It’s no secret that technologically savvy brokerages have come to dominate the real estate market. Fortunately, this does not mean that real estate brokers still can’t compete in the online marketplace or should avoid the value of SEO to give their brokerage some much needed local visibility.
In fact, it’s not really an option to avoid digital. Over 90% of people use the internet to conduct home research, and 72% of people use a phone or tablet to conduct research for a new home. Whether it’s selling real estate in your hometown, digital marketing is your best strategy to increase your leads and grow your business.
Target Local Keywords
The first step to getting noticed in your local area is targeting local search keywords. Using Google Keyword Planner, you can segment keyword ideas by geographic region and pinpoint opportunities to win by their level of competitiveness and volume.
The key is to insert keywords with local intent onto your website and page copy. For example, instead of targeting real estate agent, target terms like:
- Real estate agent Paris
- Paris real estate agent
- Homes for sale in Paris, Texas
- Buy homes in Paris, Texas
By inserting local intent into your keywords, search engines will index your site for local searches and even display them above national brands when relevant.
Optimize Your Local Presence
You can’t just rely on organic search visibility to get discovered. Consider these strategies for building your local search presence:
- Registering for local business and real estate directories (ensure NAP information is consistent)
- Claiming all local citations
- Creating a Google My Business page
- Conducting an interview with local influencers, bloggers, and journalists
- Guest posting on local blogs with high traffic volume
Create Resource Pages on Local Real Estate
One of the best practices, from an SEO standpoint, is creating content that is link worthy. Even on the local level. Creating industry market reports not only gives you a leg up on the competition, but it’s also a great resource of reference for local newspapers and other realtors to link back to. You may think that’s stealing your thunder, but it’s actually giving you a leg up in the organic search results for relevant queries.
Blog About the Homes You’re Selling
If you’re struggling to sell a home, which I doubt in today’s market, I’d consider writing up blog posts on homes you’re trying to sell or homes you have sold. Create a sort of case study and ask previous buyers who are satisfied with your services to throw in a free testimonial.
Reviews and Testimonials are Make or Break
In the end, having good customer service will make or break any company, especially on the local level. Being a B2C business means that customer reviews will be one of the first things that people spot when they search for you over Google.
In fact, people trust online reviews just as much as they trust their friends and family. Work hard to clean up any negative reviews and always respond courteously. Try and balance this out with positive reviews and testimonials that speak to your level of service as an agent and you’ll be sure to get more leads in no time.