Commercial Agents and search engines

Wise and informed chartered surveyors and commercial agents understand the importance of a high Google ranking. It is a vital constituent for successful business development.

You may have the greatest website in the world; one that has collected numerous D&AD awards for its design; been acclaimed by NMA for discovering a new level in user experience; but all of this would be pointless if no one ever found it!

Prospective clients whether commercial tenants, landlords, vendors, developers or investors will use the Internet when searching for a commercial agent or chartered surveyor.

Clearly you are more visible to the market, the closer you are to page one, position one on a Google search, but clients also equate high page rankings with market position. This perception, whether right or wrong, is reinforced by the fact that names like Savills, Knight Frank, Carter Jonas and Jones Lang LaSalle will consistently rank highly in most generic searches for commercial property services.

In April of this year, Neilson Research identified interesting online behaviour within the wider property sector.  It appears that your property audience is less likely to use recognised brands and brand terms like a particular chartered surveyors name or portal. Neilson found that only 17% of users searched by using such focused keyword phrases.

Yet the research found that the need to be ranked highly for more generic terms is vital. Neilson identified that 72% of all property searches were of this nature. That could be generic terms like:

“Commercial agents in Droitwich”
“Commercial property in Leeds”
“Office space in Milton Keynes”
“Chartered Surveyors in Ipswich”
“Retail property Brighton”

Unsurprisingly, the use of regionally specific or location focused terms is also hugely prevalent. A huge amount, 92% in fact will use a generic term more than once.

It is not hard, nor does it need to be expensive to gain a high Google ranking if you:

• Use an SEO property specialist
• Do your homework
• Target your approach

There are generic SEO (search engine optimisation) specialists, but they can be expensive charging four figure sums per month for their expertise. Yet web service agencies that specialise in the property sector will be able to deliver the same high rankings as the generic SEO specialist. Some including on-going SEO within your website package.

The web is a great leveller. A high search engine ranking coupled with a modern, professional website can make the smallest commercial property practice appear to be a market leader.

By Philip Burrows, Marketing Consultant