Industry SEO Local SEO

When we want to buy a property, we don’t just drive around and stop by whenever we see an impressive building. In most cases, the buying process looks slightly different.

We start by exploring the real estate market. We carefully look through all properties available and compare the prices. Twenty years ago, to conduct such research, we would buy hundreds of newspapers and read all the ads. Today we use Google – it’s more convenient and cheaper. Only when we find an interesting building online, we jump into the car and go see it.

That’s why for every real estate agent, an online presence is a must. But not just any presence. If your goal is to get as many happy clients as possible, you need to make sure that your website ranks on Google as high as possible.

Read the following article to discover the best real estate SEO tips. Effectiveness guaranteed!

What is SEO for real estate agents? 

Don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with definitions. 

I just want to establish that when we talk about real estate SEO, we have in mind all the activities that aim to make sure your site shows up in search engines when people are looking for someone to help them buy or sell a property.

Most of these activities will be described below, so keep on reading!

Why is SEO real estate marketing important?

To answer this question, just take a look at search results for a keyword “real estate agent [your city name]”. 

As you will see, most of the results on the first page are paid ads and local Google Maps results. The organic results are pushed down to the bottom of a page, so you can hardly see them. 

Let me tell you a  joke:

  • Where should you bury something that you don’t want people to find? 
  • On the second page of Google.

The conclusion is easy to draw. You need to get the most out of the little space there is on the first Google page. Yes, you are going to face a lot of competitors. 

But remember, those who manage to leverage this competition will get the clients. And those who fail will have to look for another clients’ acquisition method. 

You may ask, why should you invest in SEO at all if you could just focus on paid ads. Keep in mind that paid marketing will effectively target only those in the purchase stage. SEO, on the other hand, is a long-term strategy that will drive leads from different stages continually without having to invest any extra budget. 

8 Real Estate SEO tips

A couple of years ago, real estate SEO was easy. It was enough just to create a website, publish some content, get a few links and, voila, you were in the TOP 3. Unfortunately, the times have changed, and so did the SEO strategy you need to develop.

Start with a real estate SEO audit

Before you take any actions, evaluate your current situation. An SEO audit is a great place to start – and the only right one. 

The audit is crucial, especially if you have already put some efforts into real estate SEO. It will allow you to determine what is working and what is not, demonstrating a place for improvements.

Of course, it’s an extensive process, and people have been writing whole books about it. A complete audit should cover absolutely every SEO aspect – and there are many of these. That’s why here, I will only point out the essential factors that you need to analyze:

Site structure. Check whether these elements have been implemented correctly:

  • XML sitemap. It allows search engines to crawl the site more efficiently and to find URLs that may be isolated from the rest of the site’s content. Remember that Google ranks pages – not websites.
  • Robots.txt file. It’s vital for real estate SEO as it informs Google which pages on your website to crawl. 
  • Schema Markup. It creates an enhanced description (commonly known as a rich snippet), which appears in search results and allows you to stand out among your competitors.
  • Redirects. 301,302, etc.

Page structure. Check:

  • Titles and meta descriptions. A unique one should be written for each page.
  • If no H1-H6 tags are missing.
  • URLs structure. 

 Content. Check:

  • All the existing content for keyword placement and internal linking structure.
  • If visual elements are optimized for SEO (e.g. ALT attributes).
  • If there is any duplicate content. If you find some, get rid of it straight away!

Links. Check: 

  • Interlinking structure.
  • External linking quality
  • Broken links presence. 

User Experience. Check:

What is the best SEO tool for real estate? The one you use!

If you haven’t done this before the audit, it’s the last call. 

You should keep in mind that if you don’t measure the performance of your real estate SEO, you can’t improve it. And SEO is one of the most analytical among all the online marketing fields. It means that almost everything can be measured – and it should be. What a shame it would be to waste such a potential!

The list of tools that can help with real estate SEO is quite long. Ranging from basic ones like Google Analytics to less popular like Clusteric. Here is a couple of which you might find useful:

  • Google Analytics
  • Ahrefs
  • SemStorm
  • SEMrush
  • UberSuggest
  • Moz 
  • Clusteric
  • Yandex Metrica

For a start, you can pick just one. Google Analytics is completely free and quite reliable. The only catch is, you need to know what metrics to measure. Here is a hint:

  • organic visitors
  • direct traffic
  • organic conversion goals (if you set up ones, which we strongly recommend)

Get more tips on analytics: How to measure SEO?

What are the best real estate SEO keywords? Conduct research to find out

Keywords are the foundation of SEO. If you pick them right, you have a considerable chance to attract visitors that will soon become real estate owners. And they will buy it form you. Sounds like a dream come true? Here are a few tips that will help you achieve it:

  • Study the market very carefully. Take your time. Real estate keywords research is one of the most crucial steps in this battle.
  • Use reliable tools. We especially recommend the Keyword Planner (Google Ads) and Ahrefs.
  • For a start, focus on low competition keywords. Gradually, move to the more difficult ones. 

One more note on real estate keywords. Avoid keywords stuffing! It definitely won’t help your website rank higher. In fact, it may result in the exact opposite situation. 

Also, remember that there is no such thing as universal best real estate SEO keywords. The only way to find them is through complex research. 

