The real estate business has changed over the years. Now more and more people are using the internet for their new house hunt.
Gone are the days of several face-to-face meetings with agents.
With more online hunts, things have become difficult for real estate business owners. They are not able to get the local high-quality leads that they got before.
They are also missing the chances of using their communication strategies for converting the leads.
When a person searches online for real estate they have a wider selection. They can look at the images of plots, houses and get the essential details.
Sometimes they only look for reviews.
BrightLocal says 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses.
Therefore, as a real estate owner, you must have a website having all the accurate details and reviews. At the same time, to attract the right leads, you must use SEO strategies.
You may have a great website but only SEO will help you get quality leads. However, for real estate, the SEO strategies are a bit different.
So, let me explain to you in detail.
What is Real Estate SEO and Why is it Important?
You can find several definitions for real estate SEO online but the gist is:
The SEO tactics one uses show up when a user searches about buying and selling a property on search engines.
Imagine yourself as the customer who wants to buy a new home. You’ve decided on the location and the kind of house you want.
What’s the next thing you would do?
That’s right, go to Google to look at all the real estate available in that location.
Source: Google
Now, when you are searching on Google, you’ll find two sets of links – Google ads and organic links.
Google ads will show up on the top with a symbol of “Ad” along with it. In case, you have a budget to invest or you want leads quickly, then you may go for this.
However, if you want to spend the least and want your website to rank on the first page, you should go for real estate SEO.
Using real estate SEO strategies, your website will be showing at the top. It’s all about keywords and different optimization about which I will discuss ahead.
And here is the best part, the first result in Google’s organic search gets a 28.5% click-through rate.
So, if you can get your website to rank numero uno on the Google search engine page, you’ll get huge traffic. However, it’s not only about ranking number one. You also need to show up on the right searches.
It’ll help you in the overall brand awareness.
Your ranked website will receive more clicks when someone searches for certain keywords. If the website is designed accurately, you’ll get more calls and emails from potential leads.
Now that you know about real estate SEO and its importance, let’s find out the strategies you can apply.
The Real Estate SEO Strategies in 2021
You don’t have to be an expert to implement SEO strategies on your website. However, if you are not confident and all new to this online world, you may take the help of a digital marketing agency.
They’ll help you make the right on-page and local SEO setups that are vital for ranking.
However, if you think you can take on real estate SEO all by yourself, here are the strategies.
1. Optimize your Google My Business page.
When someone searches “real estate” in a location, the Google listings also show up. The Google listing consists of all the real estate companies that are available in that location.
You can get potential prospects using the Google listing as well. Many people go for this listing instead of clicking on the organic links.
The listing consists of the name, contact details, and reviews. So, anyone researching real estate can take a look at the reviews and decide whether to visit the website or not.
For example, when I search the keyword “real estate company in Boston” this Google listing shows up.
Source: Google
As you can see that there are two types of listing. One is a Google ad and the other one is an organic listing. You can always invest in ads, but we would recommend going for organic listing.
It’s free and you’ll get more customers from here.
When someone clicks on the name, Google will show the ratings, reviews, pictures, website, and more.
So, if you haven’t set up your Google My Business page, you should do it immediately. Just visit google.com/business and fill in all the details.
Make sure your profile has all the necessary details. Don’t forget to include:
- Website
- Location
- Telephone number
- Description
- Opening hours
- Photos
- Primary and secondary categories
When someone will search for “real estate near me” Google will show only the top 3. So, you need to optimize to get in the top 3 places.
For that, you need to add all the information correctly.
2. Focus on reviews on Google listings
When 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting any website, you must pay attention to your reviews.
Online reviews help in building trust. People believe in recommendations from others who have used a business.
Google listings are one of the top places, people read the reviews.
Even if your company is not in the first place on the list, if you have a good number of reviews and ratings, it will help. When there is a sea of real estate companies online, having positive reviews can make you stand out.
It’ll also help in improving your local SEO.
Source: Google
Here you can see that even though the marked real estate company is in number two. However, it’ll receive more clicks because of the high number of reviews.
At the same time, always try to get reviews on other platforms such as Yelp, Facebook, and more. Most people visit websites only after going through a few positive reviews on the web.
