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How to Attract Strong, Natural Link-Backs (part 3 of 5)

This is the third of a five-part series by guest blogger and web designer Amanda Church.

We now know the real secret to having a search-optimized site is creating current, relevant, and unique content that naturally attracts links, rather than begging for links to crummy, keyword-stuffed, “optimized” web pages.

And since the popularity of our content depends so much on what happens off the page, it stands to reason we might also step outside the confines of the page itself to get the word out. Luckily, the same skills you use to conceive and create your relevant and unique content also apply to promoting it.

Always remember: focus on what’s right for the reader, and the reader will take care of the rest. No one is going to link to you unless there’s something in it for them. In this case, that something is current, relevant and unique content.

Writing Link-Worthy Content

Link attraction is the single biggest aspect of today’s search engine optimization. Google looks at the links pointing to your site as votes of legitimacy. In addition, Google also takes into account the words people use when linking to your site to get an idea of what the right keywords and phrases would be to find your page.

Despite what some unscrupulous websites might tell you, there’s no way to trick people into linking to your site. People link because there’s something about your content that compels them to do so. And while there are other factors that go into a search engine’s algorithm, quality link-backs will always remain one of the top factors in search engine optimization.

So how and where do you get that compelling content, and how do you optimize it for the greatest impact? Well, getting the content should be easy. If you’re an agent savvy enough to have your own website, chances are you already have plenty of relevant information to impart, including advice for buyers, sellers, and even other agents. Why not put that knowledge to work?

If you stink at writing, gather your notes and hire someone else to put it all together. And don’t forget to include those keywords and phrases we worked on in Part II in both the content and the page and subject titles you chose. Remember, when people link back to you, those titles are usually what they’re going to use, so make them as content-rich and relevant as possible.

A good rule of thumb to follow when writing page content is a 5 to 6% ratio of keywords to content. In this case, however, more is not better. Any more than that ratio can have the opposite effect, as Google will suspect you of trying to trick them. Not a good idea.

That also doesn’t mean mindlessly waving a keyword shaker over the page. Remember, please the reader first. Nobody wants to read the Dr. Seuss version of real estate. It is ultimately people who use search engines, and therefore, it should always be people you write for.

If you stick to your relevant subject matter, writing content-rich pages with well-placed keyword phrases should come naturally. In other words, you wouldn’t create a landing page for your real estate site filled with information about your new car. Such a contrast would confuse not only human readers, but spiders as well. Leave the news about your prized tomatoes or your grandson’s homerun for your personal blog.

And speaking of landing pages, any site, particularly one with a lot of content and/or pages, should have one. This is especially true for blogs (which we will get into tomorrow). By landing page, I’m not talking about what we in the design business used to call splash pages, usually a plain page with a fancy image and an ENTER SITE link on it.

No, what I mean here is more like creating a central hub. For most sites this is the home page, a place where a general overview of the site can be found, along with links to all the other pages.

This is an effective SEO strategy because it aggregates all content on one search-optimized page and directs the majority of inbound links to a central place rather than scattered across individual pages, allowing for easy cross-linking of future content and prompting social bookmarking, another topic for tomorrow’s post.

To Get Links In, Try Linking Out

Remember that old saying, you have to spend money to make money? Well, that’s the principle at work here. Linking is the fundamental basis of the web. Search engines see it as being well-connected to other pages and content, and as we’ve already learned, that matters when it comes to optimizing your site.

Here are some rules of thumb for linking out:

• Link to relevant content as early in the page as possible. Since search engines place more value on content at the top of the page, the higher up you link, the more important it becomes.

  This goes for any page content. Just as you would mention the important news first in a conversation, so you should include the most important content as far up on the page as possible.

• Link to relevant interior pages of your site or other sites. You should already have navigation links to every page on your own site at (or near) the top of each page. If you don’t, add them. And make sure they’re text links (as opposed to images). It’s also a good idea to repeat these links (at least to the main pages) at the bottom of each page as well. It’s helpful for your human visitors, and search engines like to see them.

