subject: Home stagers, are you using acceptable SEO practices? [print this page] Home stagers, are you using acceptable SEO practices?
You should be using yourhome staging website as more than just an online brochure. Just like most buyers start theirhome search online, homeowners and real estate agents in your area are turning to Google to find themselves a home stager.
If you want your site to come to the top of the search results, you have to be sure it's been optimized properly. In the case ofhome staging, this will most likely be the city you serve + the term home stagers. If you are in San Francisco, for example, you want to come near the top of the results for "San Francisco home stager" or "home stager in San Francisco" because that's most likely what your potential clients are typing in Google when they need your services.
There's so much I could tell you about SEO that it could fill hundreds of blog posts so I'm not going to get too deep into this. What I want to discuss today is the kind of SEO or search engine optimization techniques that will get you in trouble.
In terms of SEO, "black hat" refers to using techniques rooted in deception to get a high ranking. While black hat techniques can work to rank your website higher, they will only work in the short-term. When you're caught, your site will be banned from Google all together. "White hat" refers to any SEO technique that follows acceptable guidelines.
To learn more about black hat and white hat SEO techniques, visit the Home Staging Glossary by Staging Diva. The definitions there will tell you which black hat technique you should talk with your web developer about to make sure your website is safe from being blacklisted by Google.
