21 Expert SEO & Lead Generation Strategies For Agents & Realtors
Real estate is a business that continually changes. What brings multiple offers today may sit on the market for months tomorrow.
If your livelihood is dependent upon real estate, you need to find a way to work with this fluctuation.
Gone are the days when word of mouth was all it took to find buyers and sellers. Today, lead cultivation and finding new clients happens online.
Your website can be your most significant marketing tool.
That is if people can find you online among the countless other agencies and realtors.
To succeed as a realtor in 2019, you need to have a strong online presence.
You need to understand online marketing best practices that help you stand out as the real estate agent clients want to work with.
This guide is designed to give you the tools you need to create a marketing plan that will help put you in a position to compete with others in your field.
Real Estate SEO Ideas To Generate Leads
The content on your website serves two primary purposes. These are to convince visitors to do business with you and for search engines to rank you high in search results.
Each of these lead generation items also play into Google’s latest ranking factors in 2019.
1. Create a Review Generation Strategy
The best place you can get reviews in the eyes of search engines is on Google.
Start to get more Google reviews from former clients. Ask if they would mine to leave a review of their experience working with you during the home buying to selling experience.
The ideal review will be more than just 5 stars, so ask if they can go into detail. It may be difficult to ask if you are not in the habit of marketing, but each review will add to your ranking algorithm
2. Write Quality Content
Create multiple pieces about the same subject but use different keywords. For example, you can write about the best family-friendly areas in your town.
On one piece, focus your keywords on the quality of education and another piece around events that are family-oriented in the area. In this way, people searching for both will end up at your site. The content will read differently to them, but the search engines will see the content as related to real estate in those areas or real estate search engine ranking.
3. Ensure your content is localized
Include as much city-specific content as possible. The more local and more recent the information, the more likely the search engines will score you highly.
Talk about local construction projects, annual festivals, changes in city policies, and other matters related to these things. Make your website more about what life in your area is like rather than entirely about buying and selling a property.
4. Write an Ebook
Create a guide that will be helpful to potential clients.
You can write a report on the benefits of staging your home for sale or what things to look for in a retirement home. The more specific you make the guide, the more likely search engines will pick it up.
If possible, have the title answer a question that your ideal client would ask. Search engines are becoming more question-oriented on searching. Instead of “Staging Your Home,” consider “Why Staging Your Home Increases Value” or “How to Effectively Stage Your Home for Sale.”
6. Develop an online tool or resource
Provide online tools like a mortgage calculator on your site. This will allow search engines to include your site in searches for these tools to increase the value of your site in their eyes.
Example of an online tool for realtors
7. Make sure you correctly format all contact information
Google likes to know you are a real person and your business is a good one. By following the same format or NAP on your website and outside sites, you give them another form of verification.
8. Start a Blog
Add a resourceful blog to your website.
Search engines like high-quality content that is regularly updated. A blog is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority on real estate in your area.
9. Find ways to keep visitors on your website longer
Offer an interactive map that allows them to find restaurants or specialty shops in the area.
Include videos that take time to watch and point them to other areas of your site. Make your website a fun, informative place and your visitors will stick around longer and visit more pages. This is something search engines look for and like. You will rank higher in search results if you can retain the interest of visitors.
10. Make your website mobile friendly
Over eighty percent of today’s website access is done on a mobile device.
Create a site that is easily viewed and navigated on mobile. This increases the number of people who visit, and ultimately it moves you up the search engine ranks.
11. Build Citations in Local and Realtor Directories
Getting listed in as many directories as possible will help add backlinks to your website. Link building is essential to search engines.
Directories of local businesses hold a great deal of weight. At the very least, make it a point to get listed in real estate related directories. The top four directories you need to be registered in are Trulia, Zillow, RedFin, and Homes.com.
12. Start Video Marketing With YouTube
People are in love with watching videos online showcasing homes. Use this to your advantage by starting a YouTube Channel with your listings, providing walkthroughs on live video, and otherwise creating exciting content that will keep people coming back. Many people aren’t comfortable in front of a camera, and that is okay. Just because it doesn’t come as second nature to you doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
Keep working on your on-camera skills, and you will be surprised at how quickly you improve. Consider investing in a class or even using online tutorials to develop your live video skills. The ability to post professional quality, real-time videos of your listings will help you stand out in the crowd.
