SEO has three major elements: ranking, indexing, and crawling. Indexing and crawling get you noticed by sites like Google and Bing. That’s only one aspect. Rankings of a site are then based on off-page and on-page optimization tactics.
Here’s what on and off-page SEO is about:
Off-page SEO – It’s the things you take care of other than your site to boost rankings. Mostly this includes link building, email campaigns, social media campaigns, etc.
On-page SEO – It’s the things you perform on the website such as checking page speed, adding meta tags, descriptions, writing keyword-rich content, etc.
What is real estate SEO?
Real estate SEO is the practice of making sure that whenever someone needs help with buying, selling, or renting a property, they can find your website among top search results.
However, the way search engines display result pages has changed dramatically over the years. Today things like local map packs, instant answers, and paid ads have pushed the once easily visible organic search results. So, now it’s a lot harder to get organically noticed for important real estate terms.
Also, since many businesses may be competing for the already little organic space in SERPs, search engine optimization for agents and realtors is more competitive than ever.
Today you need more than just a site and a blog. To rank for quality keywords and secure high-converting leads, you need someone who knows real estate SEO in and out.
Why is SEO Important for Real Estate Agents?
1. Traffic and Conversions
Real estate SEO is a cost-effective method of getting found by relevant audiences on their mobile handsets. By incorporating both on and off-page techniques, you can attract the right type of audience.
For example, if you just focus on keywords like “real estate housing projects”, you may get traffic and it may also improve your rankings. However, you may not necessarily attract the right kind of traffic; the kind that is likely to work with you.
But, incorporating keywords like “real estate housing projects in Bronx” will get you connected with local audiences who are interested in working with you. That’s why you need to implement local SEO strategies. That means location-specific queries and the queries ending with ‘near me’ such as ‘real estate agent near me.’
Your site may not get much traction or visitors from these queries, but they will be high-converting leads.
2. Better Brand Awareness
SEO is all about getting your out there and making sure that you are known by the relevant customers. When you use niche-based, local phrases and keywords in your content – you get a chance to answer people’s concerns and queries.
By integrating social media, referral links, and website content, you can establish yourself as a thought leader. That means, more people will look to you for their real estate concerns. In turn, this will improve your visibility. Eventually, you will gain more clicks and get more leads.
3. Increases Domain Authority
Sites that have high domain authority or DA have a better chance of beating their competitors in search results. Their chances of appearing more frequently against multiple relevant search terms are much higher. How do you achieve high DA?
You use SEO-optimized content and other SEO practices. The common practices are – securing quality backlinks, avoiding spam/toxic links, increasing the page speed, conducting regular site audits, and staying active on all relevant platforms like Quora, LinkedIn, and social media sites.
SEO Tips to Improve Your Real Estate Website
1. Conduct an SEO Audit
Before developing an SEO strategy, you must start by examining different technical aspects of your website. You must also check out how your site is performing in search results.
But, the thing is an SEO audit can be rather time-consuming. So, why should you do it? Here’s why:
- SEO audits show you all the areas where you have untapped opportunities
- You can identify the places where you are lacking such as broken links that need fixing, keyword gaps, issues with on-page SEO, etc.
- You can also measure website metrics, page metrics, and compare organic versus paid traffic.
- You can check out which pages are performing well and why so you can implement more promising strategies across the entire site.
2. Keyword Research for Listings
While many factors influence your SEO performance, you can never undermine the value of picking the right keywords. This is the heart of most of your SEO efforts and the thing that largely governs search engine rankings.
If you want to attract quality leads, you must focus on local search intent and keywords surrounding it.
For example, a keyword like ‘3 BHK in Ontario’ may have better search volume and conversion than something like ‘new projects in Ontario’. Other than that, you must perform competitor analysis to find out keyword gaps and work on them.
3. Create SEO-optimized Content
After performing the keyword research and website audit, now is the time for you to start churning out content. Make sure that your topics are relevant to the current real estate market. It should answer people’s queries.
To make things easier, try to stick with 3 Cs – keep it Correct, Clear, and Concise. You should also utilize the ‘People Ask for’ and the ‘Google Suggest’ features to write relevant and high-quality articles.
4. Utilize Online Tools and Resources
The competition for SEO can be rather cut-throat. That’s why you need to have some edge over others. Although quality content is one way to do that, you must go the extra mile.
You can do that by supplying tools like a mortgage calculator or home-value assessment tools. Although this may increase the load on your development work, in the end – it may all be worth it.
Bottom Line
Real estate SEO may sound easy but there are many variables that only an expert knows about. Therefore, it pays to work with a professional marketer if you’re new to this.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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