SEO is short for “Search Engine Optimization” – or search engine optimization.
SEO also helps real estate agents get found more easily “organically” for relevant search terms on Google and other search engines. “Organically”? That means the search engine returns results independently of paid ads. And that is exactly where potential clients look for real estate businesses – usually on a search engine called Google.
Get found for your services as a real estate agent.
Google SEO is rightly considered one of the most demanding areas of online marketing. Even more so when it comes to local search. A professional SEO expert needs to combine a range of skills: technical understanding, strategic thinking and copywriting skills are the foundation. In-depth knowledge of the algorithms used by Google and other search engines is also essential. Add to this a strong commitment to daily learning, as Google likes to play cat and mouse with search engine optimization, changing algorithms or adjusting the weighting of ranking criteria.
Every real estate agent should master the basic rules of SEO. This knowledge helps you understand the principles, make simple changes to your website yourself and monitor your SEO agency more effectively.
At BOTTIMMO, we have compiled some essential knowledge to help you keep climbing the search engine results pages (SERPs).
BOTTIMMO offers not just expertise, but a whole world of templates and guides combined with extensive experience: For perfect search engine optimization.
SEO for real estate agents - with BOTTIMMO?
But how does BOTTIMMO help me with SEO? Isn't BOTTIMMO more about content, valuation calculators and small tools to embed on real estate agents' websites? Correct, but for people to find and use these resources, your website's visibility in Google search plays a major role. And that naturally includes SEO! BOTTIMMO has also made it its mission to support real estate agents in every aspect of marketing – with sound knowledge and practical tips. SEO for real estate agents, particularly local search, is part of that. So welcome to SEO for real estate agents, welcome to the world of Google Maps and Google My Business listings. Now we are talking about on-page optimization, meta descriptions, title tags and headlines. Ranking well for local searches should be the goal of every successful real estate agent's website. Tip: Local SEO is not enough if visitors can barely read anything on your website. Responsive design is now a very important ranking factor for Google (mobile first), as the majority of searches, including local searches, come from mobile devices.
Google loves keywords. But where should they go?
These search terms (keywords) are precisely what the art of search engine optimization revolves around.
The old rule “More is better.” persists: Simply hide the word “real estate agents” on your website 100 times and you will appear in Google's local search results. But SEO for real estate agents is not that simple.
Where a keyword appears in your website's code makes a big difference to Google's search engine.
Google does not visit your business so you can sit down and explain all the services you offer, why your customers love you and how well you know real estate. But Google wants to know all of this – and looks for precisely this information in your website's code. Speaking of “code”: HTML is a very simple markup language. Ultimately, text and images to be displayed are simply given a series of additional details. This tells the browser what to display, how and where. And it tells Google how important each element is.
The three strongest places to tell Google “this term is really important to me” are:
- The URL, meaning your web address (www.max-makler.de) and directory path (www.max-makler.de/verkauf-einer-immobilie-in-musterstadt).
- The page title, essentially the large sign above your office window. Each subpage has its own title. Simply hover your mouse over the “tab” in your browser to see the title.
- The main heading (H1), the most important of all headlines, much like the huge headline on the front page of BILD.
So does great SEO mean filling these three places to the brim with relevant keywords? Is that the crucial tip? That would be too easy.
Follow the ⅔ rule: Use a main keyword in no more than two of the three places. Use synonyms and “descriptive headings” instead. Example: Your preferred keyword combination is “real estate agents Wuppertal”. Would that make a good H1 too? Not quite, a really good one would be: “Your local real estate agent for property in Wuppertal.”
But BEWARE: People search for offers online - even after the final whistle.
Search engine optimization therefore plays a central role in helping real estate businesses get found successfully alongside their traditional marketing activities. An SEO strategy includes both on-page optimization (everything on the website, including alt tags) and off-page optimization (primarily backlinks). SEO for real estate agents needs plenty of locally relevant content and a well-planned structure for that content. This is how real estate agents reach the first page of Google search results and connect with more potential customers.
A real estate agent's online presence should always attract new customers – people interested in property, but above all those looking to put a property up for sale. A specialist SEO agency can help, but not every agency truly understands real estate agents' needs or the challenges of local search engine optimization.