All Blog Posts Are Not Created SEO Equal

September 27, 2009
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We have been working on lots of different ideas here at the Urbane Way Laboratory about how to show up differently on Google Search Results. Urbane Apartments recently entered a new market, and wanted to get to Page One of a Google Search for “Apartments Birmingham MI”

Community Blogs
We have long talked about the importance of a Community Blog to enhance your apartment communities SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Of all of the things we have done here at the Urbane Way Laboratory, we believe that our blogging efforts may well have the greatest impact. But we also note that all blog posts are not created equal, meaning we got to a certain desired result on purpose.

How Is This For a Page One Google Ranking
So what impact do you think we have with potential residents when looking for an Apartment in Birmingham MI and the Urbane Life Blog Posts come up on Page One of a Google Search, and hold the first seven spots, which is the first third of the Google Page. After all, it isn’t, in this case our web site, it is our blog site (as designed) that comes up. The prospect has yet to get to the actual web site, you are really spreading thick your Brand Awareness.

Prospects Are Looking For Much More Than An Apartment
We believe that prospects are looking for much more than just an apartment. They are staking out what they will be doing, where they will be doing it, and what type of life can they expect for the next year or so. Frankly, the apartment itself may well be far down on the list of priorities when selecting a new place to call home.

Does The Apartment Matter
Of course your product offering matters, sort of. We all get grouped pretty quickly into silos with similar product offerings as seen by the prospect. Luxury apartment communities are not compared to B or C grade product, they are grouped together with other luxury apartment communities. We all know this, yet we keep talking about the Product and the Apartment Features, which simply Are Not Enough to Differentiate You from the Guy Across the Street.

So, your apartment features do matter, but not really. If you Want to Break From The Pack of Apartment Commodity, focus on Enhancing the Residents Experience, which starts with Showing Them the Neighborhood!

Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience.

He also established The Urbane Way, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine.

You can connect with Eric_Urbane on Twitter.

Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications;

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  • blake.ratcliff

    We have a long way to go in this area, but I am firmly onboard with you. To many apartment renters, the apartment is a place to lay down to sleep and have a meal. The community and lifestyle around that choice is often more important than the apartment.At the same time, this why I believe properties without websites and blogs are behind where the market is leading.Keep the articles coming.

  • Kelly

    Agreed. People do want to interact more and share their ideas in a community. An apartment blog is a great way to encourage that, highlighting events and announcing news in that apartment community. Photos and video are a really good way of grabbing eyes and helping residents feel more intimate with their surroundings and neighbors.

  • Eric Brown

    @Blake, Hello, and thanks for compliments, much appreciated!I have a difficult time comprehending how any business in today's environment could operate without a web site

  • Cate C

    The last few paragraphs of this post really rang true with some of what I wrote about today regarding Craigslist headlines that apartment managers are posting. It is very important to have a clear idea of what about your building (the location, surrounding landmarks, special features) will attract residents. As you can see in our blog post, "S/W/F Seeks Apartment Near Sea Lions", this can go wrong very easily!