An area profile is an authoritative page about an area that aligns to your marketing strategy. In other words, it’s about an area that stocks the properties you sell or rent. The information is already out there. You, or your copywriter, are compiling and packaging the content so that it becomes easy for users and search engines to find and consume. These pages are extremely useful for your users and best of all, Google loves them!

Image_ iPadAs outlined in Content for Robots and Humans, it’s a good idea to also include photos, video or maps to make the content more interesting. Also, because you’re marketing property, this is a great opportunity to feature properties in that area. But remember the page is information, not sales focused, so ensure properties are not prioritised.

Evergreen copy

A lot of content on the internet has a shelf-life, however, if an area profile is done properly it will keep information relevant for years to come. A great example of a website that uses a lot of evergreen content to achieve outstanding search results is Wikipedia. Also, with content management systems, your area profiles can easily be updated as info on an area changes.

“An evergreen’s value is that it has the potential to continue to bring traffic to your site for many months, or even years into the future if it is true evergreen web content.”
Megan Marrs, 2017 www.wordstream.com

SEO and Interlinking

Area profiles help create better SEO results. They’re naturally full of words that you want to be found in the search engines for. The true power of these pages is revealed when they are woven into the other content of your website. Area snippets on listings results for a specific area or linked to from listings and news articles are examples. This not only helps with keeping visitors on your site for longer but also with potential sales. Especially if your area profiles are well researched and interesting.

What should I write about?

You can include anything that your users would find valuable, but it will differ depending on your market. Below is a basic structure of an Area Profile for a residential agency to get you started.

  • Introduction
  • A brief history of the area
  • Infrastructure
  • Hospitals nearby
  • Schools in the area
  • Distance from key points (airport/CBD)
  • Malls/shopping
  • Restaurants Special attractions

Click here to see some successful area profiles.

Position yourself as the expert

Area Profiles take time to research and produce and you can’t just copy from somewhere else. Even if you reference another author, the search engines will penalise you. However, if you take the time or hire experienced copywriters to generate meaningful original content, the benefits are worth it. Your users are far more likely to have confidence in your abilities to sell or let a property if you can prove that you know the area inside-out.

Takeaway

Play the long game with well researched and interesting area profiles that will keep generating traffic for years. Ensure you link to and from these pages to create value throughout your website. Next up: News