![\"Search](\"https:\/\/www.brixwork.com\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/shutterstock_1839798898-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Seo,Concept,Search,Engine,Optimization,Ranking,Traffic,On,Website,,Internet\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Organic Traffic Drop On Real Estate Websites in June 2022, and Our Strategic Response<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Google\u2019s Algorithm Updates and Other Factors of Anticipated Traffic Decline<\/h4>\n<\/div>To bring the most relevant search results, Google will update their algorithm on a regular basis. The latest Google algorithm update on May 22 (2022)<\/a> had some significant impacts on the traffic of our real estate websites. It\u2019s common for small business websites to experience fluctuations (dips) in traffic after algorithm updates. We confidently expected a traffic drop of 30% or more in June for more reasons than Google\u2019s shift:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Website traffic in <\/span>June is typically 10~15% lower<\/span> than May (excluding anomaly years such as the COVID19 pandemic years).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
With <\/span>rapidly rising mortgage interest rates, real estate activity has slowed down significantly across many Canadian cities<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
The first summer with almost all COVID restrictions dropped means more vacations & travels, less home searches & tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.brixwork.com\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-12-at-11.48.25-AM-e1657658396621.png\" "\\"May")
<\/span><\/div>2017 and 2018 both showed 10~15% traffic drop in June compared to May<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Winners & Losers Of This Algorithm Update<\/h4>\n<\/div>Some websites were hit much harder than others when this algorithm update was rolled out. According to reports, websites that used AI-generated content lost devastating amounts of traffic.<\/a> Fortunately, Brixwork\u2019s SEO strategy involves human-written custom content<\/a>, and we hope that none of our clients resorted to AI bots to write their content.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>We\u2019ve analyzed many of our more active Realtor\u00ae websites, and here\u2019s what we found as far as traffic patterns went after this algorithm update:<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Inactive](\"https:\/\/www.brixwork.com\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-12-at-1.04.20-PM.png\" "\\"Inactive")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Inactive Websites Lost About 50% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>The real estate websites that lost around half their traffic had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
No blog, or inactive (no recent new articles) blog<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
No regular social media shares (therefore no traffic)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Whether the website structure & mobile framework was old (2+ years old) or not was not a major factor. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Websites that Lost Only 10~30% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>The websites that lost traffic, but not much more than the already anticipated traffic decline based on market\/human behaviours had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
An active blog with recent custom written content<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
And\/Or regular social media shares & inbound traffic<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Once again, how new (or old) the code structure was had little impact. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>![\"Active](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271240%27%20height%3D%27719%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201240%20719%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271240%27%20height%3D%27719%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" "\\"Active")
<\/span><\/div>Relatively young website with active blogging lost about a quarter<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.brixwork.com\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-4.40.41-PM.png\" "\\"Google")
<\/span><\/div>Website with a previous SEO campaign for 1 year saw normal declines in line with market drops.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Google](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271242%27%20height%3D%27683%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201242%20683%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271242%27%20height%3D%27683%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" "\\"Google")
<\/span><\/div>MLS\u00ae Reciprocity enabled website with years of tenure & impressive social media share history fared well.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Other Common Factors That Affected Loss Or Gain<\/h4>\n<\/div>Regardless of whether the website had an active blog or not, the following affected traffic loss:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Websites that already had significant ranking built up and consistent social media postings over the years were least impacted. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Websites that had upgraded to a mobile-ready version on the new Brixwork architecture early, with MLS\u00ae Reciprocity and google-friendly URLs for more than 5 years already, were the least impacted even without a blog.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Brixwork\u2019s Strategy To Work With Google\u2019s New Algorithm<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The age old mantra of \u201cContent is King\u201d in the world of SEO has not changed, and will not change for a long time. While the traffic drops most likely indicate Google is favouring larger websites (REW.ca, major brokerage websites, Redfin & other conglomerates) there are many opportunities for individual Realtor\u00ae websites with the right strategy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Continued Focus on Quality Content (as always)<\/h4>\n<\/div>Better URL structures, better heading & content, and great photos (and fast delivery of such) still remain the best arsenal for best Google™ rankings. Our SEO programs continue to focus on this and we will keep the course steady. For all Brixwork clients, routines to improve ranking is easy:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Google\u2019s Algorithm Updates and Other Factors of Anticipated Traffic Decline<\/h4>\n<\/div>To bring the most relevant search results, Google will update their algorithm on a regular basis. The latest Google algorithm update on May 22 (2022)<\/a> had some significant impacts on the traffic of our real estate websites. It\u2019s common for small business websites to experience fluctuations (dips) in traffic after algorithm updates. We confidently expected a traffic drop of 30% or more in June for more reasons than Google\u2019s shift:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Website traffic in <\/span>June is typically 10~15% lower<\/span> than May (excluding anomaly years such as the COVID19 pandemic years).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
With <\/span>rapidly rising mortgage interest rates, real estate activity has slowed down significantly across many Canadian cities<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
The first summer with almost all COVID restrictions dropped means more vacations & travels, less home searches & tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div>2017 and 2018 both showed 10~15% traffic drop in June compared to May<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The Winners & Losers Of This Algorithm Update<\/h4>\n<\/div>Some websites were hit much harder than others when this algorithm update was rolled out. According to reports, websites that used AI-generated content lost devastating amounts of traffic.<\/a> Fortunately, Brixwork\u2019s SEO strategy involves human-written custom content<\/a>, and we hope that none of our clients resorted to AI bots to write their content.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>We\u2019ve analyzed many of our more active Realtor\u00ae websites, and here\u2019s what we found as far as traffic patterns went after this algorithm update:<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Inactive Websites Lost About 50% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>The real estate websites that lost around half their traffic had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
