3 Steps to Optimize Your Community for Search

Looking to increase your community’s traffic from search engines like Google? Check out these top SEO tips from Erica Byrum, assistant vice president of social media for Apartments.com. These best practices will help you improve your online visibility and reputation.

1. List your community in online business directories

Are your properties listed on the essential business directories? Make sure you have detailed, accurate listings on all the main sites.

Before anything else, you’ll want to set up your Google Business Profile. This listing is critical because it controls the information that’s displayed about your business across all of Google’s services, including Google Maps and Google searches.

But that’s not all. To expand your reach across platforms, make sure you’re also listed on Bing Places, Yelp, and Apple Maps.

Do your communities have Facebook and Instagram accounts? Good news: These channels can do double duty as business listings. What about LinkedIn and Foursquare? These sites are optional but can’t hurt if you have the time to keep them updated.

Review your listings on a regular basis, such as once a month or once a quarter, to make sure all the details are correct and consistent across each site. When you check your listings, look out for these details:

• Community name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Website URL
• Hours of operation

Double-check that these details are correct and consistent across each site. You don’t want to be listed as “Lakeside Properties” on one profile and “Lakeside Properties, Inc.” on another. Keep your spelling consistent, and look out for articles, spaces, and ampersands, too.

You’ll also want to check your information against your Apartments.com listings.

And whenever your community moves to a new location or undergoes a brand refresh, update your directory listings immediately to make sure customers can find you.

2. Keep your social media profiles up to date

Did you know that your social media engagement is a key ingredient in how your business ranks in search? Search engines look at social activity, such as recent posts, likes, shares, and comments, to gauge the popularity and authority of your business. An active profile expands your reach to more people.

Post on your channels at least once a week, and encourage your followers to engage with you. (Not sure what to post? Check out these 21 ideas to keep your feed fresh.)

3. Solicit reviews

Reviews can seriously boost your business’s reputation — and bottom line. In fact, Apartments.com listings with at least one review received 50 percent more leads than those without reviews! And the more four- and five-star reviews you have, the more Google and other search engines will reward you in search rankings.

It pays off — so encourage your residents to rate and review you.

And once those reviews start coming in, get the most mileage out of them. If you use reputation management software, sync your reviews to your Apartments.com listings, and spotlight your best reviews on your social media channels.

And finally, engage with your reviewers by responding to reviews. Not only is this a great way to say thank you to your residents who took the time to write a review, but an active presence also increases customer trust.

Want more tips from Erica? Follow @ApartmentsBiz on Facebook and Twitter for Erica’s social media ideas and best practices, or follow Apartments.com on LinkedIn. Interested in personalized support? Check out Apartments.com’s Social Media & Reputation Suite.