A lot of realtors are wondering how to improve their ranking on search engines like Google and Bing.

The following text is about how search engines are being used more and more by buyers and sellers to find real estate agents, and how having the right keywords is essential to connecting with those leads.

Given that every real estate agent wants their website to rank higher on search engine results pages, it’s not surprising that they would want to focus on ranking better at a local and hyperlocal level.

If you are not a Realtorfuel client, you can still easily dominate Google and Bing search results for your local real estate market.

What Is Local SEO For Real Estate Search?

Why is hyper focused local real estate SEO important, and how is it different from traditional real estate SEO?

Local real estate SEO is about optimizing your website and your listings for people who are searching for properties near your physical location. Traditional real estate SEO is about getting your listings found by the general public, regardless of their location.

It is important for real estate agents to use this approach to SEO marketing because it can help them be found in SERPs within their geographic area.

This means that you will be able to sell more while spending less on ads because qualified leads will find and engage with your listings.

To optimize your real estate website for Google My Business, follow these steps:

Claim and verify your business listing on Google My Business.
Optimize your business name, address, and phone number.
Add business categories that describe your business.
Add photos and videos to your business listing.
Write a compelling business description.
Monitor and respond to reviews.

If you want to improve your local SEO efforts and generate more leads, start by targeting your content to a local audience. Write blog posts and create pages that are relevant to your city or region, and include local keywords throughout. You can also use online directories and review sites to help boost your visibility.

What Are The Benefits Of Local SEO For Realtors?

More than 7.5 billion local searches are conducted online every month, with the number continuing to grow.

In addition to that, 87% of people searching for a home use Google to look for local realtors.

If you want to use real estate SEO to generate leads, focus your efforts on targeting people in your geographic area. By doing this, you’ll be able to drive traffic from your real estate website and other local listings to your business.

There are a number of benefits you’ll enjoy when leveraging local SEO marketing for your real estate business, including:

Driving more targeted, organic, and evergreen traffic to your sales pages, listing pages, and other online campaigns without having to spend a mountain of money every week on paid advertisement.
Standing out in Google and ranking prominently for search engine keywords.
Attracting new prospects and clients at a lower cost compared to online paid advertising.
Higher visibility for your listings as well as your local real estate business in general

When thinking about how to market your business locally, it is important to consider how your potential customers search for businesses online. Focusing your marketing efforts on catering to these searches will help you to reach your target audience more effectively.

Most people looking for a home already have a general geographic area in mind, and now they are searching for listings that meet their needs in a specific city or county.

Your customers are more likely to find your business if you use local keywords like “Orlando homes for sale” instead of generic terms like “homes for sale.”

If you work with SEO professionals that are experts in the real estate industry, you will see results much faster than if you try to do it on your own. It will also save you money in the long run.

Why Search Engine Rank Matters

Search engine rank refers to where your website falls in search results when users query Google and other search engines with key phrases related to your brand, product, or service First, a word about search engine rank and why it does indeed matter. The rank of your website refers to its position in the search results of Google and other search engines when users query with key phrases related to your brand, product, or service. If your website has an established online presence, you are probably ranking somewhere in search engine results for Google and Bing for your existing website content. Search engine rank does matter because it can determine whether or not users will find your website content when they search for related topics.

If you’re not at the top of the search results, you’re missing out on potential leads.

SEO research says that:

42.25% of all clicks go to the first result on page one of Google…
The next 3 results get another 25% share of all click-throughs…
The bottom of page one shares just 5% of clicks.

If you’re not on the first page of search results, you’re significantly less likely to get clicks than sites that are. This is why it’s important to rank well.

10 Quick Tips to Rank Better

If you want to improve your ranking in real estate searches, try following these 10 tips. Just organizing your website into a hierarchy with City and Neighborhood areas will help, but focusing on these additional tips will give you an even better chance to rank high.

Tip 1: Rank Better in Search by Focusing on Your Primary Markets

You’ll generate the most leads and see the biggest SEO improvements by focusing on your primary markets.

Some agents service rural markets that have a lot of farms that cover a lot of ground. It may be tempting for the agents to make a Neighborhood page for each and every farm.

In this instance, it is better to have a smaller number of high-quality items than a large number of low-quality items.

A neighborhood with ten well-designed entries is going to look better than one with one hundred poorly designed entries.

From an SEO perspective, it is challenging to optimize for many hyperpecific keywords. A lot of resources need to be devoted to developing a large number of Neighborhood pages. Even more resources are needed to maintain those pages.

If you have great coverage of your primary markets, buyers interested in similar markets will still seek you out, even if you don’t mention their particular market.

Tip 2: Rank Better in Search with Engagement Tools

Choose your leads wisely, as well as when the best time is to contact them. Having a strong call to action can further increase the chances that they will convert. All of this together can have a big impact on your SEO results.

