For real estate agents striving to remain competitive in a cutthroat market, mastering the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) is essential. 

Research from the National Association of Realtors shows that 95% of potential home buyers look for properties online. 

So, unless you prioritize SEO, you run the risk of losing clients to agents and brokerages that do prioritize SEO.

Investing in SEO can help you reach more potential buyers and sellers by boosting your online visibility. There’s many different strategies you can take and in this guide I’ll explain 7 things that you can do right now to help you get more traffic – but first, let’s start with the basics. 

What is Real Estate SEO?

Real estate SEO tailors search engine optimization tactics specifically for the unique needs of this industry, making sure relevant keywords, phrases, and questions lead prospects directly to you. 

For example, if someone searches for “condos for sale in Yaletown”, you want your website in a position that’s able to capture that search from Google. 

Why Is SEO Important For Real Estate Agents?

If you show up for more keywords, then you’ll get more traffic. Clients in your region will begin to see you as an authority and in turn, you’ll sell and buy more houses.

8 Real Estate SEO Tips and Strategies For Beginners

#1 Find the right keywords

Keyword research is a key pillar of SEO. 

One of the biggest mistakes realtors do is go after popular terms like “real estate agent”. That’s because they haven’t done their research. 

Instead, the most successful campaigns focus on more specific long-tail keywords like “condos for sale in a [specific neighborhood]” or “3 bedroom townhouse for sale in [specific neighborhood]. 

Download my free keyword research template to organize your keywords and learn more about keyword research best practices. 

#2 Perform a Technical Audit Of Your Website

#3 Optimize your site for mobile devices

In 2015 the percentage of mobile users was just 31%. In 2023 this study shows 63% of online traffic as coming from mobile devices.  

When building a website realtors and business owners get fixated on how pages look on a desktop screen – they forget about mobile. This is a massive mistake to do, don’t be like them. 

Google actually visits your website as a mobile user – this is a process that is called mobile-first indexing. The way your site behaves on mobile will have a big impact on your overall SEO performance – so make sure it’s optimized for mobile.  

#4 Create quality content

Gone are the days of simple keyword-stuffing tactics – modern search engine algorithms have significantly advanced over time. You can’t just stuff a bunch of keywords on a page and expect your website to show up for them. 

Quality content is essential to achieving higher search engine rankings. 

Create value-filled pieces that cover potential buyers’ and sellers’ most pressing questions in depth – don’t forget the keywords – now see why I had find the right keywords as the first item on my list? 

As well as good quality written content, incorporate appealing visuals like images, infographics or videos when appropriate for an enhanced experience. 

You want to make sure that the content that you create on your website adds value to your users. 

#5 Localize your efforts

It’s no surprise that real estate SEO is heavily based on location; clients are likely to be looking for properties in a specific area. 

Google understands this and offers users the most localized results as possible. 

Your website should be an authority on your region’s real estate scene. Create content that talks about the schools in your target market, local amenities, events and more. Show Google and potential customers that your website has more than just houses for sale. 

#6 Get Local Backlinks

In the offline word, word-of-mouth referrals work great. In the online word you want referrals from other websites. A backlink is a link from another website to your own website, and a local backlink is a link from a local website to yours.

If you create great content about your area, then make sure to distribute that content to local media outlets and journalists – if they link to you your website will gain authority in the eye’s of Google, and you’ll also get more users through referral traffic. 

In the SEO industry backlinking is a big term – there are many way to go about it – one thing to avoid is buying backlinks from low-quality companies. Not only will you be violating Google’s terms, but you’ll also be wasting your money. 

#7 Use Schema Mark Up

This is a technical tip, and you may need to carry out more research to understand schema mark-up. 

Real estate schema mark-up is a type of code that helps search engines better understand the content on a webpage. 

It is used to create rich snippets that appear in search results, which can help you improve your click-through rates. By adding structured data like property types, location, and contact information, it makes your website easier for prospective buyers to find and get in touch with you.

There are two types of schema mark-up that have been created for real estate.

These are RealEstateListing and RealEstateAgent schema. 

For example, with RealEstateListing schema you can feed information such as location, price, lease or length of lease directly to Google. 

You can use this tool you help you generate real estate schema.

#8 Optimize Your Google My Business Profile

The Wrap Up: A Foundation To Build On

These tips won’t give you skyscraper traffic overnight, they are just some of the basic elements that you need to be doing right. 

There’s a lot more that goes into winning SEO strategies – but these tips are a foundation that you can build on. If you’d rather speak to a professional then reach out to me today and we can talk about what you can do to buy and sell more houses!