#1 in Commercial Real Estate Online

>> View Part 1 of this series: Choosing keywords and adding them to your site

In part two of our series of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tips for commercial real estate professionals we will explore additional tips for optimizing your web site for the search engines and increasing your web site’s traffic. If you have not yet read part one of this series, you can view it here.

Tip #1: Include targeted keywords in your link anchor text
One additional place to add targeted keywords to your web site is in the anchor text of any links that point to other pages of your site. The link anchor text is the actual words that are hyperlinked within the text. For example, in this sentence “LoopNet is #1 in online commercial real estate”, the words “online commercial real estate” are the anchor text. The search engines use the keywords in a link’s anchor text to help them determine the content of the linked page and use this text as a factor when ranking sites in the search results.

Tip #2: Regularly update your web site with unique content
Search engines love new content. So, it is important to keep the content on your site fresh and updated. By consistently adding new content to your web site, you are giving the search engines a reason to return and index your site, as well as adding additional pages that can appear in the search engine results. When adding new content, is important to make sure that it is relevant to the targeted keywords you are going after. For example, a San Francisco commercial brokerage may want to create a page that gives data on the local commercial real estate market.

Be sure to include links within this content (where it makes sense) to other pages in your site using your keywords. Also, avoid posting the same content in two different places on your web site. Search engines tend to penalize for duplicate content, and you will see the most benefit if the content is unique.

Tip #3: Add a site map
Adding a site map to your web site will help the search engines to find and index your most important web pages. A site map is a basic web page which contains text links to the important pages on your site and creates a central place where search engines can find these pages. Click here to view an example of LoopNet’s site map. Be sure to make all links text and to include your targeted keywords in each link’s anchor text.

Tip #4: Get links from other relevant web sites
One of the major elements of Google’s search engine algorithm is the number of links that a site receives from other web sites. It is important that these links come from relevant web sites (for example, a commercial real estate brokerage would not benefit from a link from a travel web site) and that the links direct to relevant pages that contain targeted keywords in the anchor text.

Link building can be a very long and tedious process, as many web masters are reluctant to link out to other sites. To get started, add your site to relevant directories (Yahoo directory, DMOZ, etc.). Make sure when adding your site to these directories that they are reputable and not link farms (define). You may also approach various web site owners and ask them to link to you, but be prepared that you need to offer a compelling reason as to why they should do this.

Tip #5: Don’t abuse Search Engine Optimization tactics
Search engines have become very good at spotting sites that abuse the various techniques we have mentioned. When optimizing your site, make sure that any changes you make are useful to the user as well as the search engines. After all, if users do not find your site helpful, then any traffic you gain from applying these techniques is wasted. When adding keywords to your site, only do so when it make sense, and avoid keyword stuffing, or adding the same keywords into a web page multiple times so that the text no longer makes sense. By keeping in mind both the needs of the search engines and those of your site visitors you will be able to create an optimized site that is relevant to both.

Lastly, when implementing any new SEO techniques, make sure to do your research to ensure you are not harming your site. For example, adding hidden text on your website using the same font color as the background so that search engines can see it, but visitors can not, may seem like a good way to add additional keywords to your website. But, search engines consider this spam and will penalize your site. You can research any new SEO techniques you come across by running a Google search or by visiting the sites below, which are all well known resources of Search Engine Optimization knowledge:

The High Rankings Forum: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/
ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/
Search Engine Land: http://searchengineland.com/
Webmasterworld.com: http://www.webmasterworld.com/

These tips should give you a good base in order to begin optimizing your web site. We hope that you found them useful. Please post and comments/questions that you have below, and we will be happy to respond.

ListingsLink is a personalized web page that highlights your active listings on LoopNet. Use it to turn all your communications into a marketing opportunity.

Maximize the effectiveness of your communications by adding your ListingsLink to your email signature, social media profiles, and marketing materials.



Here’s how:

Step 1: Log in to http://www.loopnet.com/. In “My LoopNet”,
click the “My Listings” tab.

Step 2: Next to "Share your listings with this link",
copy the link and paste it into your desired location.


