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For most real estate agents and brokers who are building a website, design, layout and images are top of mind. Clients are eager to see the website’s design wireframe and decide between image slideshows or video for the homepage’s hero image. However, they may not even consider one of the most important aspects of the creative process: search engine optimization (SEO) best practices designed to help that website show up in search results.
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Think of it like this: If you have a beautiful listing, you want to make sure there are roads that lead to it. It’s the same when it comes to websites: “If you build it, they will come,” simply doesn’t work.
You need to start out with a solid SEO strategy, then nurture it over time with additional content, helping to grow your site authority to rise through the rankings. You also need to track the effects of your SEO so that you can find out what’s working and how you can improve your site’s performance.
Want to get more leads online, including warm leads who already know, like and trust you? A search engine-optimized website can generate connections in your market 24/7. Here’s how.
Start by talking to your website provider
When you’re considering website solutions and website builders, make sure to ask about the search engine optimization strategies that go into building your website, as well as the platform they build on. While the SEO on WordPress platforms is often considered superior, you may be able to get good results on other plug-and-play platforms with careful planning.
Be sure to ask your website designer how they create the copy for your website. Do they use AI-generated content or duplicate content across sites? This will have a negative impact on your search engine rankings.
If they use content writers to create original copy, find out how much expertise and experience those writers have with real estate-related content. You may need to look around for a writer with specific experience in the real estate space to make your copy as authentic and attractive as possible.
Choose the right keywords
Make sure that there’s a specific keyword strategy behind the copy for your website. How do people search for homes and real estate professionals in your area? Think about the way people ask questions on Google, and try to include relevant words and phrases in the copywriting for your website. Then try to get ahead of it.
If everyone puts content for “best real estate agent in [your city]”, then no one can stand out for that term. A great strategy has a laser focus. Think about what people might be searching for before they look for a Realtor; how can you be a resource?
Focus on keywords and phrases, like the following:
- Best public schools [your area]
- Homes for sale [in a specific neighborhood or gated community]
- Relocate to [your area]
Take it a step further and add long-tail keywords — even more complex ideas that you can turn into hyperlocal topics for additional content like blog posts and videos:
- First-time homebuyers in [City]
- How to sell a house fast in [City] without losing money
- Luxury homes for sale in [Neighborhood], [City]
- Step-by-step guide to buying a home in [City]
- Best neighborhoods to live in [City] for families
- Best neighborhoods to live in [City] for singles
- How much is my home worth in [City]? Free home valuation
- How to buy an investment property in [City] with a low down payment
Remember that the content should use keywords and phrases in an organic way — no stuffing the same word or phrase in a page dozens of times. Google will punish you for that, resulting in a lower ranking.
Improving local SEO
Beyond your website, you can improve your local SEO and drive additional traffic to your website in the following ways:
- Claim your Google Business Profile and keep it updated consistently with your contact information, including your website URL
- Ask happy clients to leave Google reviews, which further boosts your ranking
- Maintain a presence on directories and portals like Zillow, Realtor.com and Yelp with consistent branding and contact information, including a link to your website.
Focus on back-of-page SEO
On the back side of your site, each page should have a clear title and meta-description incorporating your keywords and phrases. A meta-description is a short summary (about 150-160 characters) of a webpage that appears in search engine results. It helps users understand what the page is about and can influence click-through rates.
Load times should be optimized; Google ranks slow websites lower, so excessively large photo files or other attachments can slow down load times. Remember to add descriptions to your photos for better SEO results.
Keep adding new content to boost SEO
Fresh content is great for SEO, so create blog posts that incorporate the local and long-tail keywords and phrases you’re aiming for in the title. Also, remember that SEO is important for getting noticed on YouTube, so make sure your YouTube video titles and descriptions incorporate your chosen topics and keywords and link back to your website.
Distribute your content through your social media channels, email marketing and geographic farming. For physical mailers or handouts, include a QR code that links to your website to drive even more traffic your way.
Look for opportunities to link back to your site
Work regularly with a local lender, home inspector or moving company? Have a bio on your broker’s website? Fielding offers to appear in local media or on podcasts? All of these provide opportunities to ask for a link to your website.
When other websites link to yours, Google considers your site more trustworthy. Whenever you’re featured on someone else’s platform, be sure to ask for the opportunity to have them link to your own content.
Check for errors and track your analytics
Make sure your website loads quickly, and check regularly to ensure there are no broken links or redirects that could hurt the user experience. Review and update your content regularly to ensure it is accurate, and refresh it as needed.
Use Google Analytics to see who’s visiting your site, what pages they like, and how long they stay with you. Track how often people reach out directly from your website and how often they subsequently convert into clients; work to improve your numbers over time.
Remember, SEO is not a one-and-done proposition. It takes consistent follow-up and enhancement over time, but doing so will eventually lead to progress — and better results for you and your business.
Jon Krabbe is the co-founder of Agent Image and Access.com, a premier digital marketing agency specializing in branded website solutions for real estate professionals since 1999. Connect with John on Instagram.
