In any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Course these days you'll hear about the critical importance of your site map. A good site map shows visitors how to navigate your site, adding to their overall experience. You only get one chance to make a good impression, goes for Websites, too.
A good site map also shows/tells your visitors you've thought of them ahead of time. And that they're important to you. If you don't show them where to go, they'll show you where to go. An extra click, is a click away.
The Nordstroms Customer Service Playbook says: Never "walk" a customer. Wonder why most Nordstroms have vallet parking, comfortable chairs with sports magazines in all women's areas and the least expensive coffee in the mall? Never walk a customer.
Nordstroms doesn't want any customer to "walk". In other words, leave their store. And you don't want your customer to leave your Website. Nordstroms wants to be their customer's one-stop-shop for every thing clothes. You want your Website to be your customer's one-stop-shop for everything Real Estate.
Wonder why there are so many stories of Nordstroms employees going to other stores to buy higher priced sizes Nordstroms didn't have. And selling those items at Nordstroms' reduced price?
"Walking" a customer is making them leave your store to find what they want. The vallet-parked Nordstrom's customer has to walk all the way through the store twice, even if they don't stop to buy anything. A link, opening in a new window, makes your customer come back through your site to shut down the computer.
With the Google Toolbar pre-installed on every Dell Computer and many people checking the Google Page Rank for their Website, more and more people have the Google Toolbar on their Home-Page.
Want directions to your listing? Not on your site? No problem. Your visitor/home buyer only has to copy and paste the home's address (or even part of the address) and plug it into the Google Search Box (On the Google Toolbar or on the Google Website). (Does anyone use MapQuest anymore?)
Up pops the Google Results Page for your listings' address. Google provides a schematic map with a push-pin for your listing and an offer to provide driving directions.
But, right under the map and the directions:
- Guess who's there?
- Guess how many times they're there?
- Guess why they're there?
Trulia's there (if your listing is pushed out to Trulia). And usually with 2 placements. One for the Address Page and another for the Zip Code Page (No Zillow. At least not yet).
It doesn't hurt Trulia's Google placements, that they're an Enterprise Partner with Google; using Google Maps, Google Ads and Google Directions (and I bet, Google Analytics too).
And you thought you'd save money by not having directions on your site. And by skimping on SEO.
Guess why you'd better have directions on your site?
Guess why you'd better have SEO in your marketing budget?
Happy Searching.
Posted by: Cliff Jacobson
Adapt Or Die!
WebHomeUSAblog: The Blog of Online Real Estate Marketing
I have created a laymans terms guide to search engine optimization. It covers all steps from the basics to advanced techniques, to help you get optimum page rank from any website. I will be giving away 50 copies of this ebook! If you have any questions please ask.
Thanks,
Sam
www.GeeksGuideToSeo.info
www.squidoo.com/geeksguidetoseo
Posted by: Sam | September 20, 2008 at 03:18 PM
I am expecting some advance seo tips.Could you post?
Posted by: Melbourne SEO | February 05, 2009 at 06:36 AM