How to Get a Real Estate Web Page Indexed by Search Engines

Increasing your digital exposure requires more than just getting a top quality real estate website. Yes, that is step one. But in order to be included in search queries and rank on search engines for targeted pages on your site, you first need to get the page indexed - a process that is not simply automatic - especially in crowded markets like real estate. You need a plan to ensure that your page gets indexed by Google and other search engines. But don’t worry, with a clear strategy and by following these easy tips, your targeted pages will be indexed in no time:

• Create High-Quality and Relevant Content on the Targeted Page(s)
• Create a Backlink Strategy Using Quality, High-Trafficked Platforms
• Optimize Your On-Page SEO for Each Page You Want Indexed

Before we get started, you need to understand what exactly “getting indexed” means and why it is important. Search engine indexing is the process by which search engines like Google, Bing, and other search engines scan, or “crawl” webpages to analyze and ultimately decide where to include them in their search results. In today's digital age, getting your website indexed by search engines is crucial for online visibility and attracting organic traffic. If you want your website, or individual internal pages, to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs), you need to ensure it is properly indexed.

One of the key elements that search engines look for when determining SERP rankings and crawlability of a webpage is based on the perceived value that it will provide to search engine users. Remember, search engines want to display the most relevant pages in response to search queries, so the more value a page can provide to users, the more often it will get crawled, and the higher it will rank.

It is important to note that the real estate website space is highly saturated. There are a lot of real estate websites for any given market, and most sites all share the same data and IDX listings via their MLS, meaning that web crawlers find the same information over and over. This shared data makes up most of the internal pages on a real estate agent website, so if you want to stand out from the pack and get noticed by search engines, you need to include as much unique content as possible on the pages that you are looking to get indexed.

Here are 3 easy steps that will help you get your page indexed:

1. Create High-Quality and Relevant Content on the Targeted Page(s):

Content is king when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). If there is a page on your real estate website that you are trying to get indexed, be sure to incorporate high-quality, unique, and relevant content on the page that gives your website users important information or answers to the questions they are looking for.

Identify popular search terms that you are looking to rank for (for example, homes for sale in Miami) and incorporate them naturally into your content - never just stuff keywords in your writing. You want your writing to flow naturally and have keywords seamlessly incorporated for usability and to promote a good user experience. Ultimately, use these keywords as the base text for a linking strategy. [More on this in the next section]

It is important to regularly update your website with fresh and engaging content to attract search engine crawlers. Give search engines a reason to keep coming back to your site to crawl new content and new pages to increase the relevance of your real estate website and boost your search engine rankings.

2. Create a Backlink Strategy Using Quality, High-Trafficked Platforms: 

The biggest element to your indexing strategy should be to develop a backlink strategy to get your page noticed. A backlink is when an outside source (ie not your own domain) links back to your website. When another site links to yours, this is a powerful indicator to search engines that the page provides value. If the link comes from a heavily-trafficked site, it provides an easy access point to your site for search engines to follow.

A great way to build a network of backlinks is to join (or use existing profiles on) online platforms that provide blogging capabilities - and get to writing. Blog about the real estate industry, your niche market, property listings, etc. on these networks, and include links back to the page(s) that you want indexed. [Tip: use keywords in your post as the base text for each link. Vary the keywords and don’t be afraid to use long tail keywords in addition to short tail keywords]

Highly networked sites get crawled constantly and are favored by the search engine algorithms, which results in those pages getting indexed at a much faster rate. When these external network pages get indexed the crawlers follow the links on that page, which will lead them to your site if you have provided a link. As a result, the crawler will index that page on your site when it lands there following the link trail.

When it comes to a real estate website, there are many platforms that you can choose from when creating your link network. Amongst the best in terms of industry reputation, rate of post indexing, and functionality are 1. LinkedIn (free blog), 2. Medium (their paid membership gets articles indexed), and 3. ActiveRain (paid RainMaker account). All of these platforms are easy to use, have clout with the search engines, and get posts indexed quickly for maximum SEO benefit. Not only does this create a backlink network for SEO, but you can also get free traffic from these sources over time.

3. Optimize Your On-Page SEO for Each Page You Want Indexed:

Your real estate web platform should allow you the ability to optimize your on-page SEO elements. This is a critical step for page(s) that you are looking to get indexed by search engines. This involves optimizing your metadata, which refers to the HTML elements that provide information about your web pages to search engines. Make sure that any page that you are linking to has been optimized.

Optimize your page titles, meta descriptions, and header tags (H1, H2, etc.) with relevant keywords and compelling, concise descriptions. This helps search engines understand the context and relevance of your content, increasing the chances of proper indexing.

Getting indexed by search engines is a fundamental step in establishing a strong online presence for targeted pages on your website. By following these real estate web design strategies and staying up to date with SEO best practices, you can increase your chances of proper indexing, improve your search engine rankings, and drive valuable organic traffic to your website.