We built Realzi from the ground up with the specific intention of it being able to work straight out-of-the-box.  It’s a turnkey solution in that regard.  However, just because Realzi sites are on-page optimized from the get-go doesn’t mean they don’t benefit from some off-site promotion.

Over the next few blog posts, we’ll discuss the value of several different things you can do to off-site to help boost your Realzi site’s rankings across search engines.  The first tip we’re going to go over is an oldie but a goodie: directory submission.

Directories are basically sites where collections of links are organized by content.  The Google Directory is an example of one.  As you can see, the site is basically a list of links that have been organized for perusal.  Submitting your site (and getting it listed) is a great way of getting links pointing back to your site.  And getting links pointing to your site is fantastic, because Google’s approach to ranking sites is heavily based upon how many (and what kind of) inbound links a site has.  A common phrase used to describe this is “links are votes,” and link-building methods are a way to cast several votes for your site.  Directory submission is one such method, and there are literally thousands of them to submit your site to.

Submitting to a directory is simple.  Simply navigate around it until you find the category that will best fit your site, then find a link somewhere on the page that says something like “Submit a Link” or “Add Site” or something along those lines.  You’ll be taken to a submission form, which usually should look something like this (clickable screenshot time!):

Let’s say we’re an Austin-based catering company called Awesome Austin Appetizers.  (Corny, I know, but the best I could come up with!)  Our supposed website is http://www.awesome-austin-appetizers.com/.  What follows is a description of what each field/area means, and what we’d fill out (follow the numbers for reference):

1. You might have heard that paid links are a major no-no.  You know what?  You heard right!  They are.  These particular paid options may or may not be considered out-and-out paid links, because the payment here seems to be based on the turnaround time and the placement of the link, not the link itself.  But why tempt Google’s wrath?  We’re going to go ahead and wait those three to four weeks and pick the free option.  (More on that third option, the “reciprocal” one, in step 7.)
2. This is the title you’d want for your link.  Some people would choose the name of their company and put that here.  We’re going to go ahead and recommend against that.  Why?  Get ready for a seriously in-depth explanation.  This field will determine what is basically the “anchor text” of your link, which is what the link reads, not where it goes.  For example, for the link real estate websites, the anchor text is “real estate websites,” but the link itself goes to http://www.realzi.com.  Having good anchor text is important, because Google associates it with the link.  The more links Google sees with a certain anchor text going to a certain site, the more likely it will be to associate the two.  Therefore, for your Realzi site, you’ll want your anchor text to be a keyphrase you want to rank for.  Do you specialize in selling South Austin Condos?  Make your anchor text “South Austin Condos.”  Chicago rentals more your thing?  Choose “Chicago Rentals” as your anchor text!  You’re probably getting the idea by now.  If we put “Awesome Austin Appetizers,” our official business name, in here, we’d associate the site with that name.  But here’s the thing: We’d rather associate the site with something people who don’t already know about our business are searching for.  Something like “Austin Catering,” which is what we’ll opt for instead.
3. This one’s simple.   We’re going to put our URL, http://www.awesome-austin-appetizers.com/, here.
4. A brief description of our site.  We’re going to start this off with the keyphrase that we used for step 2, just to further emphasize to Google that we want our site to be associated with that phrase.  We’re also going to avoid being too self-promotional, since we don’t want to annoy the directory editors with bizarre, bombastic pronouncements like, “THE GREATEST CROQUETTES ON THE PLANET!!!!!!!!!!!!”  So we’ll stick with something businesslike and accurate, like “Austin catering company specializes in hors d’oeuvres and lighter fare.  We’re the premier local option for catering parties, conventions, conferences, and more.”
5. This one’s pretty simple.  If you’re wary of getting spammed, you might want to consider using an alternative email address.  Be sure it’s one you check, though, because sometimes you’ll need to verify the listing by clicking on a link emailed to you by the directory editors.
6. Verify that this category is the category you want to be in.  If it’s not, here’s your opportunity to change that.
7. This “Reciprocal Link URL” thing is a sort of link exchange.  Directories will often submit your listing under more favorable terms if you agree to link back to them.  Since this can sometimes look spammy on your site and might, perhaps, be frowned on by some search engines, we recommend you don’t add this html to your site and don’t agree to any sort of reciprocal link exchange with any directory.
8. Here’s the CAPTCHA.  This is your big chance to prove, once and for all, that you’re not a robot!
9. Click this nifty button here and you’re done!

As you can see, this process is pretty simple.  It might seem like a hassle, but it’s really not too bad, and it’s definitely worth the effort when you consider you’ll be getting inbound links with quality anchor text to your site, which is one of the most effective ways to boost your ranking across search engines.