You do not have to have accounts at all the social media sites. You would not have time for anything else if you did. Consider adding the following to your toolbox.
Youtube is one of the best friends you can have outside your website. People often search for videos over written content, and you can take advantage of this by creating weekly videos.
The content can be walkthroughs of properties you have listed, tours of your area, how-to videos related to buying and selling a home. Or anything related to your geographical area or real estate. YouTube has the advantage of being able to optimize your video to help SEO.
- Include contact information in the video and description.
- Link to your website and include your phone number.
Develop a Social Media Marketing Strategy
Social media can be a massive boon to your real estate business. Social media allows you to get your listings in front of an unlimited number of eyes for very little financial investment.
12. Maintain a Facebook Business page
This is probably the most well-known social media outlet. To use Facebook effectively, you want to provide content that people want to see.
Include listings of course.
Sharing interesting real estate articles, home maintenance tips, and other content that your clients may find interesting will also boost engagement. Sharing local community events that have nothing to do with real estate is also an excellent way to make your page relevant to local consumers.
You need a Facebook business page. This is one place online you want to interact regularly.
Make sure you include your website URL in the About section.
Add as much detail as possible in the Contact Info section.
13. Instagram, Post pictures of your listing
Instagram is the ideal tool for real estate lead generation.
You can post photos of your listings easily, and get instant feedback on the popularity of each one. This platform is most often accessed on mobile devices, which makes it great for on-the-fly updates.
You aren’t limited to photos on Instagram; you can also post short video clips.
14. Twitter, Tweet listings
Twitter is an excellent platform for real estate agents.
One of the main benefits of this platform is the fact that you are limited to 280 characters when making a tweet. Sure, you can link to a screenshot of a longer message, or post a series of tweets to go longer, but the beauty of Twitter is crafting short, well-thought-out postings that generate interest and leads.
Tweet listings and retweet links to articles on buying, selling, moving and other subjects that will interest your subscribers.
15. Utilize LinkedIn To Showcase Properties
LinkedIn is generally considered the professional’s choice for networking.
It is not as intuitive to use as many other forms of social media, but once you get the hang of it, you gain access to a rich variety of features. These include private messaging, blogging, and group discussion boards.
17. Take control of your accounts
Managing your social media accounts is not something you want to pass off to an assistant. It is also not something you want to put on the backburner. You want to be in control of the image you are presenting, and you want to display a consistent message.
You can simplify the process of managing your social media by using a program such as Hootsuite.
It allows you to schedule your posts in advance.
The ability to post multiple photographs and video clips across various social media channels is one of the enormous advantages of implementing a social media plan. Buyers love to see pictures, the more, the better. Load your social media up with quality pictures of your listings.
19. Be professional, but be yourself
You want your social media accounts to feel authentic.
Anything that seems too promotional or highly curated is a turn-off to potential buyers. When posting content, whether it is a listing, an article you are sharing, or something you write yourself, it is essential to use your voice. Be professional. Anything you share, is a reflection on you and your business.
20. Stay in contact with clients
Social media gives you a fantastic opportunity to engage with potential customers.
These people are coming to you with questions and comments. Also check your comments regularly and reply as soon as possible. As informal as this process is, it is important that you take the time to craft professional and well thought out responses.
Remember, everything you post is a reflection of your business.
21. Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual-based social media platform.
Selling homes, you have an excellent opportunity to utilize the visual nature of Pinterest. The more boards your posts get re-pinned on, the more backlinks you receive.
Drive Realtor Leads With Online Search Marketing
Real estate can be an exciting field. It can also be a difficult one.
Once you have set up your website, the marketing can begin. You cannot just leave your online site to collect dust.
The internet is as ever-changing as the field of real estate, and you will need to adapt consistently
Whole books have been written on the subject of online marketing. With the search engines changing their algorithms frequently, it can be challenging to stay on top of all the best practices of the subject.
Hopefully, this guide has given you enough information to generate new leads and land new clients.