  If you have a lot of pages, providing a sitemap is a good idea. A sitemap is little more than a top-down outline of your site, with links to each page. And having a web-optimized xml sitemap is even better. There are several services out there that will allow you to create one for free. One, XML-Sitemaps, will create a map of your site with directions on how to submit it to Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

• Link with naturally relevant anchor text. In other words, the text you use in the link should reflect the subject matter of the content on the linked page. So if you’re linking to a site for a home inspection company named Home Rite, your link would be something similar to Home Rite, Home Inspection Services.

The Hidden Benefits of SEO

Regardless of how search engines tinker with their search algorithms, one thing will always remain the same – they have to match up what a page is about and what people are searching for. Which means your keywords have to match up with the way searchers look for them.

Telling search engines that what you’re talking about on your site is the same as what people are looking for is what SEO is all about. But even if search engines didn’t deliver traffic at all, the ability to know, understand, and mirror the language of your audience is an amazing gift we’ve been given thanks to search data.

And here’s an added bonus. Good SEO makes content more readable. Why? Because when you implement SEO best practices of focusing on relevant, unique content, you rank well with exceptionally reader-friendly content. That’s what gets it linked in the first place, remember? Mindless keyword stuffing is not what Google (or any other search engine) wants. And neither do people.

When you approach SEO-friendly writing in a logical, informed manner, your content isn’t stiff or keyword-stuffed. It’s natural, compelling, and artful. The kind of writing humans want to read and link back to.

Tomorrow we’ll discuss how to use social media to target the right search traffic.

SEO Part I – How Search Engines Work
SEO Part II – How to Optimize Your Content to Attract Visitors and Search Engines

Amanda Church is a ten-year veteran of web and graphic design and founder of Nytshadow Designs, a design firm located in Tampa, Florida. Amanda built and has maintained LakeOconeeHouses.com for three years.

Home Owner Tax Credit Extion

Congress set to expand homebuyer tax credit
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Reuters – Real estate signs are seen in the front yards of houses in this file photo taken in Maricopa, Arizona … By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 22 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Buying a home is about to get cheaper for a whole new crop of homebuyers — $6,500 cheaper.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. But with the program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers — or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years — would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.

“This is probably the last extension,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a former real estate executive who championed the credits.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that the Senate included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year. The other would let companies now losing money recoup taxes they paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

“We are still in a world of economic hurt, and Congress must continue to act boldly and creatively,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “With the right mix of tax breaks and investments we will get through this recession and get folks working again.”

The real estate industry has been pushing to extend and expand the housing tax credit. About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes. While the measure passed the Senate by a 98-0 vote, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., questioned its efficiency in stimulating home sales.

“For the vast majority of cases, the homebuyer tax credit amounted to a free gift since it did not affect their decision to purchase a home,” Bond said. “And for the small minority of buyers whose decision was directly caused by the credit, this raises the question of whether we are subsidizing buyers who may not have been able to afford buying a home in the first place.”

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

The credit would be extended an additional year, until June 30, 2011, for members of the military serving outside the United States for at least 90 days.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

The business tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years, giving them refunds of taxes paid in those years. Under current law, businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $15 million can claim losses back only two years.

The tax break would help industries suffering losses in 2008 or 2009, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers. Congress included a scaled-back version of the tax break — for companies with revenues of $15 million or less — in the economic recovery package enacted in February. The new tax break would be available to companies of any size, providing a quick source of cash.

The U.S Chamber of Commerce has been a big backer of the tax break for money-losing companies.

“It frees up capital that they can use to maintain jobs and potentially even hire new people as the economy returns,” said Caroline Harris, senior tax counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The tax breaks would be paid for largely by delaying a tax break for multinational companies that pay foreign taxes. It was passed in 2004 and originally was to have taken effect this year, but would now be delayed until 2018.