One last thing!  You’re probably wondering, after nearly 1000 words of explanation, just where exactly you find directories.  Simple!  You can easily find dozens of them through a simple Google search.  There are also sites that are “directories of directories” that make finding bunches of them much easier.  Just to get you started, though, here is a list of some good, high-ranking directories that we’ve been historically fond of:

FullCG
SVGUIA Directory (Gives great deep links for cheap)
SudaNow
Ceidis Directory
ABC Directory
Pravana Bid Directory (Again, more good deep links for a low price)
DMOZ (Open Directory Project) (Low approval rate and strict submission guidelines but free and one of the single best links your site can get; actually technically the same as the Google Directory, so don’t bother submitting to both)

That’s all there is to it!  Happy, er, submitting!

Today, we’re going to run through how to put together nice, optimized Craigslist real estate ads and link them to your Realzi site.  Using Craigslist can draw real users to the pages you link to, users that can then navigate to other areas of your site.  What’s more, inbound links from Craigslist may have a positive effect on your ranking across search engines.  Neither benefit alone is small potatoes; when put together, you have a potent weapon in the war against a traffic-less web presence.  (That war is a  tough one, but Realzi and Craigslist can help in spectacular ways.)

Eventually, we’re going to go over two types of Craigslist ads.  The first, which we’ll deal with in this post, will be a posting featuring a specific property listing.  The second, which we’ll address at a future date, will be more general, focusing on a specific area of a city.  We’ll break down each type with some typically gorgeous screenshots and some typically heady expert analysis.  Ready?  Here goes!

Postings about specific listings are generally posted in the “real estate – by broker” section of Craigslist.  (A brief note: When posting ads about specific properties, it’s best to stick with properties that you yourself have actually listed.  Things may get hairy from an ethical and legal perspective if you post someone else’s listings, so don’t do it!)  Here’s what an optimized post will look like (click to enlarge):

As you can see, I’ve gone ahead and taken the liberty of pointing out some elements that I’d like to mention.  They’re numbered, and here are the corresponding explanations.

1. Here, you put the entire address, which consists of the first two lines on the property page of the listing.  It’s important to do this, since this is also the title of the property page, which means search engines will associate the Craigslist post with the property page more effectively.

2. Put an accurate area that’s also something people will search for.  More people will be looking for “North Austin real estate” than “Majestico real estate” (especially since Majestico Lane doesn’t even exist), so opt for the former.  Make your area too broad, however, and you’ll be missing out on an opportunity to have a relevant keyphrase associated with your post.

3. Put an email address that you check here; however, make sure you anonymize it so that people don’t harvest your email address and spam you to high heaven.

4. Here, put the same address you used in the “Posting Title” field in <h1> tags.  For those of you who are HTML neophytes, this will make a nice heading out of whatever you put in there.  It will look big and assertive, and is a real attention-grabber (both for people and search engines).  Copy it exactly like how it’s written and you’ll be golden.

5. This is the HTML for the link we’re going to have in here.  If you’re starting to get scared because you don’t know anything about HTML, don’t worry!  This is all you’ll ever have to need for Craigslist ads, and I’ll show you exactly what all of this means.  Here’s a breakdown of what is going on here:

• The <a part lets Craigslist know that a link is about to be put in.
• The href= part indicates that the link immediately follows.
• The “http://www.vvvvvvvvvvvvvv.com/texas/austin/78723/5928-majestico-ln?id=1394294586″ part is the URL, copied and pasted from the address bar of my browser, in quotes.  Be sure to remember to add the quotes.
• The > part means the link is going to be named with whatever words follow.
• The 5928 Majestico Ln Austin, TX 78723 part represents the part of the link you click on.  That’s called the “anchor text” of the link.  For example, when considering the link real estate websites, the anchor text is “real estate websites.”
• The </a> part lets Craigslist know that the link is done being put in, and we’re about to resume our regular writing.

Fancy, huh?

6. Here’s a description of the property!  Get as lyrical and poetic as you want.  This is just to entice people to click that snazzy link you just made all by yourself.

7. This is some legalese at the bottom of your listing on the property page.  Each Board of REALTORS® may have its own legalese you’ll need to affix to the bottom of a Craigslist post.  This is ABOR’s version.  Be sure to copy it directly  from the bottom of the page, because the date changes daily.

8. The address of the property in question again, this time without the city, state, and zip, since that would be redundant in this field.

Aaaaaaand that’s it!  Pretty neat stuff.  This Craigslist ad will look like this, once it’s all published (again, click to enlarge):

Not too shabby!  Note how all that stuff into explanation #5 went into making that link (the one indicated by the “Huzzah!” arrow).  You could have just simply entered the URL there, but search engines like links with relevant anchor text much more, and we gave them one there.  Go us!

This post is wonderful.  It gives people searching Craigslist information about where the house is, who’s listing it, and directs them to our website, where they can find out (much, much) more information about this property.  It also gives search engines information about what website they should associate the keyphrase “5928 Majestico Ln Austin, TX 78723,” which, we’ll go ahead and say, should be our website, thank you very much.  Both associations prove to be incredibly useful.

Next time, we’ll break down the ins and outs of making a Craigslist ad featuring zip codes, neighborhoods, and cities.  Until then, so long, and happy home-selling!