3. Do your keyword research
Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of on-site SEO. It is only with the help of the right keyword, you can target your customers.
To find the keyword you need to understand your consumer’s intent. If you can get yourself in the shoes of your customers, you can easily find the keywords that they might search. However, if you are unable to do so, you may run a survey to find out.
On the web, with the help of keyword research tools, you can easily figure out the keywords.
What most real estate marketers do is spend the most time on social media marketing and content marketing. However, if your keyword game is supercharged, you’ll be able to rank high on Google.
If you do your keyword research correctly, you’ll get free traffic. But it will take some time.
Here are a few tips you may use for your keywords:
- Try to use more long-tail keywords.
- Use the Google search bar to find these long-tail keywords.
- Check the search queries in Google Ads.
- Check for organic terms you rank for in Google Analytics.
- Give a go at Ahrefs’ keyword explorer
4. Optimize on-page components
The optimization for on-page elements for local and national real estate companies is a bit different. However, both require to include the name, address, and phone number (NAP) clearly on the website.
It will not only help the people to contact you but even the search engines to index properly.
Along with that you also need to get the title tags, meta description, and body copy right.
Make the meta description engaging so people will quickly click on your link. Most people read the meta description to judge whether to click on the link.
So, try to add CTA in the meta description along with the keyword.
Always select a website platform that uses Schema local markup. It helps the indexing bots know what to look for.
You want to have your all listings indexable and also have an XML sitemap. These are the essentials if you are planning to optimize the website.
Here are some additional things you should do for on-page SEO:
- Try to add the focus keyword at the beginning of the title.
- Keep the title engaging and short.
- Use the keyword in the permalink.
- Add the keyword in the meta description.
- Try to keep the keyword density at 1-1.5%
5. Produce engaging content
Most real estate companies do not focus on the content. They have the pictures and the pricing but people always want more detail.
If they get all the details they need right on a single page, they will be more interested in buying.
So, if you feel that your website is lacking good content, you should invest in engaging content as soon as possible.
You can take the help of a content writing service or hire a content writer.
Other than having the main content on the website, you should also try to write blogs every week. Having enough content on your website will educate people about your business.
But I understand finding good content ideas for real estate can be difficult. So, you can always check what your competitor’s blogs are about. You can steal some ideas and give them a unique twist.
You can also check out BuzzSumo and Google Trends to narrow down the contents which will help you get more shares. These free tools will tell you about what people are interested in from the real estate sector.
You may focus on those topics and create engaging content that your customers will love.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Q1. How do I do SEO for real estate?
A. Here are a few ways you can do SEO for real estate:
- Do an SEO audit
- Do keyword research.
- Make your website user-friendly
- Optimize your website for mobile devices.
- Make an account in Google My Business and other directories.
Q2. Is SEO important for real estate agents?
A. Yes. Most of the customers are using search engines for real estate hunting. So, it would be wise to use SEO for your website.
It will help you present your website in front of people when they are searching for real estate-related terms.
Q3. Does SEO work for Realtors?
A. Yes, most home buyers use the internet for researching real estate. So, SEO works well for real estate companies.
Q4. How to get real estate clients fast?
A. Here are some ways you can get real estate clients fast:
- Work with influencers.
- Use email marketings.
- Ask for referrals.
- Create a professional website.
- Use SEO to rank high.
- Use local SEO.
- Do content marketing.
And more.
Q5. Is it important to use Google My Business for real estate?
A. Yes, it’s necessary if you want to get high-quality leads. Google listings take away half of the page of a Google search page. So, most people focus on that.
Having your company name on the first three positions can help you get a good number of leads.
Ready to Improve SEO of your Real Estate Website?
Improving SEO on your real estate website can help you gain more traffic which in turn will get you leads. So, as a real estate marketer, you cannot neglect on-page SEO.
At the same time, you should also ramp up the local SEO. Set up the perfect Google My Business page to get listed in the Google listings.
Google listings take up almost half the page, so people’s attention is dragged to it. If you can use this as an advantage, you’ll surely get high-quality leads.
So, try these real estate SEO tactics for your website and let us know how things go for you.
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