SEO for Realtor Websites in 2020-Ranking in Google Searches
I teach a lot of lead generation classes to my Realtor clients and one of my favorite classes is about Farming specific subdivisions. I teach and show agents how to essentially own your real estate farm on the internet. You can probably think of a “top agent” in your area who has a stronghold on a real estate farm. Now, go to Google and type in “homes for sale in xyz subdivision” or “information about xyz subdivision” and see if they show up on the first page of the results page. There is a real good chance they are nowhere to be found. Why? Agents haven’t been trained or taught to use the search engines as their friends. Instead, they spend their marketing dollars on direct mail, newsletters, and the famous “Just Listed/Just Sold.” There is value in direct mail, but if you look at your own behavior–do you go to the mailbox to get your real estate information? Let’s reverse the thinking and talk about how you as a Realtor can own your real estate farm online.
Creating Online Website Content
This is where most Realtors drop out of the race before it even begins. There are three major ways to own your real estate farm. Website content, video content, and social media content. You must be willing to create effective online content on all three platforms on a regular basis and tie them all together. Starting with website content, stop using your crappy company given website or the website in which you pay a monthly fee. Yes, I know it’s cheap or at no cost, but there is a cost. You won’t rank in Google searches with it. Get your own website built on WordPress or Drupal. These platforms are far more powerful and they are yours. Invest in a good site and start writing blog content. Have an entire page on your website dedicated to your farm with videos and overview information. Next, think of ten different blog topics (or more) regarding your real estate farm. We want to dominate the first page of Google and have many ways for a prospective buyer or seller to “discover” you. Here is an example:
- Overview blog of your farm
- Why Buy Here/Live Here “Homes for sale in…”
- Tips to selling here–how you can help
- Amenities blog–what you get when you live here
- Interview business owners blog/video
- Market update blog(s). Do this regularly. Videos as well.
- Your listings or buyer testimonials blogs and how you solved a problem
- HOA updates for current homeowners
- Client and community events within the subdivision blog
- Plug your latest listings and open houses within the subdivision
YouTube Videos and Linking
As you are establishing the written blog content, it’s also super effective to establish a presence on YouTube. Video is the best way to convey a message to a target audience and YouTube is the second most visited website in the world behind Google. Since Google owns YouTube, it can also rank your videos in online searches. YouTube is also great because again, very little Realtor competition and you can gain subscribers to your channel that will receive your videos in their email inbox as soon as you post. Also, your blogging and video content live forever online to be discovered by your target audience 24/7. What is the shelf life of your direct mail to your farm?
One great strategy is to “link” your blog and video content. Post your YouTube videos on your website/blog and create a link on your YouTube videos back to your website. This is key because if someone discovers you on one platform, they can see you have a presence on another and can hop back and forth. This is an SEO dream if you can get people to follow you on both and jumping back and forth.
Social Media Content
Now you have your website going with great blog content, and your YouTube channel is glowing with awesome videos about your real estate farm, now you tie them all together with your social media. This is specifically, Facebook and Instagram. I want to focus on these two social media sites as they get the most traffic. Set up a “business page” on Facebook for your real estate farm. Post updated information as it pertains to the farm. Also, post your website blogs and videos from your YouTube channel. Use your direct mail and calls to action to get your online traffic to “Like” your Facebook business page. Here is a great WordPress Plugin to get people to “Like” your business page directly from your website.
Instagram is also a great platform to have a presence to own your real estate farm. People are visual learners, and Instagram is a great place to highlight properties, post short videos, and grow a following. As Instagram is owned by Facebook it allows you to post to once and it can go to both platforms. One of the best features of Instagram is using hashtags so people can discover you when searching for that hashtag. An example would be using the hashtag #xyzsubdivision after your posts and people can “follow” your hashtag. Every time you post on Instagram and use the hashtag, your post will show up in their timeline.
Tie Everything Together
Now that you have three silos of online content going for your real estate farm, it’s important to tie them all together. This means people need to be able to jump from website to social to YouTube and vice versa. For example, someone discovers you on YouTube, they need to know you have a website and social media accounts. If you notice to the top right are links to my social media accounts and a way to access my YouTube channel. Click on the link below and you can hop over to my YouTube channel, and notice in the video description is a live link back to my website. On the top right-hand corner of my YouTube channel are also live links to my social media accounts.
If you have engaging educational content on all three silos and tie them together, it dramatically raises the chances someone interested in the subdivision you work will not only be able to discover you but also see you as the thought leader. This, in turn, will lead to organic buyers and sellers. Starting NOW with setting up your website, video channel, and social media accounts and creating tons of optimized content will allow you to dominate Google and YouTube searches, and grow a social media following.
How Stewart Title Can Help
Owning your real estate farm online takes time. The most important thing is getting the right guidance and that’s what I do at Stewart Title. My goal is to get my clients the most qualified eyes in their business. If you are looking to own your real estate farm online–where people primarily go to get information, let’s talk! Fill out the form below and tell me how I can be of service.
Director of Sales/Marketing at Stewart Title
My name is Wade Vander Molen and I am the Director of Sales and Marketing for Stewart Title in Northern Virginia/Washington DC.I work with Real Estate agents and Mortgage Lenders helping them grow their business with Outbound and Inbound marketing strategies. If you wish to meet and set up an appointment call me at 480-203-6452 or email at wvander@stewart.com
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