Realtor SEO

Realtor SEO is an online marketing technique aimed at helping individual realtors and real estate firms generate more listings and buyers. The strategies described below will teach you how to better market yourself and your agency on Google, in order to help you gain more new clients and generate more inbound phone calls.

Online marketing has become so important to real estate agents that Realtor.org provides a Field Guide To Effective Online Marketing for realtors. Perhaps the most important statistic from their research is that 92% of homebuyers use the internet as an information source.

While many realtors still effectively use Just Listed and Just Sold post cards to target new prospects in geographic areas, savvy agents are now turning to the internet as a way to capitalize on the opportunity to find new clients. Let’s take a look at the most effective strategies.

Realtor SEO & Online Marketing Strategy

Google’s Keyword Planner tool reports the following search volume for the word “realtors” in the states listed below.

Monthly Searches For “Realtors” in Google

 

 

These are important figures because they indicate how many people EACH MONTH are searching Google to find a realtor. In addition to these direct searches, many people use Google to ask questions like, “Should I stage my home?” or “How to prepare my house for sale?”

By answering questions like these and others on your blog, you’ll get found more often and some of those visitors will become your new clients!

So, let’s take a look at the specific strategies that will help you win more clients.

1) Website SEO. I know that many realtors are going to want a website that’s got a lot of pictures, but believe it or not, words are what help you rank better and get found. Not only should you perform basic on-page optimization, such as including your main keyword in the title and H1 heading of your website, you should also use words that describe where you specialize and what its like to work with you.

So as not to have a home page full of words, tabs can be used in order to provide long descriptions Googlebot loves, while keeping your site aestetically pleasing to your human visitors. In the image below, you would provide content under each tab for sellers, buyers, and neighborhoods. The content would remain hidden to users until they click the approporiate tab.

2) Blogging. I think this where you can make the greatest impact. There is no doubt that blogging helps increase traffic and generate leads as evidenced by a client who has seen traffic triple in the last 2 years since they committed to blogging regularly.

So, what should a realtor blog about?

Above, I mentioned a couple ideas for blog topics. Here are some more:

• Your Real Estate Outlook For The New Year
• Your Resource Guide Of Trusted Contractors
• Why A Home Inspection Is Critical Before Buying A Home
• What Improvements Should Be Made Prior To Listing My Home?
• Neighborhood Review – Write your review of neighborhoods you know well and include information on schools and crime.

Any question your clients ask you is a potential topic for a blog post!

Start keeping a list and you will never run out of topics to write about. Follow these guidelines for writing a great blog post.

3) Email Marketing. A realtor I know was contacted by someone she sold a home for years prior. The phone call started with, “Are you still working in real estate?”

This is a clear signal that keeping in touch with former clients is a terrific way to generate new business. Simply letting them know you are still active in the business can generate repeat business and referrals.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that an an average buyer stays in their home for 12-13 years, let alone the potential for investment property purchases. While this may seem like a long time, people are always moving. That’s good news if you’re a realtor.

The moral of the story is that it pays to keep in touch and email marketing is an easy way to do it. The beauty of combining regular blogging with email marketing is that you always have something to promote!

Hire me and my team to handle your Realtor SEO marketing campaign and we will handle everything for you. Every bit ot it.Call 503-890-6663 to get started.

4) List Your Website In Business Directories. A recent Google search for “realtors” in both Portland and San Francisco lists Realtor.com as the #1 organic ranking. This site is one of the strongest “niche” directories and every realtor ought to take advantage of a free listing on this domain.

In addition to Realtor.com, The National Association of Realtors and Zillow appear on page 1. And there are plenty more. If you want a stronger website than your competition, get listed in as many as them as you can.

Real estate is one field where standard internet business directories like Yelp and YellowPages.com do not rank as well, but they’re still important, as they provide a valuable link back to your website.

I recommend going the extra mile and listing in your business in as many directories as possible, in order to get found and to strengthen the authority of your website.

Realtor SEO Marketing Summary

Online marketing may never replace word of mouth referrals when it comes to finding a realtor. But I hope this post has shown you that people are using the internet more often to find a realtor.

Don’t abandon what is working for you. Consider investing time (or money) into marketing yourself by following the strategies outlined above.

For a more comprehensive review of your website and SEO campaign, call me at 503-890-6663.