Once a family starts looking at new homes, their searches get specific fast. They stop typing “new homes” and start typing “Starkey Ranch builders,” “homes in [community] for sale,” “[plan name] floor plan.” The national builders know this. They have a page for every community and every plan, which is why they show up for all of those searches and you show up for none.
You can do the same thing. You can do it better, because you can write something real about each one, and they cannot.
One page per community
Each community you build in gets its own page, with the community name in the title: New Homes in [Community Name], [Town]. What goes on it:
- Where it is and what it is like. The town, the nearest main road, the schools, the pool and trails if there are any, how far to the grocery store. Write it the way you would tell a friend.
- What you are building there. The plans offered, the price range, lots left, what is move-in ready and what is coming.
- Photos of your homes there. Not renderings of the community sign. Your finished houses, with the street.
- A review from a family who lives there. See the reviews guide for how to get one that names the community.
- Who to call and when the model is open.
One page per floor plan
Each plan gets its own page too, with the plan name in the title: The [Plan Name]: 4 Bed, 3 Bath, 2,650 Sq Ft. The drawings, the numbers, six or more photos of that plan built, what families like about it, what you can change on it, and which communities offer it. Link each plan page to its communities and each community page to its plans. That web of links is what Google reads.
Why a local builder can beat the national ones here
The national builder's community page is written by a marketing team in another state. It says “resort-style amenities” and “convenient access to shopping.” Yours can say that the pool opens at seven, that the back gate is a shortcut to the elementary school, and that the lots on the east side back up to a preserve. A buyer who has driven through the community reads that and knows you have been there. Google reads it and sees words no other page has. That is how a small builder's page outranks a big one for the same community name.
Do not make them all the same
The trap is building twelve community pages that are the same page with the name swapped. Google sees through that in a second, and so does a buyer who just visited the community and knows it has no pool. Each page needs at least a few things that are true only for that place. If you cannot write three true paragraphs about a community, you are not ready to build a page for it yet.
Keep them current
A community page that says “lots available” a year after you sold out does more harm than good. Once a quarter, open every community page and fix what changed. Sold out? Say so, and keep the page, because the families who live there still search it, and it still shows you built there. Point it to the next community over.
Where they live on your site
A “Communities” item in your main menu that goes to a short page listing each one, linked. A “Floor Plans” item that does the same for plans. Both on the homepage too. Google finds pages by following links, and a page nobody links to is a page nobody finds. The pages guide shows where these sit among the rest.
Start with the three that matter most
Pick the three communities where you have the most lots or want the most tours. Build those pages well. Then the three plans you sell most. Add the rest one at a time. Six strong pages beat thirty thin ones, and thin ones can drag the rest of the site down with them.
Want this done for you?
Community and plan pages are the slowest part of builder SEO and the part that pays longest, because buyers search those names for years. If you want to know which communities you are already close to ranking for, the audit is free and shows you.