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What is the root cause of our listing pages (real estate classified website) being added straight into “omitted results”?

As a benefit of doubt we have added some insightful content on our pages to make them unique and at the same time useful for the users. However the problem doesn’t seem to have been fixed.

For example:

Google SERP main index : https://www.google.com.au/search?q=124%2F361+Kent+Street%2C+Sydney+NSW+2000

Google omitted index: please add &filter=0 at the end of the SERP URL.

If you click on the above links you would notice that we rank in omitted index but not in the main index.

Background:

We have property profile page for every address and every time that property is listed for sale/rent we create a listing (similar to what our competitor does) and ensure that they are not duplicated. However, Google has no issues in surfacing competitors pages (listing & property profile) in main index while pushing our pages to omitted results.

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  • Google uses the term "supplemental results" for these results that are initially omitted. Commented May 19, 2017 at 13:56
  • Google would take your property listings more seriously if you was not copying the text from your Bella property site, i.e: this vs this. Also... the listing in question this against this Commented May 19, 2017 at 17:18
  • unfortunately the copy is written by agent and shared across mutiple sites ( that's how industry works and we cant edit it ). To over come that duplication, we complimented every listing with unique content as per @johnmuellerlink recommendations. Commented May 19, 2017 at 21:48

1 Answer 1

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Omitted results are duplicate or near duplicate content.

The Market

Let's face it, real estate sites are severely limited in unique content, and the market is saturated. Tons of sites exist within this space including scraper sites and any foray into this market will be a long slog. Authority is the key and right or wrong, authority does not always come to those sites that originate the content. It is almost a backwards market where the smaller sites rely upon the larger sites to rank and drive traffic.

I know this all too well. I am a landlord and any site I might create for my properties would fail to gain traffic without certain key factors which may not exist everywhere. For smaller sites, you are either the site representing some level of ownership or authority for the location, or just another site that lists a location that must compete with all the other sites that do the same. For a real estate ad site, it is nearly impossible to stand out as an authority.

What makes the difference?

In real estate, factors that make any site standout is matching intent.

For example, neighborhood or community name. Tribeca is a neighborhood in Manhattan New York. Another example would be a property name such as Sumner Heights (Maryland) or a business name such as Central Apartments. Without a distinguishing mark, it is almost impossible to rank a location within the real estate market.

The problem with your query.

Your query is a postal address and the result set would likely be vast. Ranking for an address alone is nearly impossible. The standout ranking factors for a site with this address would be a business, person, or organization located at that address. Any site that can claim the address as their own can generally rank better for the address whereas any site that merely lists the address would compete with the myriad of sites that do the same. Competing at this level would require authority that is based upon many factors. Let's face it. Larger and longer standing sites do better with ranking addresses.

How do people search for real estate?

Generally with a town name, neighborhood name, property name, or business name and not a specific address. As well, search queries would contain something like house for sale, apartment for rent, apartments in, etc. Most searches for real estate would be something like apartment in Tribeca.

Also consider amenities. Searches for amenities are also key. For example, house for sale with pool in Brookmont, MD.

Summary

Ranking for an address within a saturated market is unrealistic. There are too many sites that list addresses and users generally do not search using addresses.

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  • Thanks for your detailed explanation mate...but can you please shed light on the root cause that could bring us back in main index. In terms of Authority, we are second largest in terms of market cap, traffic and we are neck to neck in other areas. Commented May 19, 2017 at 20:33
  • @RamaGudipudi Not for that query. It is a poor query to determine ranking and not one you should expect to compete for. The results you are getting are the results you should be expecting.
    – closetnoc
    Commented May 19, 2017 at 22:03
  • in the beginning i thought the same and data proved me wrong ( 200,000 similar queries when added up generate massive traffic and most importantly leads.) . so its important to understand the root cause and atleast show up in first page instead being pushed to supplemental / omitted index Commented May 19, 2017 at 22:19
  • Are you using schema.org mark up? The problem you have is that the primary signals will be based upon user activity. You are not competing against similar sites, but all sites that list addresses. With these, you will have to look to top performers to see what they were doing. You will likely find that the address is the focus of the content as opposed to other factors you are likely focused on. I learned not to focus on the address as much as neighborhood, property name, and business name. You will want to focus on more than just the address. Ask yourself, What about...?
    – closetnoc
    Commented May 19, 2017 at 23:18
  • thanks @closetnoc, i have tried everything under the sun and jumped on this forum as a last resort.....anyways i really appreciate your time so far. Commented May 20, 2017 at 12:27

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