Allowoing Foreclosed Homeowners to Remain in Their Homes

A plan that first surfaced a couple of years ago, aimed at allowing foreclosed homeowners to remain in their homes as renters, is gaining greater attention today. “The basic point is you’re recognizing an unusual situation so you’re temporarily changing the rules on foreclosure,” says co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, who first proposed the plan.

He says foreclosures are rising and nothing else appears to be working. “As it stands now, if I hold the mortgage on a house and the person hasn’t met the payments, I go to the judge and say ‘Look this person hasn’t met the payments.’ The homeowner is given a certain number of days and, if payments aren’t met by then, the house is mine. I throw [the homeowner] out on the street,” says Baker.

Baker’s plan proposes to change the rules of foreclosure for a limited period of time.

“Mortgages issued 2002 to 2006 or 2007, whatever time period we want to put in there. For those mortgages we’re going to recognize the unusual situation and say that if I want to foreclose on that person, I have to give [the homeowner] the option to stay there as a renter,” explains Baker.

The length of the rental period would be determined by Congress if the proposed bill passes. “My view is you want it to be as long as possible — seven years or 10 years — a lot of people wouldn’t take advantage of that whole time but the point is to give people substantial security in their home so they can stay there for a period of time as renters, paying the market rent. They’re not getting a subsidized rent,” says Baker.

The plan also binds buyers of the foreclosed property to commit to allowing the former homeowner to remain as a tenant for the rest of the guaranteed period. According to Baker, the important thing to note is the many benefits that this plan can bring for neighborhoods and property owners in those areas as well as those facing foreclosure.

“The absolute worst thing you could have happen for a neighborhood is to have vacant properties and, of course, in a lot of these areas you have a lot of vacant properties. Banks often don’t care for them well. They don’t see to it that the grass is mowed, that broken windows are fixed or boarded up. Sometimes houses become crack houses or there are squatters there. So it’s the worst thing in the world to have a foreclosure and have a house sit vacant and in many places that’s exactly what’s happening,” says Baker.

Federal Tax Credit May Be Extended

The House and Senate may have left Capitol Hill for their August break, but housing lobbyists are busy at work gearing up a major campaign to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit.

The credit for first-time purchasers is scheduled to expire November 30.

The National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors want to persuade Congress to nail down an extension of the credit, and maybe even broaden its coverage, as soon as possible.

The home builders are mounting an aggressive campaign during the congressional recess. The association is sending out local teams of members to meet with congressmen and senators in their home districts, urging not only a one year extension of the credit, but an expansion of the concept to cover all home buyers next year, not just first-timers.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Explained

Home Builders Petition for Extension of $8000 credit

To help create jobs and set the stage for a strong recovery, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) last week called on Congress to extend and enhance the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit due to expire on December 1.

Specifically, NAHB is asking Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit program through November 30, 2010 and make it available to all buyers of principal residences.

“If Congress acts to extend the tax credit program, it would spur 383,000 additional home sales, including 80,000 housing starts, creating nearly 350,000 jobs over the coming year,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “That’s good for the economy and good for America.”

In addition to extending the tax credit, home builders will be meeting with their lawmakers in their home districts during the August congressional recess and urging them to:

1. Correct a faulty appraisal process. The inappropriate use of distressed and foreclosed sales as comps in determining home values is hurting home values and killing home sales. The situation is so bad that a recent NAHB survey of more than 500 builders found that one out of every four new-home sales are lost because appraisals are coming in below the contract sales price. NAHB is urging Congress to work with housing and federal regulators to adopt and enforce clear, concise regulatory guidance that will allow appraisers to develop realistic valuations based on sales that are truly comparable.

2. Improve housing credit conditions. Since there can be no meaningful economic recovery until the flow of credit is restored to housing, NAHB is calling on Congress to urge regulators and the banking industry to end the stranglehold on acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans that has emerged as a major impediment to the housing recovery.

3. Co-sponsor Net Operating Loss (NOL) relief legislation in the House and Senate. NOL bills H.R. 2452 in the House and S. 823 in the Senate would prevent further layoffs in building and other industries hit hard by the recession.

