SEO for Property Managers - Part 4 Market Evaluation

SEO for Property Managers Part 4 - Evaluating the Market

It is important to realize that like specific markets, not all property management companies are created equal. There are literally hundreds of factors that go into a search algorithm and many of them are out of the control of the company. Here are the following considerations for a property management company to consider before embarking on an SEO strategy:

Size of the Company – The size of the company plays a big role in its ability to gain momentum in search. Big companies have a big advantage in search engine optimization. Search engines love usage data, visits, time on site, page views, form submissions, video, etc. and big companies have a big advantage in this area. A company with 1000 properties under management is going to have 1000 existing tenants and owners interacting with their site, and hundreds of prospects searching for properties, filling out applications, reading about their services, etc. This is usage volume that only large companies can obtain. There is no way to fake size. Smaller companies should not be discouraged, there are ways to compete with the big boys, but it might take more time and more effort to overcome their size advantage.

Size of the Market – Market size is the next factor to consider in deciding an SEO strategy. Smaller markets are generally, but not always less competitive that larger markets. A large market like Atlanta is going to have dozens of large companies competing for the basket of 5 search terms. This is going to drive up cost and time for those wishing to compete for these terms. A smaller company in this market might want to focus their efforts on Alpharetta or Roswell instead of spending all of their resources on the most competitive and expensive terms. See the landing pages section for more detail on this highly effective strategy.

Number of Competitors – This does not necessarily mean the actual number of companies in a market, but more specifically those competitors that understand search. Property management companies don’t have to worry about the companies that do not understand the value of SEO as they probably won’t be ranking anyway. After reading and understanding this white paper, a property manager will be able to conduct a quick search on any of the 5 key terms and see if their competition is employing the appropriate strategies to compete for those search terms. If the first page of search results is full of large companies employing most of the strategies in this document, it will be difficult to gain momentum in that market. If the companies appearing in search are not relevant, or not employing the appropriate optimization tactics, the prospects for domination are good.

Age of Company – The age of the company and its URL (Website name) are a huge factor in search placement. Generally, older companies and specifically older website URL’s do better in search.

David Borden

Co-Founder

With a resume that includes West Point graduate, Captain of the West Point Team Handball team (which, interestingly, is also referred to as “Borden Ball” around the world. Google it. We’re not sure which name came first, but we’re pretty sure Dave could tell you), US Army Chinook helicopter pilot and Co-founder, President & CEO of what is now the leading website in the country for advertising long term residential rentals, it stands to reason why Dave has a place at the PMW kitchen table...

With a resume that includes West Point graduate, Captain of the West Point Team Handball team (which, interestingly, is also referred to as “Borden Ball” around the world. Google it. We’re not sure which name came first, but we’re pretty sure Dave could tell you), US Army Chinook helicopter pilot and Co-founder, President & CEO of what is now the leading website in the country for advertising long term residential rentals, it stands to reason why Dave has a place at the PMW kitchen table: his appetite for success. And, well, because he keeps us laughing. As our resident funny-man (possibly self-proclaimed), his booming voice can be heard spreading the PMW gospel to anyone who’ll listen. And, frankly, even those who have no interest in property management. (Don’t they teach “Inside Voice” at America’s oldest military academy?) But his high-decibel, funny ways become awfully serious when it comes to staying one step ahead for the good of our customers; because Dave has been there. As a second-generation property manager from Colorado Springs, CO, he knows the struggles that property managers go through and painstakingly dissects every step of their process to come up with ways to ease their burden. As former CEO & President of RentClicks (which went on to become Rentals.com), he strategically positioned their business to become NARPM’s first official partner and was awarded NARPM’s National Affiliate of the Year three times. When he’s not devouring industry information at our kitchen table, you might find him bellying up to a plate of wings while watching his beloved (understatement) Broncos, flipping channels in search of a historical documentary, searching out a tennis match or preaching the ways of the world to his pre-teen sons, Andrew and Brady.