Want better search engine rankings? Start an agent referral network

Do you know real estate agents in other cities? Why not add a referral page on your site and swap links with other agents' websites? Not only will you get better rankings on search engines, you'll likely get more traffic to your site.

North County San Diego REALTOR® Samantha Feldman created an Agent Referral page on her Agent XSite website, www.samanthafeldman.com/ReferralRealtor, where she places links to other agents' websites in other cities. Feldman can refer a customer to another agent through her personal referral network of REALTORS® by clicking on the links posted on the page, or by filling out an online form indicating the city in which they are looking to buy a home.

And because her website is posted on her linking partners' sites, it'll likely see a boost in traffic, which will increase her site's popularity and give search engines more of a reason to get her site listed on their results pages.

"I learned that creating links to reputable sites similar to mine would increase my standings with the search engines, so I decided to create a page with reciprocal links with other REALTORS® across the U.S.," Feldman says.

In fact, Google explains that, "The best way to ensure Google finds your site, is for your pages to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly."

While Feldman's referral page is still fairly new, as she sees it, "it's also a way to network with other agents that I might have never had contact with. We're not competing with each other so it's a way for both of us to get referrals."

Feldman says she learned how to optimize her XSite from talking with other agents and reading books on Search Engine optimization (SEO) strategies. She also visits the XSites User Forum "Agents Lounge" where she can ask questions and exchange ideas with other Agent XSite owners.

To create your own agent referral page, go to Step 6 in your XSite's Wizard and create a custom page. Many XSite owners also create their own link exchange form using the customized lead generation form tool available on their XSite, like Louisville, Ky. REALTOR® Brad Long's Agent XSite, www.bradleylong.com/RealtorLinks. Agents across the U.S. can then submit their site along with the title and short description so Long can review to make sure it fits his criteria before posting it on his agent referral page.

To create a link exchange form on the agent referral page you've created, check "Include Lead Generation Form" under "Other Content Options" at the bottom of the page and choose "Customize." Once you've reached this area, click on "Create a Form." You can choose what fields you want to include in the form by choosing the link "Add a Field." Most link exchange forms ask for a name, e-mail address, web address, title of the website (e.g. "West Cleveland Area Real Estate") and a short description of the site.

In the next few weeks, we'll be adding enhanced link exchange tools to your XSite, allowing you to improve your search engine rankings and network with other agents across the U.S.

Do you have unique feature on your XSite you'd like to share in the Agent e-Newsletter? E-mail Amanda@alamode.com.