Optimize your website 

During the audit, you have found out what areas require improvement. Also, you already know the keywords you want to rank for. Time for conquering SERPs! Start by introducing all the essential changes on your website.

After you’ve finished that work you should be able to put a checkmark next all of the following elements:

  • Sitemap and robots.txt file are flawless
  • All pages have unique and optimized title tags and meta descriptions
  • 301 and 302 redirects are in use. Remember – if a page was removed, the user, and even more so Google, cannot encounter an error
  • The URL structure is proper. URLs are short, they include a keyword, and they are friendly – both for users and Google’s robots
  • All of the images have ALT attributes added
  • The outbound and internal link structure is proper
  • There are no lousy quality links linking to your website
  • Broken links are fixed or they don’t exist
  • The existing content is optimized for SEO, and it’s full of H1-H6 headings
  • The bounce rate is getting lower and lower
  • Your real estate website is ready for more SEO actions!

Go mobile

 In 2019, mobile devices accounted for approximately half of the Internet traffic across the globe. 

You can’t neglect the mobile optimization of your real estate website. Keep in mind that Google after introducing Mobile-First Index analyzes the mobile version of your site first. 

Your potential clients use mobile devices and you can be 100% sure of that. This is how you will make it easier for them to find the perfect real estate in the search engine:

  • Responsive design is a must. It should be obvious, but for the sake of the best possible performance of your real estate SEO, we still want to stress that.
  • Optimize your site’s code. Delete all Flash and script elements that can increase your pages’ load time. For mobile, the site loading speed is crucial.
  • Get rid of ads and pop-ups that distract users when accessing content. Both Google and users hate websites that are difficult to navigate. That especially applies to mobile sites.
  • Reduce the size of large images.

Create a fantastic real estate SEO content strategy 

Technology, keywords, links, and content – these are the four pillars of SEO. The last one requires considerable effort and patience.

You definitely need a lot of content to rank in Google. But what makes a real estate content strategy great?

  • Content has to correspond to users’ intention. People have to look for it – otherwise, there is no reason to write it. 
  • Keywords should appear in the texts. However, it doesn’t mean that the content should be created only for the sake of them. 
  • A blog is a true SEO-machine that will bring hundreds of users to your website. Focus on ever-green topics. Write informative articles and conduct interviews. Find out what information do your clients seek and give it to them in the form of exhaustive blog posts.
  • Remember that content isn’t just about words. Use photographs, infographics, and video materials to attract users. It doesn’t influence SEO but can make a significant difference when it comes to conversion rate. Content should be visually appealing!

Learn more: How to create SEO-friendly content?

A successful SEO strategy for real estate? Google all the way 

You shouldn’t focus only on traditional organic results. Google creates many more possibilities, especially when it comes to local SEO.

You can make physical proximity one of your competitive advantages. Don’t you agree that users pay more attention to results that feature snapshots, ratings, reviews, and Google Maps directions? That’s why you should set up Google My Business account and make sure your website is visible on Google Maps. 

What do you need to remember when creating Google My Business account?

  • When creating an account, you must submit all the necessary data, such as a physical address, website, phone number, email address, etc. Double-check before sending them. Once you claim your business, it will be difficult to change any information. What’s more, Google will mail your authorization code to address you’ve provided – it has to be correct. 
  • After creating an account, customize your Google My Business page. Publish your opening hours, add visually appealing photos, and a direct link to your website.
  • Respond to every opinion that is posted on your page and answer to every question. Your potential clients need to know that you are approachable.

It’s really worth the trouble. Thanks to optimized Google My Business page, you will get a very precious chance to rank higher than your competitors, who perform better in the traditional SEO area.

Go social 

For the last tip, we’ve chosen something that is not typically associated with SEO. But believe us that social media can help with your real estate SEO efforts. It’s especially important when your company is new to the business, and your SEO activities have not had time to bear fruit yet.

Why? The answer is simple. Google ranks social media profiles high. 

What’s more, you can use social media to share your content – blog posts, infographics, video, or any other materials you find relevant for your audience. 

It’s crucial to see SEO as one of the fields of a complex online marketing world. It’s worth exploring them all – they complement each other and will help you boost real estate SEO.

How long does real estate SEO take?

Unfortunately, the specific answer to this question doesn’t exist. After reading everything we’ve written above, you probably realize now that SEO is a very complex process. Its results depend on many factors, one of which is your competitors’ activity.  

If you are lucky, you will see SEO results after one or two weeks. However, keep in mind that such cases are extremely rare. Most likely, it will take 2-3 months or even half a year for your website to rank high.

Learn more: How long does SEO take?

What is a good SEO budget for a real estate company?

I wish I could write 1000 or 10000$. But again, no one has one answer to such a question. 

It all depends on the country, competition, and many other factors we can’t predict. But trust us on this one – you need a tailored SEO strategy. Don’t believe in monthly SEO packages in the real estate industry. 

Best SEO company for real estate

It’’s fully understandable that if you are new to SEO, it all may sound a bit confusing. Real estate SEO takes a lot of time and practice – that’s why the best option is to trust professionals with your marketing. 

At Miromind, we have the knowledge and resources to help your business thrive. We will be more than glad to design a tailor-made strategy to help you meet your SEO goals. Contact us to find out how we can work together on your online presence.

Industry SEO, Local SEO
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