If you’re a real estate agent not utilizing SEO, then you’re cutting your business potential short. Search engine optimization is one of the most powerful tools of the digital world, and with over 90% of buyers using the Internet to start their search (The National Association of Realtors), you need to be increasing your real estate website ranking, not only to boost your online presence, but to help you stay in the lead in the industry, and provide content that is relevant to your clients.
SEO Can Boost Your Real Estate Online Presence
SEO is crucial in building your online presence. Just take a look at your own search engine practices. Chances are, you rarely go past the first or second page of results that show up when you search for something online. Well, the same can be said about your clients when they search for real estate firms online. If your office doesn’t make it to the top results, potential clients are likely to settle for a competitor’s site. With real estate SEO, you can receive higher rankings within search engines, which can certainly translate into more leads. That’s only one of the many benefits that come from implementing SEO in your real estate marketing arsenal!
SEO Can Separate Your Brand from Direct Competitors (Keywords are Key!)
The keyword competition is extremely high in real estate. It seems like all real estate agents are targeting the same keywords, such as “homes for sale” and other generic combinations. As such, real estate SEO can be extremely difficult. However, SEO allows you to exploit areas that your competitors have missed by targeting keywords that are not commonly-used; these are called “long-tailed keywords”. Long-tailed keywords allow you to reach a niche target by being more specific, i.e. instead of using “homes for sale”, you can hone in on your market or even target audience instead: “Vineland family homes for sale”. With the use of long-tailed keywords, you can rank higher for search words the majority of other real estate agents aren’t targeting, helping to set you apart from your competition.
SEO Can Keep Clients Coming Back For More
A successful real estate website will never have a shortage in content. Not only does Google value websites that provide high quality, relevant content, but also content that has the power to bring past, present, and potential clients to your website. The key is to keep it readable, relatable, and sharable. This is where SEO can help because it allows you to create content using keywords that your clients will actually search for, building content that is always relevant to your audience at any specific time. For example, during the winter you may want to write about home listing tips, and opt for open house and home staging tips in the spring.
Real estate SEO does more than just set you apart from your direct competition. It also has the power to generate more traffic and conversions, and further your real estate business as a whole.
