Homebuyers, more than ever, are searching for homes online. Attracting those individuals to your web site is essential for your real estate business. Keeping them there is even more essential.

Google and the National Association of REALTORS® teamed up to study digital media usage and trends among home shoppers. They learned that not only do nine out of 10 homebuyers use the Internet to look for homes, 52 percent begin their searches online. And those numbers are growing 22 percent per year.

In today's web-driven world, getting a home shopper's attention is more difficult than ever, and your real estate business depends upon it. Luckily there are a number of steps you can take to draw your audience to your web site and keep them clicking.

1. Local Focus

How do most real estate searches begin? According to the Google/NAR study, 69 percent of home shoppers begin their search by typing a local term (e.g. "Indianapolis homes for sale").

Even if your real estate business focuses on multiple cities, start at your base and work your way out. The more targeted you can be, the better. For example, if you're based in Phoenix, Arizona, populate the content on your web site with terms like:

• Phoenix homes
• Phoenix realtor
• Living in Phoenix
• Phoenix schools