Note: Your ListingsLink page automatically updates as you edit your LoopNet listings.

LoopNet exhibited at the ICSC Florida conference, in Kissimmee, Fl last week. Over 3,300 commercial real estate professionals attended the conference.

Even with the current economy, we found attendees are remaining optimistic. Many commented that one of the biggest challenges for potential buyers is the lack of available financing. A few brokers did note that they are relying more heavily on LoopNet to market their commercial properties, which is allowing them to locate active buyers in the market.

One common question we heard from LoopNet members was: “Can I market all of my listings on LoopNet if I have reached my plan's capacity?”

Our answer: YES. You can add an unlimited number of basic listings for FREE. The number of commercial properties you can list as Premium depends on your membership listing plan. Once you add a listing above your plan’s premium limit you may do one of the following:

• Upgrade your membership to include more premium listings
  
• Upgrade one listing to a single premium listing
  
• Continue with your basic listing - FREE
  
• Swap your basic listing with a premium listing
Learn how to swap listings

The ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) commonly known as the stimulus bill, was signed into law on February 17, 2009. It retailed for a cool $787 billion and was supposed to ignite economic recovery. An integral indicator and part of that recovery is retail, as it is the primary outlet for our famed “consumerism”. Today, nearly half a year later, the future remains cloudy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau: “The retail availability rate rose to 12%, a 50-bps increase from the previous quarter. However, the rate of increase slowed from Q1 2009 when retail availability rose 80-bps”. This seems consistent with retail sales numbers, indicating a trend whereby conditions are worsening, but at a slower rate than before.

Note: Availability is a space that is actively being marketed and available for tenant build-out within twelve months.

What can we take away from all of this? On the surface things are worse than 2008 and conditions have declined from Q1 to Q2. However the rate of decline has been leveling out, indicating that we may be close to hitting “bottom”, just how close we are, remains unknown. So we leave off with a cliffhanger, the question is: Will people be buying TV’s to see the ending? Let us know your thoughts.

Online marketing, particularly Search Engine Optimization (SEO), has been a hot topic of conversation in recent years. As one of the most cost effective marketing strategies, SEO can be a particularly effective way for commercial real estate professionals to drive traffic to their web sites.

Search Engine Optimization involves improving the amount of “free” traffic to a web site from the organic, or natural, search engine results. These results appear in the main, left hand column of the search engine results page (see screen shot at right).

Web sites that appear in the search results are ordered based on what the search engines deem to be the most relevant to the keywords that a user typed in when searching. Each search engine has its own specific algorithm to determine relevancy. These algorithms are notoriously black box in that their methods are not openly known, but a few factors that are known include using keywords in web site text, links to the web site, the frequency of web site updates, etc.

While SEO does not involve any direct marketing costs, it does take time to optimize your web site to appear for relevant results. In the first of this two part series, we will give you some basic tips for how you can get started optimizing your web site to drive targeted traffic to your business and property listings.

Tip #1: Choose the right keywords
The first step to a successful SEO strategy is to choose the right keywords to target. The trick to this is to focus on the keywords that your target audience is using when searching for the products and services you offer. For example, a commercial real estate brokerage in San Francisco would want to target keywords such as “commercial broker,” “san francisco commercial broker”, and “california commercial broker".

First, start by building a list of keywords that you think are the most relevant for your business. After all, no one knows your business better then you. Then, plug these words into one of the various keyword suggestion tools, such as the Google Keyword Tool. This will help you build out your list even more.

When creating your list, remember to only pick the keywords most relevant for your business. Also, be sure to include targeted keywords that contain the names of markets you would like to focus on (i.e. “san francisco commercial broker”).

Tip #2: Avoid targeting too many words per page
While it may be tempting to target all the keywords for your site on one page, search engines need clear direction on what each page is about and which keywords the page should appear for. Before you begin optimizing your web site, it is important to determine which keywords you will be targeting for each page. Make each page as targeted as possible and limit it to a small, targeted list of keywords.

