The rental housing market is more competitive than ever before. To land new residents for available apartments, developers and property managers need to get creative (not spend more) with their online marketing efforts. One way to do this is by leveraging the power of SEO.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your website ranks in SERPs; the more likely renters will find it when searching for apartments online.
5 WAYS TO LEVERAGE SEO TO PROMOTE UNIT AVAILABILITY
1. Target long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords are specific phrases people are more likely to use when they’re close to making a purchase decision. For example, rather than targeting “apartments,” a leasing agent might target the keyword “1 bedroom apartments in Los Angeles” or “apartments that allow pets.“
2. Optimize website content for both search engines and humans.
It’s not enough to stuff your website with keywords; your content must be well-written and informative if you want people to stick around. Focus on creating compelling copy that explains the features and benefits of their apartments in an engaging way. Blogging is another excellent way to promote your available apartments online. By creating compelling content about topics related to rental housing, you can attract readers who may be interested in learning more about your complex. You can also include links to your website or contact information in your blog posts so readers can quickly get in touch with you. In addition to promoting your available apartments, blogging can help you establish yourself as an expert in the rental housing industry. This can be valuable when it comes time to lease units because potential tenants will see you as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source of information.
3. Invest in local SEO.
Local SEO is a subfield of SEO that focuses on optimizing websites for local searches. For example, if someone searches for “apartments in Los Angeles,” Google will show them results from websites that have optimized their content for local searches. Apartment communities can optimize their websites for local searches by claiming their Google Business Profile listing and ensuring that their NAP (name, address, and phone number) information is up-to-date and consistent across all platforms.
4. Build backlinks.
Backlinks are incoming links from other websites to your website. Google sees backlinks as a vote of confidence—the more backlinks you have from high-quality websites, the higher your website will rank in SERPs. Build backlinks by leaving comments on relevant blog posts, Guest posting on relevant websites, and listing their apartments on rental sites like Apartments.com.
5. Use High-Quality Photos and Videos
In today’s Visually-Driven World, it’s essential to use high-quality photos and videos in your listings. Potential renters want to be able to see what they’re getting themselves into, so make sure to use bright, clear photos that accurately depict the apartment.
The new iPhone 14 has some incredible features that make it the perfect tool for creating high-quality product videos for your business.
First, let’s talk about the camera. The new iPhone 14 has a dual-lens camera system with an f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens and an f/2.4 aperture telephoto lens. This means you can now get sharp, detailed close-ups and beautiful wide shots with shallow depth-of-field effects.
The other big selling point of the new iPhone 14 regarding video is the introduction of 4K video recording at 60 frames per second (fps). This high frame rate results in a smoother, more lifelike video that will impress your viewers.
So how do you put all of these new features to good use? Here are four easy steps for creating a stunning product video with your iPhone 14:
Step 1: Plan your video
Before you start shooting, it’s essential to take some time to plan out your video. What is the purpose of the video? Who is your target audience? What kind of tone do you want to set? Answering these questions will help you determine what shots you need to get and what angle you should shoot from.
Step 2: Start shooting
Now it’s time to start shooting! Get creative and experiment with different angles and shot types. Be sure to take advantage of the new features of the iPhone 14 camera by getting close-ups and wide shots and using the shallow depth-of-field effect. Also, don’t forget to pay attention to the lighting – natural light always looks best in videos. And finally, remember to shoot in 4K at 60fps, so your video looks smooth and professional. Once you have all the footage you need, it’s time to move on to step three…
Step 3: Edit your video
Editing doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming – plenty of easy-to-use editing apps will do most of the work for you. We recommend using Splice, a free app that allows you to quickly and easily edit videos on your iPhone. Simply select the clips you want to use, drag and drop them into the order you want them in, add a title and some music, and voila! – you have a professional-looking product video ready to share with the world.
Step 4: Video SEO
Video SEO is the process of optimizing your video content for search engines. Just as you would optimize a blog post or website page for specific keywords, you can optimize your videos to ensure that they appear in search results. When done correctly, video SEO can help you to reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your site. Here are some tips for optimizing your videos for SEO:
- Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions: Include relevant keywords in your video title and description so that people can find your video when they search for those terms.
- Create transcripts: Transcripts can help people to understand and engage with your video, even if they don’t have sound turned on. They also provide another opportunity to include relevant keywords.
- Optimize your thumbnail image: Choose an engaging thumbnail image that will make people want to click on your video. You can also include text on the thumbnail image to optimize it for SEO.
- Promote your videos: In addition to optimizing your videos for search engines, you should promote them on social media and other channels, like YouTube. This will help to increase views and engagement, which will, in turn, help with SEO.
Monitor your progress with analytics tools.
Regularly check the community’s website’s progress using tools like GREENstick, fully integrated with Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, Social Accounts, and Local Listings; these tools will help property management companies track their progress and change their approach.
Following these tips, developers and property management companies should use SEO to their advantage and land new residents despite today’s competitive rental housing market. Finding quality renters doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive – by following these five easy tips, you can use SEO strategies to your advantage and ensure that your units are rented out quickly!
