Mortgage SEO - 7 Steps to Better Search Engine Ranking
by Brandon Cornett
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the act of improving your website’s search engine ranking and visibility through various publishing and linking strategies. Mortgage SEO is the same thing, but applied to mortgage websites.
The full concept of mortgage SEO is beyond the scope of this article, but I will offer seven SEO tactics you can use to boost your mortgage website’s search engine visibility. These are tactics you can start using today.
So without further ado, here are seven steps to better search engine ranking through mortgage SEO:
1. Choose the right phrases.
The first step to mortgage search engine optimization is to determine what phrases people are using to find services like yours. Many mortgage website owners simply guess at their key phrases, which can hamper a mortgage SEO campaign from the get go.
Don’t guess what phrases people are using. Research them. Use a tool like WordTracker (www.wordtracker.com) to find out how your prospects are using the search engines. Make a list of 10 to 20 phrases relevant to your services, and focus your mortgage SEO strategy on those phrases.
2. Add 10+ pages of content to your mortgage website.
Any mortgage website that adds ten pages of relevant content will get a boost in search engine visibility. But why stop there? Why not add 100 or more pages of new content (over time, of course).
Content creation is one of the easiest steps in an SEO campaign. Search engines love content. When you add topic-specific content to your mortgage website, you make it easier for search engines to understand what your site is all about (and to categorize it appropriately).
3. Make your mortgage website worth linking to.
An inbound link is any link from another website to yours. If Bob Smith puts a link on his website that goes to your website, you have gained another inbound link. Thanks Bob. Inbound links are also a key factor in mortgage SEO, because search engines basically count them as “votes” toward your website’s popularity.
The key to getting a lot of inbound links is to make your mortgage website worth linking to in the first place. If your mortgage website only talks about you, few people will want to link to it. But if you turn your website into a resource of helpful mortgage information — a resource website — you make it much easier to gain links.
So why not build a resource section within your website? Or better yet, build an entire website dedicated to your local real estate scene. Build a comprehensive, helpful website with loads of information, and other webmasters will be more inclined to link to it.
4. Add your mortgage website to directories.
Submitting your website to web directories is another way to get high-quality inbound links. An example would be the Microsoft Small Business Directory, or Best of the Web (www.BOTW.org).Most quality directories charge a submission fee, but it’s usually worth the price.
5. Publish press releases online.
When you submit a press release online through a service like PRWeb.com, you have the opportunity to distribute your message through hundreds of channels, RSS feeds, websites and blogs. And by adding a hyperlink to each release, you’re once again increasing the number of inbound links to your website (a big factor in SEO success).
6. Publish articles online.
As with the press release scenario above, you can also submit mortgage articles online. First, you write a great article about some aspect of mortgages (choosing a mortgage, types of mortgage loans, improving your credit, etc.). Then you would submit the article online through distribution websites like EzineArticles.com. If it’s well-written, you article could end up on dozens or hundreds of real estate-related websites. And again, each article would link back to your website thus increasing your “link popularity” and search engine ranking … over time, of course.
7. Be persistent but patient.
It’s a common misconception that a mortgage website should appear in search engines right away. “Well, my website is online, so I should be able to see it in search engines, right?” In reality, it may take months for your mortgage website to rank well in search engines, possibly longer depending on how competitive your phrases are (and mortgage phrases are pretty competitive).
My recommendation is that you create an SEO schedule. I have one, and if you’re serious about the search engine visibility of your mortgage website, you should have one too. Schedule one SEO task per day, two hours per weekend, or whatever you can squeeze in. The key is to do at least one thing for your mortgage SEO program each week, or more if you can find the time.
Related article: Quick Tips for Mortgage SEO
