SEO for Real Estate Websites: The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Realtor Leads

Do you have a real estate website that doesn’t generate sufficient organic traffic from search engines? With the increasing competition in the real estate industry, brokers, realtors, multinational real estate businesses, and other key players are trying to stand out from the crowd and get those listings. For this reason, launching a site in this industry and waiting for it to obtain top search engine ranking automatically is just wishful thinking. This is where SEO for real estate websites comes in handy!

Local SEO optimization techniques can help real estate websites gain more organic traffic from local searches. Not to say that competition cannot be fierce among local real estate companies. However, SEO for real estate gives them a fighting chance, provided you are implementing the right real estate SEO strategies.

What should you do for your real estate site to perform well in local searches? In this guide, we share everything you need to know about boosting your real estate SEO efforts to help increase your visibility in local search. 

What Is Real Estate SEO?

Search engine optimization for real estate refers to optimizing your website to generate organic traffic from Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. It’s a complex process that consists of numerous approaches and methods, from technical optimization of your site, link building, and keyword research, to local SEO and content optimization. This comprehensive strategy ensures that your real estate website shows up once a seller or buyer enters a target keyword phrase (words typed into a search bar) in a search engine. 

Importance of Real Estate SEO

Real estate SEO ensures quality representation and promotion of your services online. To better understand the importance of SEO for a real estate agent or investor, let’s look at some statistics. 93% of home buyers rely on online search engines to make informed buying decisions. In fact, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that approximately 44% of buyers start searching for their new homes online. 

The Significance of Realtor SEO

It is also worth noting that 75% of online searchers don’t go past the first page of search engine results. Thus, pages that don’t rank among the top 10 search engine results stand to lose thousands of dollars in potential revenue. 

Strategies for Higher Search Engine Ranking

Search engines rely on unique algorithms that help them crawl website pages to decide what best satisfies search intent, hence search engine ranking. You can increase the chances of your website ranking high in search engine results by building relevant backlinks, improving the technical aspects of your website, and creating high-quality content that provides direct and clear answers. In turn, this boosts the overall visibility of your real estate listings and drives more traffic to your site, making it an authority in the niche.

How is Real Estate SEO different from general search engine optimization?

Due to the product type and how buyers or sellers search for houses, SEO for real estate agents differs from standard SEO. For instance, most people buy a home once in their lifetime unless they fall in the higher earning bracket, where they may also buy a second or third home. However, agents can’t bank on this rare occurrence. 

The Need for Consistent Real Estate SEO Strategy

Therefore, since they often target new clients, agents must consistently implement the right SEO strategies to attract new leads and convert them into paying clients. A lack of the proper understanding of such SEO techniques is like shooting in the dark and expecting results.  

But, with proper planning, diligence, and consistent management, your site is likely to perform well on both regular search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, as well as top real estate search engines like Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, LoopNet, Century 21 Real Estate, HotPads, and more.

Tips for SEO for Real Estate 

With plenty of information on SEO for real estate agents available on the internet, it can be challenging to decipher tips that work and those that are not effective. Luckily, we have over ten years of experience and expertise in helping websites in the niche perform well in search engines. So, if you are a website owner looking for real estate SEO tips from real estate SEO experts, read on.

Focus on Online Local Directories for Link Building

Ever heard of the saying ‘real estate is local?’ Well, this is more true in 2024 than ever before. Local SEO for real estate is among the most effective ways for sites to rank high in 2024. This entails creating a business profile in online local directories to show potential clients that you exist and are available to help them with their queries and needs. 

For instance, you could start by creating a Google Business Profile and optimizing it to tell Google more about your local business. In turn, this will ensure your target audience can easily find your local business while performing relevant Google searches. Other online local directories to consider for link building include: 

• Yahoo Homes

• Realtor.com

• Homesnap

• RedFin

• Yellow Pages

• Yelp

• CitySearch

• Neighborhood Scout

• Zoocasa

• Local.com 

• Angie’s List

• Better Business Bureau

Prioritize EEAT

Another important SEO tip is to make your site a trustworthy platform by showing your experience, expertise, authority, and trust (EEAT). Search engine algorithms have been designed to prioritize EEAT when it comes to search engine rankings and driving traffic. 

Thus, work on your EEAT by ensuring that your site is positioned as a leader in the real estate niche by providing up-to-date content on relevant pages, such as ‘About Us,’ ‘Contact Us,’ and the homepage. Don’t forget to include any awards you may have won or relevant accreditations earned in the past. 

