If you are having a hard time figuring out what real estate SEO is, our easy guide has the answers you seek!

Trying to figure out what exactly is real estate SEO can be surprisingly difficult. If you’ve been researching the role SEO plays in real estate, you’ve already discovered this fact. There are tons of articles about search engine optimization that explain the basics of SEO and how it helps websites get found online, but articles that specifically address what SEO means for real estate professionals are harder to find. Since understanding what SEO means in real estate is the key to reaching more homebuyers, we’ve created a quick guide to explain the basics facts of real estate SEO.

Understanding real estate SEO keywords

For most businesses, search engine optimization calls for choosing the keywords and verbal search phrases most commonly used by customers in your industry and incorporating them into your website. Real estate professionals need to approach SEO a bit differently. Zillow, Trulia, and the other giant real estate directories already rank so strongly for the most common real estate-related keywords that it is pointless to try to compete for those terms.

Real estate agents will find greater success embracing a local and hyperlocal SEO keyword strategy instead. Hyper-local real estate SEO keywords that target specific neighborhoods and communities are not as densely covered by the large country-wide directories. These centrally-based organizations lack the specific regional knowledge that you can bring to a hyper-local SEO strategy. Using real estate keywords that target specific small community and neighborhood areas will help raise the visibility of your website with homebuyers who are interested in the properties you represent.

How to develop a hyper-local real estate SEO strategy

Developing an effective hyper-local real estate SEO strategy involves several key components:

• Choose hyper-local keywords and keyword phrases that are used in verbal property searches. Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer are two tools that will help you find the bet keywords to use for your local neighborhoods
• Create “local neighborhood” pages on your website, using IDX integration to display local properties. Make these pages into mini-websites specifically about each individual neighborhood or community, with in-depth information about the area, including schools, parks, local businesses, and area attractions. Incorporate hyperlocal real estate SEO keywords throughout your website, using them in the title, Alt tags, etc.
• Develop fresh, new content that incorporates your local real estate SEO strategy. SEO-friendly content is an important part of real estate SEO, because Google gives a higher search rank to websites that consistently feature new, interesting, and relevant content. Writing a weekly or bi-weekly real estate blog is the best way to incorporate new content into your website, but you should also generate interest with other real estate content optimized for local search. Prime examples include real estate “How to” checklists, infographics, e-books, etc.
• Enact a local link strategy, partnering with local businesses that are related to real estate. Local links play an important role in real estate SEO, because they demonstrate to Google that your website has industry authority, meaning it is trusted by others in the area.
• Distribute local content and drive traffic to your website. Simply publishing SEO-friendly content with the right keywords isn’t going to raise the profile of your real estate website. You need to get your blogs and other content in front of homebuyers to get them interested in visiting your real estate website. Social marketing and email marketing strategies are highly effective ways to put your content in front of interested real estate clients and drive traffic to get your website noticed!

Now that you have a better understanding of real estate SEO is, it’s time to start using what you know to build your real estate business. Because realtors have so many demands on their time, many choose to hire a real estate SEO expert to develop a local real estate SEO strategy to build their business.

If you are considering hiring a real estate SEO expert, For Sale Marketing may be the right choice for you. As a dedicated Ft. Lauderdale real estate SEO agency, we are experienced in local search techniques to drive South Florida real estate traffic. We can provide you with a full range of SEO strategies for real estate including responsive, SEO-friendly website design, expertly optimized content creation services, monthly SEO maintenance packages, and more.

Contact us at For Sale Marketing today at 954-866-1115 for expert local and hyperlocal real estate SEO strategies that will gain the high search visibility your agency needs to succeed!