If you are looking for ways to market your real estate services, you may have come across the marketing term “SEO.” What does SEO stand for in real estate, and is this strategy worth investing time in?
Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a critical role in your visibility online. If you want to stand out in search results and start attracting more clients, this strategy is non-negotiable.
The Basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Real Estate
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to optimizing your website and other online assets to appear near the top of search results for related terms. When people in your area complete a Google search for “realtor near me” or “real estate agent in [your city],” you want your website or Google Business Profile to rank near the top. Otherwise, potential clients will find other Realtors first, and you’ll continually lose out on their business.
To optimize your website, you need to make strategic changes to its content, layout, structure, and back-end elements. The goal is to cater to Google’s search algorithm, which dictates which websites it displays for specific keywords.
This algorithm is multi-faceted and changes frequently, but SEO experts stay up to date with its modifications so they can tweak their strategies accordingly. At its core, SEO includes four main tactics:
- On-page optimization: Making changes to your real estate website content, including written content, images, videos, URLs, title tags, etc.
- Off-page optimization: Building links from other websites back to your site by posting on social media, writing guest posts for real estate blogs, and more
- Technical optimization: Altering the back-end elements of your website, such as improving the loading speed and adding schema markup
- Local optimization: Tailoring your website to your local community, such as writing content that is relevant to your city or using keywords that contain location names.
Why Do Realtors Need SEO?
Now that you know what SEO stands for in real estate, you may be wondering whether this strategy is really necessary. In the past, Realtors may have been able to get by without digital marketing. But today, potential buyers and sellers overwhelmingly look online to find real estate professionals.
By investing in local SEO for Realtors, you gain:
- Better online visibility: More people will find your website or Google Business Profile with the right strategies in place.
- More organic traffic: More users will stumble upon your website organically, which may instill more trust than if they find you through an ad.
- Stronger local authority: Local buyers and sellers will become familiar with your name because they will consistently see it in search results.
Tips To Boost Your Realtor SEO
So, how do you improve SEO to bring more potential clients to your website? This strategy takes some time to begin producing noticeable results. It also involves continual improvements and tweaks as Google’s algorithm changes.
You can follow these tips to start improving your search engine rankings.
Conduct Real Estate Keyword Research
Writing keyword-rich content for your website is one of the most important steps in the SEO process. You can use tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner to find search terms relevant to your local real estate sector for which you have the opportunity to rank. Then, write blog content that strategically uses those terms:
- In the title
- In the first 100 words
- In the last 100 words
- Every 500 words throughout
Try Backlink Building for Real Estate
When other websites include links to your site, Google gives you a boost in the search engine results page. This process is known as “backlink building” and plays a valuable role in SEO.
You can’t force other websites to reference yours, but you can start building backlinks by:
- Reaching out to real estate blogs and asking to write guest posts
- Adding your information to real estate directories
- Creating content for your website that other sites want to reference
- Reclaiming unlinked mentions to your brand
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
If you haven’t claimed your Google Business Profile, do so now by logging into your Google account and searching for your brand name. Fill out the information about your real estate services, then follow these tips to optimize your listing:
- Add high-quality images of houses you have sold or staged.
- Respond to client reviews, whether they are positive or negative.
- Ensure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent on this profile and other places across the web.
- Write a compelling description.
Contact Grant Bartel for Real Estate SEO Strategies
What does SEO stand for in real estate? It’s one of many strategies you can use to market your real estate brand in the digital world.
I’m Grant Bartel, and I help Realtors and agencies generate qualified leads online. I’d be happy to use my many years of digital marketing expertise to help you implement the best SEO strategies, build a mobile-friendly real estate website, create targeted Local Services Ads, and more.
Reach out through my online form today to learn how I can assist you.
SEO FAQs
How Long Do SEO Strategies Take To Begin Working?
SEO strategies can take anywhere from three to six months to begin working, or sometimes up to a year for certain tactics. The exact timeframe depends on the strategy and your existing website performance. This digital marketing strategy is a bit of a slow burn, but it’s worth the time investment.
What Is the Most Important SEO Tactic for Realtors?
The most important SEO tactic for Realtors is often local optimization. Your client base lives in your area, so you don’t need to target people across the country with search engine strategies. Instead, you can tailor your keyword strategy and on-page optimization to a local audience.
What Is the Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page Optimization?
On-page optimization involves tailoring your website content and layout to the search engine algorithms. Off-page optimization consists of SEO real estate strategies outside your website, such as building backlinks, optimizing your Google Business Profile, engaging with potential clients on social media, and writing guest blog posts.