takes to provide a web site that has any chance at all of placing well in any search engines for any of the keywords that are actually used by the public when searching for real estate.

8. You can have all of the bells and whistles you can dream of on your web site but it means nothing if your site does not place well in the major search engines for the keywords buyers and sellers actually use most often. The bells and whistles will gather cobwebs.
9. Automatic followup systems are all the rage and seem like a good idea - but the agent who follows up personally will always get the business over the agent using an automated system. Why?

   Because about a week or sooner after you were first contacted by the prospects on the internet - they changed their criteria (almost all do). They are now working with an agent who followed up personally with a phone call after the initial email response and knows their revised needs and has started building a personal relationship. You are just the agent who keeps sending them information about houses that don't interest them.

10. If you do not make search engine positioning a priority before your web site is built you will most likely do no business from your web site.

Making search engine positioning a priority after the site is up and running is a bit like calling in a Realtor for an opinion on the value of the expensive home renovations that have just been completed. Too late!

If you make search engine positioning a priority after your web site is up and running you have to be prepared to make some changes to allow that to happen.

Published: March 1, 2001

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