Learn how local SEO helps realtors and real estate agents increase their leads online
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is a subset of traditional SEO, it focuses primarily on a specific city, county, or distance from a business. In the real estate business, local SEO for real estate agents is about being easier to find online when local customers search online in the real estate agent’s targeted locality.
The goal of local SEO for real estate agents focuses on appearing on search engines like Google and Bing but also on appearing more often across the internet on additional websites (like Zillow, Realtor.com, Move Up Real Estate).
If you’re a real estate agent in Phoenix you want to be more visible on Google when a Phoenix resident searches “best real estate agent near me”, or “best realtor in Phoenix”. These searches are performed by a local searcher with geographic intent that indicate they’re ready to do business. As an agent, you want to be in front of them.
Local SEO can generate tons of leads for real estate agents when done right. But remember, all of your competitors are also trying to rank higher than you for the same keyword and searches. Not all potential clients look only on Google. That’s why it’s important to take a good look at your local SEO strategy if you’re in real estate.
How does Local SEO work?
While the factors that impact how websites rank on search engines and other websites are constantly changing, it’s important to understand the foundational factors.
Search engines are a business and it’s in their best interest to serve their searchers (customers) the best results possible. By following some basic rules, you can “signal” that your website is the best option for search engines and business directories to show to searchers.
Ranking factors that determine how and when you or your website are shown:
- The location a person is searching from (distance from business or address)
- NAP+W citations
- Google My Business listing
- Keywords used in descriptions and website
- Online review ratings
- Website performance and code
- Backlinks
How to improve local SEO for real estate agents
We’re going to assume you already have your own website from your company or realty, without access to edits or code. As is the case for more real estate agents. But building a website doesn’t mean that visitors will come, only a strong local SEO strategy can help with that.
Keep checking back to MoveUpRealEstate.com as we create more in-depth content about Local SEO for real estate agents. For starters, we will focus on the easiest and fastest ways agents can improve their local SEO like:
- Google My Business
- NAP+W citations (Name, address, phone number, website)
- Review rankings
- Backlinks from other websites
- Social media profiles
- Bonus Move Up Real Estate membership
Google My Business (GMB) & The Map Pack for real estate agents
If you don’t already have a Google My Business profile, you should. Given the popularity of Google as a search engine, it’s also important as a real estate agent to make sure you’re appearing in Google’s local map pack for local searches.
- Create a Google My Business profile or claim it
- Complete all the information you can; including your website
- Upload pictures
- Use Google Posts frequently
- Get more and better reviews when possible
Citations and NAP+W
Many real estate agents have profiles, listings, and citations all over the internet that they didn’t create. That’s why you should Google your own name and see what comes up. If there are any business profiles or websites with your information, you should claim them and check to ensure the following information is accurate:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Website
Note: Use this popular local seo resource and tool to build your citations and check your local seo effectiveness in real-time. If you have a website, get a free SEO report.
Review rankings
The number of reviews and the rankings can impact how Google shows your GMB listing in the map pack. It’s also important information for potential clients when they’re choosing their next agent.
Try getting more reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook by asking past clients to take the time to leave one. Remember that you cannot incentivize or fake reviews, as most websites take this offense very seriously.
Backlinks and Link Building for real estate agents
Beyond business profiles and real estate directories, agents can improve their local SEO by getting their websites “backlinked” on other websites. You may have to get creative, donate, ask, or partner with other business for backlinks but try to get your website listed and linked as a URL through these sources:
- Local news stations
- Nearby small business blogs
- By sponsoring local events
- Contribute content to real estate related blogs
Social Media Profiles
Local SEO isn’t just about improving your rank on Google, it’s also about appearing more often on the internet where potential home buyers and sellers can discover you. That means if you don’t already have social media profiles on all the major platforms you should create one. It won’t take much time and you don’t have to be active on the platforms for them to be discoverable.
A lot of real estate agents forget to completely fill out their information on their social media profiles. For more than local SEO reasons, ensure your profiles have thorough, accurate, and complete information.
Google also uses this as a source to confirm your business is trustworthy and real in terms of factors used in ranking your website. Be sure to make sure you are monitoring reviews on social media sites and watching comment sections of posts.
Final thoughts on local SEO for real estate agents
Whether claiming your listing on Yelp, creating a new GMB profile, or a Move Up Real Estate client, always make sure your information is accurate. Take the name, address, phone number, and website URL right off of your own website and use it, exactly as written, on all your internet properties. Keeping this information uniform and consistent across the web is critical to building out local seo for real estate agents.
Make sure you’re writing descriptions, using additional content, and leveraging social media profiles. As a real estate agent, local SEO is more than ranking higher on Google, it’s also about getting in front of as many local internet users as possible.