Simple Ways to Energize Your Real Estate SEO
Committing Yourself to SEO
SEO is a combination of techniques used to get visitors to your website, social media pages and realtor specific sites (Zillow, Redfin, Trulia etc). Data shows that there are up to 10,000 searches per month for customers seeking a real estate agent which makes being at the top of the searches pretty important.
Getting your name to the top of the searches requires time, effort and determination but it can be done. The most time consuming aspect is the initial setup, so if that is already done then you are on the right track. Once you have everything set, the next step is to set time aside every week to post, blog and analyze how your efforts are working.
Ask For Reviews
Reviews are one of the key elements in online rankings and they are not that difficult to acquire. As a realtor, you are most likely emailing your client a thank you note when the transaction is closed, so why not just ask for the review then and include a direct link to your Google, Facebook or Zillow profile within that email.
You can create an email template for your thank you email that has a logo for each profile with the link embedded into the logo. A second template can also be set up with that email being sent out 30-60 days after closing as a follow up making sure that things are going well for the client.
Be sure to respond to reviews whether they are positive or negative!
Blog Often With Awesome Content
Blogging adds movement and activity on your website which is something that the search engines look for and will help your site rank higher. Set a schedule and stick to it, some experts recommend posting every other day, but others say that two posts per week is enough. The key is consistency, you are better off posting once per week as opposed to posting 6 times one month and then not posting for 3-4 months.
Make sure that your content is rich in keywords applicable to what your potential clients would be searching for. This lets the search engines know that you are open for business and it helps them find you easier.
Optimize Your Pages & URL’s
Now that you’ve written your blog post, it’s time to optimize your material so that viewers can find your content and won’t skip over it. The title needs to be enticing and creative using action words and adjectives. Also be sure to include an appropriate long tail keyword that is within the 60 character maximum(this is usually right around 9 words). A meta description should be used and should include the keyword for your blog post. This will hopefully pique the readers interest and curiosity.
For each blog post, create a unique URL using the long tail version of your keyword in the URL. If your blog is about selling a home in NJ, the URL might look like this: https://www.realestateABC.com/blog/selling-homes-Hillsborough-NJ. A blog post that every realtor should have since it is searched often is about how to find a great realtor and it should look like this: https://www.realestateABC.com/blog/finding-a-great-realtor.
The format to use for best results is: http://www.example.com/category-keyword/subcategory-keyword/primary-keyword. (Source:Moz)
Optimize For Mobile
Research shows that 77% of Americans own a smartphone & they tend to use it more than their home desktop computer. (Source:Pew Internet) Smartphones are used to research many things including homes, realtors and neighborhoods, so making sure that your website is mobile friendly is critical.
Google will actually demote websites that are not mobile friendly but they offer a tool to see if your site is compatible. Click on the link and enter the URL for your website, if your website doesn’t pass, it’s time for an update. https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
Backlinks to Your Website
Backlinks, also known as inbound or incoming links, are very valuable because they are a top ranking factor in googles algorithms. Building these links can be accomplished in a variety of way, but the best way to start is to create consistent, quality content that is worth linking to.
You can also contact others that are affiliated with your industry to see if you can write a guest post or article for their site. You can contact mortgage companies, builders, home inspectors and any local online news sources. You can also write for Zillow, ActiveRain or any other real estate site that will allow you to post content.
Be sure to share the blog content on your social media pages also. This is an easy way to get a lot of exposure.
Now Is The Time
Although these guidelines should be followed throughout the year, the slow season is the perfect time to get started. Set up a schedule, do some research and get prepared to track the results.
A simple google search can give you infinite ideas on topics to write about and you can build a library of blogs to be posted throughout the year. For example, I currently have 7 topics on my immediate radar with 3 of those partially finished and I have 17 more topics that will be posted in the coming months.