Our Top 10 Tips to Increase Your Ranking in Google SERP

If you manage a multifamily property, you know how important it is to be visible online. After all, potential residents will likely start their search for a new place to live by turning to the Internet. But with so many properties vying for attention, how can you ensure that yours stands out from the rest? The answer is multifamily SEO.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is improving your property’s ranking in Google and other search engines. Following a few simple tips, you can ensure that your property appears at the top of the search results when potential residents are looking for a new place to live.

Solving the Mystery of Multifamily SEO

The mysterious art that is multifamily SEO is not that mysterious at all. From this perspective, things become a little clearer when we think about multifamily SEO. We all do searches and all happen across results less than valuable to our needs.

Google only cares about one thing and one thing. Relevance. That is it — just relevance. They do not care about you or your multifamily business — they only care about the person searching.

Google’s job is to get the user the best results as quickly as possible. It is not easy when so many people are trying to game the system to increase traffic to their site. Google gives us one directive, “Be Relevant.”

From time to time, you hear about Google’s major algorithm updates and descriptions of what they do from a technical standpoint. You need to know less of the technical aspects and more of the overarching strategy — relevant content. If you can follow that advice and do it well, you will find yourself rising in the ranks of Google.

So you want to know how to do it well? Do you want to know the secret to get your multifamily business listed?

Just follow these SEO tips to improve your ranking in Google:

1. Create remarkable content

Remarkable content is sharable content. You want your content to be so good that people want to share it with their friends, families, and others within their circle of influence. This, while a little daunting, may be simpler than you think. You can start by identifying pain points that your prospective renters may have and give them a solution. 

Your content shouldn’t be about driving a sales pitch, it should be about educating. Add value to your viewers. They will appreciate it, and in turn, pass it around to those within their circle of influence.

2. Create a catchy, relevant headline

Your headline is your first impression, and first impressions count. It’s just as important as having a strategic meta description and title tag. You want your headline to be catchy and engaging but also contain your primary keywords.

Try using numbers combined with the primary keyword you are trying to rank for. People are drawn to lists because they are faster reads, such as:

• 5 Ways to Decorate Your Luxury Apartment in Dallas
• 10 Steps to Declutter Your One-Bedroom Apartment
• 30 Things to Do in Charlotte, N.C. This Summer.”

3. Always include a call-to-action (CTA)

Throughout your blog, or at least at the end of it, provide a way for your viewers to get more helpful information by providing you with a little bit of information. Give them something of value for providing you their name and emails, such as a whitepaper on the “Top Multifamily Market Trends of This Year,” an infographic on “What Amenities Your Residents Really Want,” or perhaps an eBook on how to win more business by using your multifamily product or service. (Psst … a great example of a marketing offer is the one you see promoted throughout this blog!)

This is one way to help identify which content is truly remarkable and what is not. When someone fills out your form requesting additional information, this is what we like to call an apartment lead — it shows interest!

4. Distribute your multifamily content

Simply put, don’t just post content to your site and leave it at that. Get the word out. Post a link across your social channels, send it out in an email blast, and get your coworkers and others in your circle to post it. This will create a buzz around your multifamily business, and you will start seeing a spike in traffic to your site just because of this. Every post you make needs to include social sharing icons, making it easy for your viewers to share it. The easier it is to share, the wider your reach. 

5. Enhance your outreach backlink strategy

Distributing your content is also a great strategy for enhancing your backlink strategy. A backlink is a link from another website to your multifamily website, web page, or web directory. This is comparable to a citation. These backlinks are critical to any good multifamily SEO strategy as it shows Google that your multifamily website has authority and relevance in the market.

By getting the word out about a new blog you published, for example, you increase your chances of similar websites linking back to your content and increasing your authority with Google (and thus, your ranking!) Distributing your content and reaching out to similar publications are two easy (and free) ways to increase your backlinks.

Just be very cautious about blackhat multifamily SEO tactics that could harm your rankings, such as irrelevant and spammy backlinks.

6. Encourage commenting and respond to comments

This point is not that hard, invite viewers of your content to leave you feedback through comments. This provides a great way to build relationships with prospects interested in using your multifamily product or service. These comments can come from social media or your multifamily website.

7. Claim your Google Business Profile

Google Business Page (formerly Google My Business) is a free service offered by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence. When you claim your listing, you can control what information appears about your property when it comes up in a search. Ensure all of your property’s information is accurate and up-to-date, and take the time to respond to positive and negative reviews.

8. Optimize your multifamily website for SEO

Your multifamily website should be designed with SEO from the beginning. That means incorporating relevant keywords into your content, ensuring your site is easy to navigate, and ensuring all your content is original and error-free. You should also ensure that your site is mobile-friendly, as more and more people use their phones and tablets to access the internet.

9. Get involved in local community events

Local community events are a great way to get your property’s name out there. Sponsor a Little League team, host a food drive or partner with a local charity. Anytime you can get your property’s name in front of potential residents, you’re increasing the chances that they’ll remember you when they’re ready to start looking for a new place to live.

