Unless you are using paid advertising, your apartment complex isn’t likely to show up on the first page of Google when a prospect searches with a browser. For example, try using Google to search for “apartments albuquerque nm” without the double quotes. All you’re going to see is a listing something like the following:
The rest of the page showed similar results with no apartments listed in the free organic search area. The top 3 listings on the left and all the listings to the right are paid results. These results are similar, no matter what city you specify.
All of the free organic search results are for aggregator sites. They work hard to rank well. If you click on one of the aggreator sites, they will show a lot of different apartments to select from. Your apartment complex is simply lumped in there with all the other apartments. You simply don’t stand out from the crowd!
If prospects refine the search, such as “studio apartments albuquerque nm“, they might find some apartments listed on the first page that are available without having to go through one of the aggregator sites as shown here:
Here we see that University Studio Apartments is in the first organic position and is also shown on the Google Map to the right. Don’t you think a person searching for a studio apartment in Albuquerque will take a closer look at this complex? It definitely stands out from the crowd since it is on the first page, is shown on a Google Map, and is not hidden in one of the aggregator sites.
We designed and implemented the University Studio Apartments website and we definitely know that tenants found these apartments through the website. This site is optimized for over a dozen keyword phrases that real people search for.
Unless you want to spend PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising money to get listed at the top and right side of the search results, there are a few things an apartment complex should be doing to stand out from the crowd.
First, you need an optimized Google Places Listing that was discussed in the video on the Home page. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at that video and sign up at the end to access the Google Places Tutorial. Having an optimized Google Places Listing is especially important when prospects are searching on their smartphone.
Second, you really need to have your own optimized website, instead of depending upon the aggregator sites. This website needs to be search engine optimized for the keyword phrases real prospects are using to search for your apartments. Having a pretty site that only shows up on the 13th page is a waste of your money and time. Most people won’t look beyond the 1st page when searching.
By starting with an optimized Google Places Listing and your own optimized website, you will stand out from competitors and attract more tenants.
