Find out how to put Craiglist and Backpage to good use in terms of SEO

Back links are becoming just as king as content if not more. While having a plethora of information that someone would really want to know about on your site is ideal so is having other sites link to it. If you can’t get everyone you know to “like”, retweet, or link to your stuff you may just have to do it yourself. This is where Craigslist and Backpage come into play.

Using sites like this is smart because they are indexed quickly and often. What to put on them is the kicker. Where to put them is even more puzzling when you realize you are selling a service rather than a product. But whether you sell novelties or consulting services you can use Craigslist and Backpage for maximum SEO benefits.

Each of these sites have a services section. If you are selling real estate services and simply want to get the word about what you do out there then you would submit an ad under the services: real estate section. This is not a listing but your service, either as a buyers agent or a listing agent. If you specialize in one niche over the other make sure to mention it and put it in your title.

Titles are Key

You will be using these sites for more than just a back link though in that you want someone to actually find you as well. Make your title something that someone would actually search for. Perhaps you want to introduce people to Finding Ardmore real estate by school districts. This is specific enough that you will be found and yet will provide a link back to your original site for the actual search feature. Draw your reader in with the title so they will click on the link from the search engine page then make sure you have somewhere for them to go for more information.

Perhaps you want to offer a pricing search structure. You would create an ad with a title for your area like this: Search price ranges of homes in Battle Ground Washington.  This type of long-tail title search can provide you with top billing on the search engine results page.  Remember, people are getting specific in their searches. They want exact results so the more specific you make your title the better you are going to be found by that real lead.

What do you talk about?

Experience and why someone should choose you over anyone else. If you are an expert in a particular field, use that to your advantage. Say you are proficient at helping people buy homes near Eielson AFB in Alaska. Use this in your content several times and talk about how you help military families relocate, integrate into a new city and get set up right.  Perhaps you are a neighborhood or community expert; talk about the area like the back of your hand. Let your buyers know that you KNOW the area well and would be the best choice when it comes to buying a home with. If you know a particular community make your title reflect this with a title similar to: Homes and Properties in Coupeville Washington.

Maybe you will want to syndicate a particular article or blog from your site. You can do this as long as 40% of the content is different or you refer back to the original post with a link. This might be a financing article or event article like “Things to do in Enterprise Alabama“. You might offer the reader half the information then pull them over to your actual site for the rest of the article.

Whatever you talk about make sure you have links to your actual website in the mix. If you talk about buyers; like Clarksville home buyers, make sure it links back to your buyers page. If you specialize in a certain type of transactions make that known in the title and confirm it in the content. Example: Pullman WA Foreclosure or Financing Santa Fe Homes.

Use your titles, put your ad in the services section of Backpage and Craigslist and promote your links for optimal SEO results.