Getting a Mortgage in The Current Recession

We’ve all heard how the current real estate landscape is a buyer’s market. Interest rates are at historic lows and home prices have plummeted as sellers try to compete with a market flooded with foreclosures and sell-offs.

However, buyers hoping to take advantage of falling prices are finding it harder than anticipated to get funding, particularly here in Georgia.

The state of Georgia now has the highest number of bank failures in the country (over 20 since the FDIC started taking over banks last year). So what can you, as a Georgia resident, do to improve your chances of financing your dream home?

Well, first of all, make sure to check your credit rating with the three major credit bureaus before starting your home search. Banks are getting pickier about who they loan money to, and what used to be considered a workable credit score may not fly now.

You can contact the major credit bureaus directly at the following links, or use one of the many credit services out there. A word of warning, however: be sure to check the fine print when using these services. Many will sign you up for recurring charges you might not want or need.

Experian
Equifax
Transunion

If you spot discrepancies on your credit report, contact the reporting agency both in writing and on the phone to get the questionable information removed. The process can sometimes take weeks, so start your search early.

The second ting you can do to improve your chances for getting a mortgage loan it to get rid of excess expenditures. Banks and mortgage companies are looking closer than ever at applicants’ debt-income ratio. If you think you’re going to be in the market for a home, don’t make any major purchases that can hurt your chances. This includes automobiles, boats, furniture — anything that requires a long-term financial commitment.

And while you’re at it, make a concentrated effort to pay off the ones you already have, including credit cards. If you have credit cards with a zero balance, consider closing some of the accounts. Banks look at the potential as well as the actual when determining risk factors.

And finally, keep your expectations realistic. Don’t go looking at homes beyond your price range. You’re only setting yourself — and the prospective seller — up for disappointment.

CNN Money has a handy formula for determining how much home you can afford. Find it here.

Mortgage rates waver as Fed slows buying

Home mortgage rates were mixed last week as the Federal Reserve began easing away from its repurchase of Treasuries.

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage inched up to 5.67% from 5.65% the week prior, and the 15-year fixed fell to 4.93% from 4.97%, according to the weekly national survey from Bankrate.com.

Mortgage rates have held within a narrow range for almost two months, despite some economic improvement, the report noted.

“With the Federal Reserve beginning to wean the markets from its repurchases of Treasury debt, there will be less to restrain mortgage rates if the economic data continue to improve,” the report said. Bond yields tend to influence mortgage rates.

On Wednesday the Fed released a statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting, saying it plans to complete the previously announced purchases of $300 billion of Treasurys by October and “a smooth transition in markets” will slow those purchases between now and then.

If the recovery appears to stumble, mortgage rates will pull back, the report said. Also, when rates show little movement over a long period of time it is often followed by sharp movements in a short period, the report added.

Current mortgage rates remain much lower than last year’s levels, when the average 30-year fixed was 6.74%, according to Bankrate.com.

At the current rate of 5.67%, the monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage would be $1,157, or about $139 less than the monthly payment at last year’s rate.

Short Sales

The percentage of homes in short sale and foreclosure grows daily, following in the trail of the housing boom and burst. Money magazine and Zillow.com reported just a few shorts months ago that “nationwide, 14% of homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgages.”

The process of short sales can seem overwhelming, but a live audio conference will be held by Campbell Communications tomorrow (August 18th, 2009) from 2:00 to 3:30 pm (edt), to address what real estate agents need to know first-hand from Wells Fargo and Bank of America, the mortgage servicers with the greatest impact on short sales.

If you are a real estate agent who would like to register for this event, go to this link to register.

How To Get The Best Value From Your Remodel

Homeowners who have either decided to stay in their homes or are considering selling may be helping to build momentum in the remodeling market.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the organization’s Chairman, Greg Miedema, said in a recent media statement that, “With more calls from homeowners and more projects under way, remodelers are seeing better activity in their businesses.”

Read more of this article.

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