Tip #3: Add targeted keywords to your web site text
Once you have decided what terms to focus on for each page, the next step is to add those words to your web site. One of the main elements that search engines look at is the actual text on your web site. Look at the targeted keyword list that you created and sprinkle these words throughout your text to tell the search engines what your site focuses on. Remember, search engines can’t read images so it is important these words are put into the actual text.

Tip #4: Write optimized & catchy titles for each page
When your site appears in search results, the text used for the link at the top of your result is pulled from the “page title tag” of the specific page it is linking to. This title appears at the top of your browser when you are viewing a web page(see example). When writing these title tags, it is important to use your most relevant, targeted keywords and to remember that this text is what entices people to click on your link. Make sure it is catchy and “clickable” copy.

It’s also important to make sure that you write different title tags for each page, depending on each page’s content. If you are not familiar with where to find this code in your page’s HTML, here is an example of what it should look like.

Tip #5: Write an optimized and catchy description for each page
Below the link in your search engine result is the description for your web page. This is pulled from the “meta description tag” in your page HTML (click here for an example of what this tag looks like). Search engines pull the text that you put in your meta description tag and use it for the description shown in search results. This means that you need to make sure that this text contains your targeted keywords and is also made up of enticing copy that will make searchers want to click on your link.

These tips should give you a good base to use when optimizing your site for the search engines. Next Friday, we will be exploring some more tips on how to use SEO to improve your traffic for search engines. Look for our next post on Friday to learn more.

Asking prices for New York commercial real estate dropped across all property types in the second quarter of 2009, according to LoopNet data. Below is a closer look at how the asking prices for each of the four major property types (Industrial, Retail, Office and Multifamily) fared over the last year.



The average asking price for New York industrial property dropped 7.3% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter from $228.33 to $211.57. However, the .74 % decrease from Q1 to Q2 was the smallest decline we’ve seen in the last year, possibly signaling that prices for industrial properties in New York are close to reaching the bottom.



The average asking price for New York office property dropped 8.7% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter from $297.60 to $271.72. Prices fell 1.1% from Q1 to Q2 after a modest increase in prices of 0.5% from Q4 2008 to Q1 2009.



The average asking price for multifamily properties in New York dropped 7.3% on a year-over-year basis in Q2 from $209,218/unit to $194,071/unit. However, the rate of decline appears to be slowing with the 1.14% decrease from Q1 to Q2 being the smallest price decrease in the last year.



While the average asking price for New York retail properties has increased by 1% on a year-over-year basis in Q2, there was a steep decline of 3.3% in prices from Q1 to Q2.

LoopNet is currently scheduling meetings for members in the New York area. If you’re interested in finding out how you can get the most out of your LoopNet membership, set up an appointment by emailing us at marketdev@LoopNet.com.

A comprehensive set of investment market reports for over 60 markets, including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles are now available on LoopNet. Each report covers Office, Industrial, Retail and Multifamily transactions of $2.5 million and above.




These Investment Market Reports serve as an excellent tool for analyzing current market trends and evaluating potential investments.

Full reports highlight:
• Cap rates & prices by property type
• Regional & national comparisons
• Investor composition & trends
• Recent transactions greater than $2.5 million


Q2 2009 reports revealed some interesting trends and comparisons. Here are some of the top-line stats on the Chicago, New York and Los Angeles local markets.

Chicago Commercial Real Estate
In Q2, overall sales in Chicago decreased 82% compared to the prior year. Over the last 12 months, the price per square foot for office property was down 19%, multifamily was down 24%, industrial was down 8% and retail was down 26%.

New York Commercial Real Estate
In Q2, overall sales in Manhattan decreased 70% compared to the prior year. Over the last 12 months, the price per square foot for office property was down 11%, multifamily was up 9%, industrial was down 26% and retail was down 29%.

Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate
In Q2, overall sales in Los Angeles decreased 77% compared to the prior year. Over the last 12 months, the price per square foot for office property was down 17% while multifamily actually showed a 3% increase.

Get the complete reports at www.LoopNet.com/MarketReports today!


What trends are you noticing in your local market? Post a comment.

