Mastering Home Builder SEO: A Comprehensive Manual

The house hunt begins with an online search! 99% of home buyers (ages 24 to 57) and 84% of buyers (between 77 and 97) stated that they used the Internet during their home-buying process. The Internet has become an indispensable tool for home buyers, so you must incorporate digital visibility to reach your potential customers. Including SEO in your marketing plan will boost traffic to your site and bring more valuable and qualified leads to your business.  

With a robust SEO strategy, your content rankings will continue, and you will retain online leverage against your competitors.

SEO for Home Builders: Understanding the Basics  

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a process used to improve a website’s visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). In simpler terms, it makes a website more attractive to search engines like Google, so it appears higher in the search results. Doing so involves optimizing content, the site’s structure, and acquiring backlinks. SEO is complex due to the constantly changing algorithms. Understanding SEO requires technical elements, content quality, and user experience. To remain competitive, you must continually learn and keep up with updates in the online landscape. 

If you are new to SEO, we have compiled a list of terminology to understand:

• Algorithm: The collection of guidelines that search engines use to rank websites in their search results. Think of an algorithm like the blueprint for new construction. Both provide clear outlines, regulations, rules, and steps needed to produce the final result, whether it’s a new home or a search engine task performance. 

• Keywords: Words or phrases that users search for to find information. Whenever you search the internet, the words you include are keywords. For example, if a newlywed couple wants to build a home in the suburban Minneapolis area, they could search “Maple Grove new home builder” or “custom home build near Minneapolis.” 

• SERPs (Search Engine Results Page): The page shown to a user in response to the search query. In the example above, SERPs would be the resulting list of home builders in or around Maple Grove/ the greater Minneapolis area. 

• Backlink: A link from one website to another. This is a link from a link. You start on one website for your search query and are redirected to another. When that blog writer or web developer scripted the content, they linked it to another website, producing a backlink. 

• Organic Traffic: When a visitor visits your website through an unpaid search result. The opposite of organic traffic is paid advertisements. 

• Crawl: The process of search engines scanning through websites to index. Think of crawling like a librarian who is continually going through the library to see if any new books have been added or if any books have been moved or updated. The librarian goes through the aisles, picks up books, and skims through each one. Search engines use ‘crawlers’ (like a librarian) to browse the web, collecting information about each page. 

• Indexing: The process of adding web pages to the search engine’s database. To distinguish between crawl and index, think of indexing as the librarian organizing the gathered information into a catalog system after going through the aisles. This recording is compiled into a database to help users retrieve relevant web pages for their search queries. 

Top Strategies for Home Builder SEO

Here are nine strategies home builders can incorporate into their SEO marketing efforts. 

1. Market Research 

Every project begins with research. Market research is vital for a home builder SEO strategy as it can provide detailed information about your target audience’s needs, wants, and search intent. Start with a simple search of ‘home builder’ or ‘local home builder’ in your preferred search engine, looking at the results that populate. Ignore the “sponsored” listings, as those are paid advertisements. Examine which websites appear and in what order. The ability to be closer to the top of the search query is due to that website’s SEO rank. These search queries can provide insights about your competitors and prospective clients. Similarly, the ‘People Also Ask’ section will appear when you scroll down using Google. These phrases can help you determine what people are searching about the keyword you initially queried. 

2. Local Focus 

Establish your Google Business Profile 

A Google Business Profile is a free tool enabling businesses to manage their online presence on Google Search. It displays business information such as name, address, phone number (NAP), website URL, business hours, business category, photos and videos, customer reviews, bookings, etc. A Google Business Profile will help you manage your local home builder SEO by increasing visibility in your area, enhancing credibility with positive reviews, interacting with your customers, optimizing your business profile, and using analytics. 

To create a Google Business Profile, follow these steps: 

1. Go to the website and sign in with your Google account. 
2. Provide your business information. 
3. Verify your business through one of the following methods: phone, email, postcard.
4. Complete your profile with visuals and descriptions
5. Monitor and update regularly for accuracy 
   
   

Local business directories 

Local listings mention your business in online directories like Yelp, Bing Places, Houzz, HomeAdvisor, etc. Search engines like Google use these citations and listings for local relevance. Being listed on various local listings ensures a broad presence, increasing the likelihood of attracting local leads. These directories drive targeted traffic and lead generation, allowing you to effectively outrank your competitors and establish a local home builder SEO presence. Similar to the Google Business Profile, follow this guide to manage your local listings effectively: 

1. Identify key platforms 
2. Claim your business on the desired platforms 
3. Provide the NAP information 
4. Add descriptions, categories, photos, and reviews
5. Verify your business listing 
6. Monitor reviews

Local keywords — specific neighborhoods, suburbs, landmarks 

When determining the keywords and phrases you want to rank for, it is essential to consider both the search volume and keyword difficulty. Short-tail keywords will have a higher search volume but will be harder to rank due to the broad and competitive range of results that will populate them. 

