Last Updated on February 12, 2024 by Admin
If you are a realtor, you probably already know that a large number of customers find you and your properties online. An increasing number of buyers turn to the internet to search for homes. According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, 97% of homebuyers now search for properties online and half end up buying a home they found online.
So, as a real estate professional, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve. And for this, you need to invest more energy to attract buyers through search engine optimization (SEO). Keep reading further to know how real estate SEO can help you optimize your online presence and increase visibility.
What is Real Estate SEO?
Real estate SEO concentrates on improving the visibility of real estate websites on search engines. This helps potential buyers to easily find and contact you. The primary focus of Real Estate SEO is on local SEO. This is because, in the real estate industry, your target audience is typically local. For instance, if you are located in New York, you would want to be in the top searches for ‘real estate agent in New York.’
By implementing effective SEO strategies, you can attract more organic traffic, generate more leads, and ultimately increase your property sales. So, next, we will shed light on a few crucial Real Estate SEO strategies that will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Tips to Get Started With Real Estate SEO
Well, now let’s discuss a few strategies and tips that could help you get started with real estate SEO and shine in front of customers:
#1. Begin with keyword research
Keyword research is the first step when it comes to real estate SEO. It starts with understanding how often buyers search for specific terms, how other companies are performing on these terms, and other factors.
For instance, keywords such as ‘home for sale’ are likely extremely competitive. So, instead, you can use long tail keywords such as ‘homes for sale in California’. You will be able to rank your website higher if Google considers your website to be the best answer to a user’s query. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or AHREF for conducting keyword research. You can find the search volume as well as the difficulty of a particular keyword.
#2. Website optimization
Google needs help understanding what your page is about. So, once you have identified relevant keywords, incorporate them into your meta tags, including the title tag and meta description.
Also, start adding more content to your website. Write high-quality content with images and infographics related to home buying in your area. Also, make sure website URLs are descriptive and user-friendly and include relevant keywords.
All these steps will help search engines provide a better understanding of what your website and page is about.
#3. Get backlinks to your website
Getting backlinks from trusted and reputable websites is of utmost importance in demonstrating your website’s credibility and expertise within a specified geographical location.
This can improve your website’s authority and search engine rankings. Focus on building relationships with local businesses, industry influencers, and relevant websites to earn quality backlinks.
#4. Focus on high-quality content
Your website should always prioritize quality and relevant content. Make sure to produce valuable content for your audience. This could be through informative blog posts, insightful articles, or engaging multimedia content. The key is to make your content useful and interesting to your visitors.
Integrating keywords naturally and appropriately throughout your content is also important. Regularly updating your content keeps it fresh and relevant, which is not only favorable for your audience but also for search engine rankings. Fresh and updated content indicates that your site is active and up-to-date, a factor that search engines consider when ranking websites.
#5. Concentrate on technical SEO
SEO isn’t just about writing more content and incorporating keywords. You need to focus on technical SEO as well. It refers to all the behind-the-scenes elements that search engines crawl and index. This can include your page speed, site optimization, and compatibility with mobile devices.
You will have to make sure that images are optimized and pages are structured so that search engines can understand the content properly.
#6. Keep monitoring progress
As per a report, it can take anywhere between three to six months to rank on the first page of Google. But this is only possible if your website is optimized for search engines and you’re producing good-quality content. If there’s high competition or you haven’t optimized your website, it may take six to 12 months to see results. So, make use of analytics to keep track of changes you have made and how your ranking is changing with time.
As you refine your SEO strategy, you should align website additions and updates with the specific goals you are trying to achieve. This could be increasing brand awareness or wanting more homebuyers to contact you.
#7. Optimize your website for mobile search
For those who aren’t aware, around 52% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. This means if you want to keep Google and your prospective customers happy, you need to switch to mobile phones and tablets.
When it comes to mobile optimization, you need to focus on areas such as responsive design, page speed, usability, and more. A responsive design is crucial as it automatically adjusts your site to fit any device’s screen. Also, a faster speed of website is essential to offer user-friendliness. They’ll likely keep coming back to your website. So, the general rule of thumb is to keep things as simple as possible for your users.
#8. Improve your EEAT factors
Your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (EEAT) factors are essential factors for customers in search for trusted sources of information. Search engines are emphasizing more on your EEAT factors, so much so that if your website lacks these factors, you can lose your ranking and traffic. But, you can always optimize your website to boost these factors. For example, make sure that relevant pages, such as your Contact Us pages, About Us and homepage are on point with up to date information and content that positions you as a trustworthy source in your field. If you have accreditations or have won awards, be sure to include this information too.
Wrapping Up!
So, as we wrap up this article, I would say that real estate SEO is really important if you want to outperform your competitors and improve your online rankings. By following the above tips and methods, you can increase brand authority, build trust among consumers, and even generate more sales.
But do remember, that the real estate market is constantly evolving, and staying up to date with the latest SEO trends and strategies is essential for long-term success. I would recommend contacting a top-notch digital marketing agency like AlgoSaga if you are looking to enhance the visibility of your real estate business. Contact them today!