Asking prices for commercial real estate in Orlando continued to drop across all four of the major commercial property types (Industrial, Office, Multifamily, and Retail) in the second quarter of 2009, according to LoopNet data. However, the rate of decline dramatically decreased in both multifamily and industrial properties, possibly signaling that the Orlando commercial properties market may be closer to hitting the bottom.

Below, we take a closer look at how the asking prices for each of the four major Orlando commercial property types (Industrial, Retail, Office and Multifamily) fared over the last year.



The average asking prices per square foot for Orlando industrial property has dropped over 12% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter from $119.15 to $104.83. However, the decline slowed to less than 1% from Q1 to Q2, the smallest decline seen in the last year.



The average asking price per square foot for Orlando office real estate dipped 9.9% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter going from $220.92/sf to $199.08/sf. Unlike the prices for Orlando industrial properties, the rate of decline remained steady at 2.9% from Q1 to Q2.



The average asking price per square foot for multifamily properties in Orlando has plummeted 23.5% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter dropping from $104,513/unit to $79,923/unit. However, the rate of decline decreased to less than 0.6% from Q1 to Q2 possibly signaling that this property type is reaching the bottom.



The average asking price per square foot for Orlando retail property dropped over 9% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter dropping from $277.46/sf to $252.33/sf. The rate of decline accelerated for the second straight quarter to a 5.34% drop from Q1 to Q2.

Overall, this data suggests that Orlando commercial real estate properties may be closer to hitting the pricing bottom. These slowing decline rates show that it is a great time for investors to start looking at properties in Orlando, particularly multifamily and industrial properties.

LoopNet will be in the Orlando area meeting with members starting 8/17/09. If you’re interested in finding out how you can get the most out of your LoopNet membership, set up an appointment by emailing us at marketdev@LoopNet.com.

Premium members can create a zero maintenance flash-based web site for all of their premium listings with just a few clicks. Engage your prospects with an interactive listing web site!



Here’s how:

Step 1: Log in to http://www.loopnet.com/. In “My LoopNet”, click the
            “My Listings” tab.

Step 2: Locate the listing for which you would like to create a web site and
             click "Creat Web Site".

Step 3: Choose one of the six templates and click “Create Site”.

These web sites are great for sharing your listing since a LoopNet membership is not required to view them. Some great places to add your web site's link include your email signature, social networks, newsletters, and property flyers.

Asking prices for commercial real estate in Los Angeles continued to drop across all property types in the second quarter of 2009, according to LoopNet data. Below we take a closer look at how the asking prices for each of the four major property types (Industrial, Retail, Office and Multifamily) fared over the last year.




The average asking prices per square foot for Los Angeles industrial property has dropped over 9.1% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter from $196.92 to $178.90. The rate of decline appears to be slowing, however, as the 2.2% decrease from Q1 to Q2 was the smallest decline seen in the last year.



The average asking price per square foot for Los Angeles office property has dropped over 11.9% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter dropping from $340.53/sf to $299.89/sf. The rate of decline accelerated to a whopping 5.72% from Q1 to Q2, by far the biggest drop in the last four years.



The average asking price per square foot for multifamily properties in Los Angeles has dropped over 10.4% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter dropping from $203,918/unit to $182,700/unit. However, the rate of decline decreased to less than 0.6% from Q1 to Q2 possibly signaling the bottom.



The average asking price per square foot for Los Angeles retail property has dropped over 5.4% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter dropping from $360.44/sf to $340.86/sf. The rate of decline has accelerated for the third straight quarter to a 2.57% drop from Q1 to Q2.

Overall, the last five quarters show a significant drop in price per square foot for all of the four major commercial property types in Los Angeles (Industrial, Retail, Office and Multifamily). However, there are some bright spots in these trends as it appears that the rates of decline for Industrial and Multifamily properties appear to be slowing. For investors, these price drops present a great investment opportunity to purchase prime commercial real estate at a discounted price.

LoopNet will be in the Los Angeles area meeting with members starting August 17th. If you’re interested in finding out how you can get the most out of your LoopNet membership, set up an appointment by emailing us at marketdev@LoopNet.com.