No blog, or inactive (no recent new articles) blog<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
No regular social media shares (therefore no traffic)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Whether the website structure & mobile framework was old (2+ years old) or not was not a major factor. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Websites that Lost Only 10~30% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>The websites that lost traffic, but not much more than the already anticipated traffic decline based on market\/human behaviours had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
An active blog with recent custom written content<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
And\/Or regular social media shares & inbound traffic<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Once again, how new (or old) the code structure was had little impact. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div>Relatively young website with active blogging lost about a quarter<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div>Website with a previous SEO campaign for 1 year saw normal declines in line with market drops.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div>MLS\u00ae Reciprocity enabled website with years of tenure & impressive social media share history fared well.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Other Common Factors That Affected Loss Or Gain<\/h4>\n<\/div>Regardless of whether the website had an active blog or not, the following affected traffic loss:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Websites that already had significant ranking built up and consistent social media postings over the years were least impacted. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Websites that had upgraded to a mobile-ready version on the new Brixwork architecture early, with MLS\u00ae Reciprocity and google-friendly URLs for more than 5 years already, were the least impacted even without a blog.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Brixwork\u2019s Strategy To Work With Google\u2019s New Algorithm<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The age old mantra of \u201cContent is King\u201d in the world of SEO has not changed, and will not change for a long time. While the traffic drops most likely indicate Google is favouring larger websites (REW.ca, major brokerage websites, Redfin & other conglomerates) there are many opportunities for individual Realtor\u00ae websites with the right strategy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Continued Focus on Quality Content (as always)<\/h4>\n<\/div>Better URL structures, better heading & content, and great photos (and fast delivery of such) still remain the best arsenal for best Google™ rankings. Our SEO programs continue to focus on this and we will keep the course steady. For all Brixwork clients, routines to improve ranking is easy:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
To bring the most relevant search results, Google will update their algorithm on a regular basis. The latest Google algorithm update on May 22 (2022)<\/a> had some significant impacts on the traffic of our real estate websites. It\u2019s common for small business websites to experience fluctuations (dips) in traffic after algorithm updates. We confidently expected a traffic drop of 30% or more in June for more reasons than Google\u2019s shift:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Website traffic in <\/span>June is typically 10~15% lower<\/span> than May (excluding anomaly years such as the COVID19 pandemic years).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> With <\/span>rapidly rising mortgage interest rates, real estate activity has slowed down significantly across many Canadian cities<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> The first summer with almost all COVID restrictions dropped means more vacations & travels, less home searches & tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div> Some websites were hit much harder than others when this algorithm update was rolled out. According to reports, websites that used AI-generated content lost devastating amounts of traffic.<\/a> Fortunately, Brixwork\u2019s SEO strategy involves human-written custom content<\/a>, and we hope that none of our clients resorted to AI bots to write their content.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The real estate websites that lost around half their traffic had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div> No blog, or inactive (no recent new articles) blog<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> No regular social media shares (therefore no traffic)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul> Whether the website structure & mobile framework was old (2+ years old) or not was not a major factor. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> The websites that lost traffic, but not much more than the already anticipated traffic decline based on market\/human behaviours had the following in common:<\/p>\n<\/div> An active blog with recent custom written content<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> And\/Or regular social media shares & inbound traffic<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul> Once again, how new (or old) the code structure was had little impact. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div> Regardless of whether the website had an active blog or not, the following affected traffic loss:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Websites that already had significant ranking built up and consistent social media postings over the years were least impacted. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Websites that had upgraded to a mobile-ready version on the new Brixwork architecture early, with MLS\u00ae Reciprocity and google-friendly URLs for more than 5 years already, were the least impacted even without a blog.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div> The age old mantra of \u201cContent is King\u201d in the world of SEO has not changed, and will not change for a long time. While the traffic drops most likely indicate Google is favouring larger websites (REW.ca, major brokerage websites, Redfin & other conglomerates) there are many opportunities for individual Realtor\u00ae websites with the right strategy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Better URL structures, better heading & content, and great photos (and fast delivery of such) still remain the best arsenal for best Google™ rankings. Our SEO programs continue to focus on this and we will keep the course steady. For all Brixwork clients, routines to improve ranking is easy:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div>2017 and 2018 both showed 10~15% traffic drop in June compared to May<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The Winners & Losers Of This Algorithm Update<\/h4>\n<\/div>
We\u2019ve analyzed many of our more active Realtor\u00ae websites, and here\u2019s what we found as far as traffic patterns went after this algorithm update:<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Inactive Websites Lost About 50% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>
Websites that Lost Only 10~30% of traffic<\/h4>\n<\/div>
![\"Active](\"https:\/\/d2cxg3816va608.cloudfront.net\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-2.23.27-PM.png\" "\\"Active")
Relatively young website with active blogging lost about a quarter<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>Website with a previous SEO campaign for 1 year saw normal declines in line with market drops.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/d2cxg3816va608.cloudfront.net\/realtors\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-13-at-4.43.31-PM.png\" "\\"Google")
MLS\u00ae Reciprocity enabled website with years of tenure & impressive social media share history fared well.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Other Common Factors That Affected Loss Or Gain<\/h4>\n<\/div>
Brixwork\u2019s Strategy To Work With Google\u2019s New Algorithm<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Continued Focus on Quality Content (as always)<\/h4>\n<\/div>