A client of mine asked me this question the other day. It is something that has been floating around for some time, and Google has steadily been offering different types of Search Results when you perform a query.

It might be best if I explain how Search Results used to be presented. Generally, if I searched on a term the results page would show the usual Sponsored and Organic results. - The Sponsored at the top (often in a highlighted box) and down the right hand side while the Organic or Natural Results would appear down the center or left hand side. All and all I would say it wasn’t as exciting as it could be. As humans aren’t we more interested in something pretty and interesting? Looking at basically a table of contents didn’t inspire people to start clicking. Well, as new media has evolved Google has taken stock.  This makes Search Engine Optimization that much more important.  

You may or may not have noticed but for many searches no longer is the usual Sponsored and Organic Results presented. They are blending the customary results with news, images, video, and local search results. For real estate they are going a step further and in some cases will show actual listings. Instead of the boring text pieces there is now almost a menu of options to click.

There was a great article by the experts at Search Engine Land that further explains how it all works, but regardless this means more exposure if done correctly. As a Realtor this means you now have the opportunity to show up numerous times in the Search Results if a little more time is put into your site. Clearly do not ignore the importance of content to your site as this is still the majority of the Search Result; however, optimizing images on your site or even using video portals like YouTube could garner numerous positions on the first result page.

A recent study mentions if you are already appearing in the organic results and then utilizing the Sponsored, Paid Advertising, you have an 80% chance of one of these results being clicked on. The theory is that by appearing twice you are lending credibility; now think about if you appear in multiple places on that search result. It is going to be much harder for someone to ignore you.