The Realtorfuel engagement tools makes it easy to create slide-ins, popups, and other call-to-actions (CTAs) that will increase interaction and lead generation on your most important pages. This, in turn, will boost your conversion rates.

Tip 3: Rank Better in Search with Area Descriptions

If you’re looking to improve your website’s SEO, you should consider enabling the Area Descriptions feature. This will allow you to add a description of the local area, which can help improve your ranking in search engines.

You can also include a section for pros and cons for each area description. This can help to build authority and trust with your audience by providing an unbiased opinion.

If you want to improve your ranking in search results, make sure that the text content of your website includes local and hyperlocal keywords. For example, if you want to rank for searches related to condos in the financial district, your text should include the phrase “condos in the financial district.”

If you’re having trouble coming up with something to write for your area description, there are a few things you can do.

If you want to create some new copy, start by looking at your other marketing materials. You may be able to adapt the content from something you already have by emphasizing your keywords. Another option is to consult area guidebooks for inspiration.

Tip 4: Rank Better in Search by Using Your Description Meta Tags Wisely

The Area Description section of your Neighborhoods page is valuable website space that can help improve your website’s ranking in search engine results and increase conversion rates— so use it wisely!

If you want to do a good job of selling your house, put in the effort to research the history of the area. Most people who are buying a home don’t care which Native American tribes settled there more than 150 years ago, so don’t just copy and paste the area description from Wikipedia.

Web users are less likely to click on a low-effort description that is the same as others they find online. This will not help improve your SEO or search engine rankings.

Rather than simply telling prospective clients that you’re knowledgeable about a certain area, it’s much more effective to show them by writing an original description.

Tip 5: Rank Better in Search by Telling a Story

A much more impactful use of the Area Description section is to tell a story. This is a different approach from just citing some facts and figures. When you tell a story in your Area Description, you can really capture the attention of your readers and make them feel invested in what you’re saying.

You can engage potential customers even before you meet them. If your website’s story is engaging, readers will stay on your page longer.

The better time-on-page and bounce rates result in better search rankings.

Consider creating a painting that captures the essence of this area and how you, as the expert, are uniquely situated to help potential buyers.

When crafting a written description of a home, pretend as though you are speaking to a prospective buyer while standing in front of the property. Use your personal knowledge and insight to give the reader a full picture of the home, as though they were experiencing it themselves.

Key Local SEO Factors That You Need to Consider

There are many factors that affect your ranking in local SERPs. You need to optimize your website for SEO and make sure your citations and directory listings are all consistent.

Local SEO and Google My Business listings are significantly impacted by all of these factors.

Here are a few things you can do to optimize your online visibility and improve your chances of being found in local search results, which can boost your leads and sales.

1. Make Sure NAP Is Consistent

To optimize your website for search engines, you need to make sure your NAP is up-to-date.

Your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) should be prominently displayed on every page of your online platform, as well as being a big part of your search engine optimization efforts, business directory listings, and social media presence.

2. Get Listed On The Most Important Local Directories

Local directories can provide a lot of benefits to your website in terms of search engine ranking and authority. You should try to get listed on as many local directories as possible, especially the ones that are most important and influential.

The more listings you have on directories that link to your site, the higher your rank will be on search engines.

There is a high probability that directories from your local area also exist and it would be beneficial for your business to be placed on them. This will increase traffic to your site as well as give your business a sense of trustworthiness.

You can improve your website’s and Google My Business page’s ranking for home buyers looking for specific properties in specific geographic areas by using longtail keywords.

3. Get Listed On The Most Important Real Estate Directories

On top of the major online directories we highlighted above (as well as the local directories listed above), you’ll also want to be sure that your business is accurately listed – with NAP information – on prominent real estate directories as well. Some of these directories include (but certainly aren’t limited to):

Most of the directories will give you a lot of chances to create links back to your website, social media, marketing campaigns, and listings. If you optimize them for local keywords, they will move up higher in the search engine rankings.

4. Optimize Your Social Media Presence

There’s a lot of value in social media for local search engine optimization.

Your social media accounts should feature your business name, address, and phone number (NAP), links to your current listings, and content that is rich in keywords and focused on local longtail SEO keywords.

It’s important that your social media is regularly updated with new, related, and relevant content. The algorithms that power Google’s search engine spider system (and other search engines) prioritize platforms that are regularly updated with the information people are looking for.

5. Encourage Customers To Leave Reviews

Plain and simple, reviews are a big plus for your real estate business.

Additionally, you will be able to improve your ranking on local search engines by generating a lot of customer reviews that include your business name and relevant keywords.

How Real Estate Agents Can Leverage Hyperlocal Content to Boost SEO Results