Happy Wednesday to the REW Community!
We are getting lots of questions about real estate SEO. Here is one that that I thought would be helpful to share.
With the world stuck indoors and eyes zeroed in online, SEO is playing a huge role in new traffic to websites. Many of our clients are looking to improve their local SEO so they are ready for when the markets heat up this summer.
As Local SEO Marketing is becoming more and more important in real estate, here is a quick overview of what this is, what it means for you, and what you can do to develop your own local SEO strategy.
Q:What is Local SEO Marketing?
Local SEO Marketing is a really effective way to market your services and listings to your very own market, getting your website out in front of your target demographic at the exact time they are looking online.
Q: How is local SEO different from standard SEO?
Your leads are getting more specific with their online queries. Instead of using more simplified searches, searches like “Realtors near me” or “Realtors in [location]” are dominating search engines.
This tells the search engine that the searcher wants results based on location, so in return, that’s what the search engine shows in the search engine results pages (SERPS).
And this is why local SEO is important, and something that you should be including in your SEO strategies.
Q: What is the goal for local SERPs?
The penultimate goal is to reach the “3-pack”. When a user searches for “realtors in [location]”, Google will show the top three (or the three with the best local SEO) in the SERPs.
(and a huge shout out to our very own JB Goodwin REALTORS for nailing this!)
You will see that there are a few things that are different here over standard SEO results.
Extra information like this is displayed prominently:
- operating hours
- reviews
- contact information
Depending on your location and competition, sometimes even photos make it in.
In standard SEO, a some information may come from your website. But with local SEO, these results actually come from your Google My Business profile.
Q: What is a Google My Business Profile?
Any of our SEO clients know that this is one of the first things our SEO team will help you navigate. Why? Because it is one of the easiest ways to get your website out front-and-centre, expanding your reach, and an important part of your overall, long-term, SEO strategy.
So what is it?
Just as the name suggests, Google My Business (GMB) is your business profile on Google. For those of you that remember, it is like a Yellow Pages listing. If the internet was a phone book, it would be the same as turning the page to the REALTORS section, with your business name showing up in a beautiful (albeit yellow) square ad.
Here is ours:
Results also can change by user. If you are logged into your Google account when you search, Google will try and give you the most relevant information.
So if you haven’t already, claim your local business listing. If you have, it’s time to make it better.
Insider Tip: According to Forbes, “56% of local businesses are missing out on one of the biggest super moves to get seen on Google: claiming their Google My Business listing”.
Q: So how do I rank in local search?
Here are some things you can do to add to your local SEO strategy:
- Website Localization
- Localizing your content
- Claiming your GMB listing
- Getting quality backlinks
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Now is a great time to really zero in on your website and get those pages ready for when buyers and sellers are unleashed when our collective quarantine days are over.
If you need a hand, we have an amazing team of Real Estate SEO Specialists who can help. (Plus, #ICYMI, REW has some really big helpers for clients to get you through this time. SEO is included, check it out here.
Jacqui
REW Corporate Marketing