For example, ‘home builder’ has an average monthly search volume of over 12.1K and a difficulty of 90%, according to SEMRush. A long-tail, local keyword like ‘Minneapolis home builder’ has an average monthly search volume of 70 and a difficulty of 43%. 

You can use local keywords to attract more regional customers, specifying neighborhoods, suburbs, or landmarks relevant to your business. 

Sample keywords to consider include: 

• New home construction in _______ 
• Home builder near _________ 
• ________ custom home builder 
• Custom homes near __________
• ________ lots for sale 
• _________ style homes in _________

It is essential to consider keyword variations in your home builder SEO strategy, whether in a sentence or related words in your content. Using synonyms, long-tail keywords, and latent semantic (LSI) keywords can provide search engines additional context and relevance, improving your ranking. The placement of your keywords needs to be strategic, including within the title or header, introduction, and body text, ensuring smooth readiness for the search engine and the reader. 

1. On-Page Optimization 

• Title Tags
• Meta Descriptions
• URLs

1. Site Speed

• Image size
• Java Script

1. Technical SEO for home builders- Mobile and Desktop Optimization 

We recommend that your website be optimized for both mobile and desktop. Most users search for home builders on their mobile devices; therefore, your site should be responsive. 

To ensure your website is mobile-friendly: 

• Use a responsive design and layout 
• Optimize your page load speed (check Google PageSpeed Insights for recommendations for improvements)
• Use simple navigation (touch elements should be at least 48x48 pixels)
• Input readable fonts and text sizing (16px is recommended for body text)
• Test on different devices (check the mobile usability report in the Google Search Console) 

3. Content Strategy 

Content Calendar 

Create a content calendar to publish relevant content regularly, including blog posts, case studies, industry news, and updates. This strategic tool helps you manage your content creation efforts, plan for keyword integration, and push relevant communication to your audience as a tactic for SEO for home builders. A weekly schedule or monthly calendar are examples of timelines to manage the production and publishing of your content. You can use platforms like Google Drive, Excel, Notion, or SEMrush. 

User-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) can be a beneficial tool for homebuilders to incorporate within their marketing strategy. UGC is any form of content, text, video, image, post, or review created by individuals rather than the brand. UGC has grown in popularity due to its cost-efficiency, authenticity, and homebuilder SEO growth. UGC shares the real experiences of clients with other customers, building credibility in your business. Positive reviews and client testimonials serve as social proof, displaying the bandwagon effect, a psychological and social concept where people adopt the behaviors of those they see engaging. Encouraging the customer to share their experience fosters a sense of community and interactive content creation. A client's sharing this content improves content diversity and brand reach. You can leverage UGC on your website with a testimonial page or gallery section (showcasing clients’ photos and videos). You can also share and repost UGC on our social media accounts, giving credit to original creators and appreciation to contributors. 

Types of UGC for homebuilders: 

• Client reviews 
• Video testimonials
• Home tours 
• Before and After
• Interviews 

Content Updates 

Regular content updates are vital for maintaining and improving home builder SEO performance. Search engines prioritize relevant content with consistent updates, signaling an active and authoritative presence. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to identify pages that would benefit from updates. For blog posts, refresh with relevant keywords and new statistics. For product pages, ensure descriptions and features reflect the latest offerings and current customer feedback. For service pages, revise service pages to include new services and case studies. 

4. Analytics

As you establish your SEO campaign, track and monitor your efforts to determine which yields positive results and areas for improvement. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to collect and interpret data from search engines to improve your website’s performance. Metrics to include organic traffic, keyword rankings, click-through rates, number of backlinks, average time on page, bounce rate, and user engagement. The key performance indicators (KPI) provide insights to measure your progress against your goals and competitors. 

5. Backlinking

Backlinks in SEO signal to search engines that another resource finds your content valuable enough to link within its own. Developing a diverse link-building strategy includes fixing broken links, leveraging local partnerships, utilizing a resource page, and implementing internal linking. To enhance your SEO efforts, focus on quality over quantity. Aim for backlinks from websites with higher domain authorities and relevant sites. Obtain links from diverse domains to drive traffic and curate a balanced backlink profile. Create high-quality, shareable content, such as a comprehensive guide or in-depth research. Partner with local businesses, participate in community events, and sponsor local organizations for local backlinks. 

6. Social Media

While social signals are a debated ranking factor, they can increase your brand’s visibility and organic search ranking. Social signals are the collective metrics on social media platforms and webpages, such as likes, shares, comments, reviews, and follows. These signals can establish a solid social media presence. Likewise, higher engagement rates and social interactions provide direct feedback on the value of your content. With shareable content, there are opportunities for viral marketing and greater exposure, attracting attention to your website and overall home builder SEO efforts. 

Do you need help optimizing your website and digital marketing? Contact us for a consultation about taking the next step to transform your home builder business.