SEO for Property Managers - Part 11 Google +

Create a great Google + page - As mentioned earlier, this SEO process is progressive. Now that the property management company has built a great website, it is time to setup the company Google+ profile. While this is an off-site effort, it is the single greatest way to get free business. Google+ has replaced the yellow pages and every property management company needs to be listed there. Google+ is the best place for the company to collect and display reviews, content, and news because Google gives Google+ content an unfair amount of credit in its algorithm.

Make sure to use photos and branding to exactly match the company website when setting up Google+ or any other social media. Fill out all sections properly, and completely. The better job a company does building its profile, the higher it will appear in local results. Max out pictures and video, enter office hours, address and phone info. PM companies should make sure that they select a radius or cities that they operate in to expand the reach of the company listing.

After building a great website and creating a Google+ page, give the site about 30-60 days to see where it will end up in search results without conducting any off-site efforts. If the company is using a brand new URL it will not appear in the results for at least a year. This is called sand-boxing, and all new companies are subject to Google’s sandbox. It is possible to shorten the sand-box period by completing the rest of the progression of this SEO strategy, but every new company should have a realistic expectation about obtaining search results.

If the company has successfully completed all of the above steps and the property management website is ranking in a position to achieve the company’s sales goals the remaining steps are not necessary at this time. Keep a close eye on the results of the site and of competitor’s sites to see if the additional efforts are required. For those companies not ranking in a competitive spot, it is time to complete the next portion of the process.

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.