Targeting long-tail and niche search phrases will help you increase quality traffic and improve your conversions.
Case in point: In the past year, the traffic to our members' online flyers increased 500% because we decided to focus on more targeted search phrases.
Try to think like a buyer. If a buyer is on the market for a 3 bedroom home, often times they will use this type of search in Google. Our website log files show all types of interesting searches that visitors land on flyers from. Some include zip codes in their searches or use various words such as affordable, cheap, ocean front, 3 bedrooms, etc. within their search.
The advice I provide here can be used in your blog posts, your website, classified ads and any other online resource you use to market your services or products.
Following is a short list of some long-tail search phrases that have brought in traffic to our member's real estate flyers.
manistee michigan land for sale = 256 unique views
las vegas nv property = 236 unique views
sherwood oregon real estate = 172 unique views
chula vista ca bank owned property = 159 unique views
affordable home in chesapeake va = 144 unique views
3 bedroom home in chesapeake virginia = 32 unique views (this one surprised me)
These visits were from people searching for something specific and these types of visitors are gold. It is so much easier to offer a visitor what they need if you know what they are looking for. If your page is geared correctly for that search phrase, then chances are greater that your visitors will find what they are looking for and you will capture that lead. Most long-tail search phrases are not hard to rank for and can be accomplished by creating a blog post on ActiveRain, a targeted page on your website or even a classified ad posting.
This is not always the case for more general, competitive search phrases such as "san francisco real estate". Someone searching for this can be looking for so many different things. Condos, land, single family, market reports, real estate trends, house values, etc. Unless your website can accommodate all those categories, then the visitors you are receiving may not convert.
Am I suggesting you forget about targeting more general, very competitive searches? Not at all, but you should understand that there is a lot of work and a lot of time involved in getting a top spot for a more general, competitive search. If you are going to spend the work, time and money for that top spot, I would suggest you make sure that your website can accommodate all the different things visitors may be looking for when using a more general search. Otherwise you may lose the lead to another top dog such as Trulia.
To sum it all up, it matters very little if you rank for a competitive search phrase if you cannot keep and capture the visitor. Focused, targeted, niche search phrases and landing pages will oftentimes generate more solid leads.
One other small tip: If you do create a blog post or classified ad, I highly suggest you add a link somewhere in the post or ad to a targeted page on your website. Backlinks to your website will help it rank better over time.
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