10. Make use of social media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are great ways to connect with potential residents and create an engaged online community around your property. Use social media to share your property’s news updates, highlight available units, and promote community events. 

And don’t forget to respond quickly and courteously to any questions or concerns posted on your social media accounts — you want potential residents to know they can count on you for excellent customer service.

Writing Remarkable Content to Earn Higher SERP Rankings

To sum up, there is nothing magical about these SEO tips. As a wise man once said, “If it is not worth doing right, then it’s not worth doing.” Writing remarkable content to improve your multifamily SEO takes time and effort, but it ultimately pays off.

Following these simple SEO tips can improve your multifamily property’s ranking in Google and attract more attention from potential residents. Investing in SEO will pay off in the long run as you see an increase in traffic to your website and ultimately lease up more units at your property.

Understanding the Relationship Between Multifamily SEO and Social Media

Did you know that multifamily SEO matters on social media?

More and more multifamily properties are hopping on social media, which serves as another channel for them to share and interact with renters and the community. But perhaps you don’t see the appeal of a social media presence?

Well, we’re here to give you another very important reason to be on social media, and that’s search engine optimization (SEO). Multifamily SEO is essentially the process of optimizing your content for search engines. 

For most platforms (i.e., Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, to name a few), there are a few simple steps you can take to move your multifamily property up in search engine rankings:

How do you optimize your social media profiles?

1. List Basic Information

All social media platforms have a place for users to list basic information: Company Name, Location, About Us, Address, etc. Make sure to fill out all the information sections on your profiles with specific keywords. The more information you share, the more chances you have to be indexed by Google. Besides, you want to make sure that anyone who comes across your property online knows exactly where it’s located and how to contact you.

2. Anticipate Popular Keywords

Brainstorm words or phrases that are relevant to your multifamily property. Perhaps it’s “lofts in downtown Dallas” or “Houston apartments with a dog park.” What is your property or multifamily business offering? What would your target audience search specifically? Use these keywords at a high density throughout your social media profiles and bios; include them in your social media captions when it’s natural to do so. You also might want to use them in hashtags (within the caption and not the comments) to get users on social media to find you more easily.

3. Invite Reviews

Display a section for reviews when possible. Facebook pages have a review section on the left side panel with 1-5 star ratings for the user to evaluate and post comments. It shows real people living in your multifamily property, providing real feedback. Again, it’s more opportunities to be indexed by search engines. This also allows you to publicly address any issues that your residents may be having, ultimately showing potential residents that you’re on top of handling problems.

4. Link Often

Outbound links are one of the most important aspects to multifamily SEO, so be sure to link to other sources! In your use of social media, provide links to relevant blog articles and neighborhood events. Spread the word out about the great happenings going on around your neighborhood and property. Not only is it good for multifamily SEO, but “linking” is a great way to connect with people and businesses in your community.

5. Create Shareable Content

Inbound links are equally as important to SEO, yet you have to earn them. When people link back to your multifamily website or social media pages, it means you’re sharing content that is high quality, compelling, and helpful. 

Some ideas include:

• Make and share a weekly newsletter with information about what’s going on at your property.
• Post interior design tips for small living spaces. 
• Write about apartment decorating and storage hacks.
• Promote local events and happy hour specials in your community.

Creating shareable content starts with knowing your audience and what they would find interesting and resourceful.

6. Utilize Multifamily PPC

While SEO is the organic approach to driving traffic, multifamily PPC is the paid. PPC ads display at the top or in the sidebar of search engine results. A successful multifamily PPC campaign combines your keyword research and your insights to design highly targeted ads that drive traffic to your website. It’s important to note that well-qualified traffic is the result of research and continued testing. Understanding your residents should be an ongoing learning process and the foundation of any SEO or PPC campaign (not to mention, all digital marketing).

7. Update Your Instagram Bio

Potential renters don’t just use Google to find new apartments, they use Instagram too. They go to the search bar on the explore page a type in “apartments in [city]” and maybe even include a descriptor such as “affordable” or “luxury.”

The way you give your property’s account the best chance of showing up in a related search is by adding keywords right into the “Name” of your profile’s bio. While the label for this section might make you assume you’re limited to just having your property’s name, there are actually no rules for this section. You can put whatever you want for your bio’s name. There’s also quite a bit of space you have to work with. 

Here are some examples: 

• Rio Villa Apartments | San Angelo, TX
• LVL 29 | Luxury Apartments in Plano
• Willow Creek | Affordable Apartments in Austin
• Prairie Pride | New Homes in Midlothian 

If you feel like your Instagram handle is enough to communicate the name of your property, you could even remove the name entirely and focus more on longer or multiple keywords. 

Following these simple steps is a great way to improve your search engine ranking with the social media platforms you’re already using. It ultimately makes your content easier to find, allows you to connect with your audience, and helps you build the brand that you’re striving towards.