SEO (search engine optimization) can seem a bit mystical. I think, as a real estate agent, we probably get a call or email on a weekly basis from someone promising that we’ll be on the first page of Google.
Today, I’m going to bring you three quick and easy real estate SEO tactics that any real estate agent can do (aka three easy blog topics). You should also check out my other story “3 free online lead gen sources for real estate agents” for more on local SEO.
Real estate SEO in 2018 is all about killer content that people actually want and not about going after “City + Real Estate” keyword phrases. So instead of worrying about what Zillow already owns, go after something different. What you’ll find is that if you do this process, you’ll be building your brand as well.
You should employ every tactic below on your blog. It’s 2018, so you should already have a website with a blog; if you don’t, we have bigger problems.
A word before we begin: I’ve included video examples for you in each tactic. The reason isn’t because they are particularly good, but because they are effective.
In fact, I overlooked the ones that had a higher production from the start only to find out the ones you have in this blog post are actually outranking much of their competition and have higher views.
1. Do monthly video market updates
I could spend the next 1,200 words talking about what equipment to use and how you should optimize your videos on YouTube. That’s not the problem.
The problem is that for every 1,000 agents who read this, less than 10 of you will do it. Here’s your super easy tactic: talk about your real estate market for two minutes. That’s it.
We don’t need a 10 minute monologue. You don’t have to be funny or have good makeup. You just need to talk about the market.
Bonus points to you if you get a bit excited about it.
So let’s make it super simple:
- Use whatever device you want
- Record the video through YouTube (you could do this on Facebook too)
- Go to the video, click on share, and grab that embed code
- Take the embed code, and paste it into your blog (most have a video button with instructions)
- Going for the A-plus in class? Add some text about the video
- Publish — wait you aren’t done
- Send an email to your database letting everyone know you did a market update
What you’ve just done is beat all your competitors (remember, I said no one would do this), solidified your relationship with your clients as the expert and announced to all those future real estate clients that you know your stuff.
This video still ranks and still gets views even three years later!
Why this is an SEO strategy: Video ranks more easily than other content, and real estate market content is less cluttered by the big dot coms of the world. Furthermore, people who are actually searching for market information are typically better customers.
2. Answer frequently asked real estate questions with video
Alright stop scanning for a second. I’ll wait for you to scroll back up here. Grab a pen and some paper.
Start a list of all the questions you’ve ever been asked by homebuyers and homesellers.
- How much is earnest money?
- What does it cost to hire a real estate agent?
- Do you recommend inspections on new construction?
- How much is the down payment?
- What’s APR?
The possibilities are almost endless. You’re going to do exactly the same thing you did above but here’s the caveat: Answer each question with authenticity.
The millennial generation does not respond to “fake,” and it turns out that most other generations don’t either, so answer these questions with the real you.
It’ll act as a attractor to those who watch your video, it’ll answer the question, and it positions you as the expert as well.
Finally, it adds a great resource that you can actually email or use as part of an email sequence.
Sure, she’s an Inman speaker, but look at the simple production quality of Leigh Brown’s video — still works.
Why this is an SEO strategy: Search results are getting more and more localized. In addition, frequently asked questions (FAQs) are still low competition territory.
The question “Is earnest money refundable?” is searched for 1,000 times a month on average and only has about 300,000 results! (Anything under 1 million should be worth going after.) The answers that are a hit will be worth doing, but even the obscure ones can be reused.
Bonus SEO tip: Create a “Frequently Asked Real Estate Questions” page with links to your other blog posts.
Neighborhood specific — wait for it — videos
If you must do “homes for sale,” do it for neighborhoods
Seriously, “city + homes for sale” is all but dead to individual real estate agents. Unless you have time to devote all your resources and energy going after a particular city, then it’s not worth your effort.
Even then, if you get to the first page, you won’t likely every break the top three where all the traffic is. However, for a neighborhood search you might be first and second if your video and blog pop up.
The search volume will likely be very low, but the quality of the traffic will be high. Here again the extra value is having a resource for your homebuyers who ask about a particular neighborhood.
Incidentally, it works very well for homesellers as well because they often research their own neighborhood and will undoubtedly stumble on your video and know that you are the expert.
When I typed in “neighborhood tour,” I saw two links at the top: one for Minecraft and one for this.
Why this is an SEO strategy: The combination of low search volume and high buyer intent makes it a great target. The low search volume will likely have low competition, making even a no. 1 ranking possible.
Bonus tip: When you achieve page 1 rankings, make sure you tell your clients. Sometimes you’ll be the only agent on the first page along with other brokerages or national news blogs. When that happens, let them know it’s “the only real estate agent on page 1 of Google.”
The big takeaways are this:
- Video plus a short description equals easy SEO-friendly content.
- Production value (making the videos pretty) doesn’t matter to Google or viewers.
- Yes, you can do this. You need a video-capturing device (your phone) and a blog.
With all of these tech companies trying to grab a piece of the real estate transaction and all the news sites trying to take a piece of the real estate traffic, it’s tough to do real estate SEO at all.
But with these three quick and easy real estate SEO tactics that any agent can do —you really can stand out in a crowd.
Joshua Jarvis is a digital marketer with 4rd Marketing in Atlanta, Georgia. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Facebook.
