The real estate industry is fiercely competitive, both offline and online. The market is there, that’s a fact – there are millions of people trying to buy or sell a property at any given moment.
In this article, we will discuss the following:
- How Useful is SEO for Real Estate Website?
- What are Real Estate SEO Services?
- Why you need a Real Estate SEO Expert for your Business?
- How to Find a Reliable Real Estate SEO Company or Agency?
There are also tens of thousands of small to large companies working in the sector, so the competition is huge. Considering that the majority of house hunters start their search for properties online, real estate SEO is one of the core components of real estate marketing today.
How Useful is SEO for Real Estate Website?
More quality leads, no more unqualified prospects, no more meetings, fewer cold calls, and more revenue – these are the benefits of real estate SEO. So, what does SEO mean in real estate? How can you implement it and when can you see the results?
The real estate industry is ideal for SEO: it’s local, it’s online friendly and the people are looking for a specific, high ticket product. Plus, SEO never rests – it works long term, it brings you new leads constantly, without any footwork, ads or billboards. This means continuous growth for your real estate business.
According to a new study** cited by the National Association of Realtors, 44 percent of all buyers start their search online. That’s a massive amount when compared to data from 1981 when everyone searched local newspaper ads.
The internet has changed the real estate market profoundly. Everyone is online, both buyers and sellers, and that means SEO is a critical component of your marketing strategy.
The real estate industry is extremely locally dependent. People always search for homes in a specific location, so local SEO is one of the main areas you will have to invest in.
For instance, keywords must be locally identifiable, your content must be locally relevant and your backlinks should preferably come from local sources.
What are Real Estate SEO Services?
Creating an effective real estate SEO strategy requires several important components. Your real estate SEO consultant will guide you through the entire process, but here are some of the things you should know:
- choosing the keywords – use Google’s Keyword Planner to identify the best keywords for your area and type of property; the keywords’ popularity varies greatly depending on your location
- adapt your website for listings – use IDX integration to display various properties. These pages should be designed as mini-websites for each neighborhood or community. Include in-depth information about the area, such as schools, parks, popular attractions, and other features. Include your main and secondary keywords in the content – this is very important for search engine crawlers
- create new content – SEO is an ongoing effort, so you should constantly try to produce fresh content for your website and social media profiles
- distributing the content – focus on publishing the content on your website and social media profiles, as well as real estate directories
- tracking – data tracking will tell you crucial information about your real estate SEO stats, so you can adapt your strategy in real time
Why you need a Real Estate SEO Expert for your Business?
While basic SEO can be done in-house with satisfactory results, you should contact a real estate SEO expert if you want a full strategy for your business. An expert can:
- help you define the keywords – real estate websites are locally specific and an expert will advise on what keywords work better, have lower competition and are more suitable for the area. Also, you will get help on interactive mapping, geotargeting and other SEO specific elements.
- help you create content that converts – articles, blogs, photos, and videos – these are the types of content that people look for in this industry, and your real estate SEO consultant can help you create them. Also, creating content is not enough, an expert will also guide you on how to do content marketing.
- help you with an SEO audit – this will tell you how your website stands in terms of SEO. You will receive a report on your page structure, links, content, usability, and technical details.
- help you with on-site optimization – after you receive the report, the expert will create a plan to optimize your website. You’ll receive guidance on content optimization, structure and design optimization, redirects, site speed, SSL certificates, W3C validation, CTR and bounce rates, among many others.
- help you create a social media presence – social media is an amazing magnet for new traffic. Your main way to connect with your audience. Experts can help you create profiles, activate and populate them with content. They interact with your followers on multiple social media platforms. This will turn you into an important social media real estate personality.
How to Find a Reliable Real Estate SEO Company or Agency?
There are countless SEO agencies on the market. How do you know which one is the best for your real estate website? Let’s take a look:
- knowing your goals – before looking for an SEO agency, try to outline your goals and what you want. Do you want more sales, better brand awareness or more visibility? Do you want a complete overhaul of your website or just a small? One-time campaign for a specific event or launch?
- find reviews – try to find unbiased reviews for every SEO agency you find. Look for reviews on 3rd party websites, review platforms or realtor communities. Also, look for testimonials or case studies on their websites. Good SEO companies always publish case studies so clients know what to expect.
- schedule a consultation – asking for a digital marketing consultation is the next step in your search. Try to schedule a phone call with multiple SEO agencies to discuss your project. Pay attention to their process, their attitude and their approach. Pick the one who seems more passionate about their work and wants to see good results.