Encourage Customer Reviews

Do you have happy clients whom you helped close the deal for their dream home? Invite them to write a review to increase your visibility in local search results while boosting your site’s reputation and legitimacy. Studies show that 93% of online shoppers read reviews and make purchasing decisions based on them.

Note that each search engine provides clear steps to write a review copy. For example, Google recognizes reviews copies once they have the proper schema structured data and an aggregate rating. Thus, you should ensure that your reviews have relevant tags for Google to see them as such, hence boosting your local search engine ranking.

Map Locations

One of the most overlooked SEO tips for real estate websites is leveraging map locations to drive more organic traffic to your site. You can use real-estate focussed tools like Google Maps to create a map of all your available listings. 

Thus, potential clients can automatically view their preferred listings and select those that they like most instead of manually googling each address. Not only does this boost local SEO efforts, but it also enhances user experience, further guaranteeing customer satisfaction.

On-Page Optimization in SEO for Real Estate

When discussing SEO, it is impossible to escape on-page optimization, regardless of the niche. On-page SEO refers to optimizing your website using technical improvements to help it perform well on search engine results pages. Below are the factors to consider when creating an effective on-page SEO strategy.

Keyword Research

If you want to emerge at the top of search engine result pages, you must determine what keywords your potential clients are using when searching for their housing needs. Keyword research helps you understand what keywords you can rank for and which ones your competitors are ranking for. 

To analyze competition and search volume for each of your keywords, you can use top keyword research tools like the following:

• Ahrefs

• Ubersuggest

• Moz Local

• Google Search Console

• Google Analytics

• Keywords Everywhere

• Semrush

As a result, you'll be able to find local SEO keywords for real estate to use when building important pages on your site as well as crafting quality content for your potential clients. These tools can also help you discover less competitive keywords you can rank for. Later on in this guide, we will discuss the best real estate SEO keywords in 2024 and how to find them.

In the world of search engine optimization today, leveraging long-tail keywords is essential since they are less competitive than a short target keyword. A long-tail keyword refers to a series of words entered into a search bar instead of the usual one- or two-word queries. Such keywords are more niche, and creating content based around them is essential when you want to dominate local search rankings. 

Optimize Your Website Content

Is it possible to rank well on search engines without well-optimized website content? The answer is no. Crafting quality content is key to search engine optimization. 

Each page on your website should focus on specific keywords but avoid keyword stuffing. This is when you use a term too much in a particular text or where they don’t belong semantically. It is best to use between 5 and 10 keywords on one page. Adding real estate keywords to your URL and image alt text section is also advisable.

Prioritize creating high-quality content that answers search queries from your potential clients while using keywords to help you structure it appropriately. Apart from providing valuable content, you should consider several other factors when optimizing website content. This includes:

• Catchy Page Title and Meta Description 

Online searchers and Google use page titles and meta descriptions to understand what a specific webpage is about. In turn, they increase the click-through rate (CTR), boosting your rank in organic search results. 

Your page title and meta description should include target keywords to ensure they pop up when potential clients enter them into search engines. Note that a page title should be between 10 and 70 characters. At the same time, a meta description should not surpass 200 characters.  

• Headers

Utilizing the relevant header tags aids in organizing your content in a logical order, providing a hierarchy of information that is understandable to search engines and your readers. Each section should be related to the other and provide insightful information to your readers. 

While there are six header tags, a good website should include at least the first three header tags. Note that you should mention your target keyword in the first 100 words of your web page. Remember to use keywords in your H2s and H3s. 

• Internal Linking

Internal links are essential for a successful real estate SEO strategy. It is essential to include links to relevant internal pages naturally between pages. Generally, you should use at least one internal link within one web page. The more internal links a page has, the more authority Google gives it. 

Improve Website Speed and User Experience

As a general rule of thumb, the faster the page load speed, the higher it will rank on search engines. Whether your potential client uses a PC or a mobile device, your site should load as fast as possible, ideally in milliseconds, translating into a positive user experience. 

The latest Core Web Vitals from Google provides page load speed as one of the factors that influence SEO rankings. If your website loads too slowly, Google is likely to hesitate in ranking it, increasing bounce rate levels. Note that the ideal site should load within 3 seconds. 

Website speed depends on various factors, including how the site is built, its hosting, the size of images on the page, and more. Essentially, the site must contain the proper URL structure, be crawlable, and be easy to navigate. Compressing your image files, repairing broken links, and cleaning clunky codes are ways to boost website speed and user experience. 

You can also use various tools to assess website speed to determine user experience. Such tools include 

• Google PageSpeed Insights

• Pingdom

• GTmetrix

• Uptrends

• Webpage Test

Off-Page SEO for Real Estate Agents and Investors

Another important part of search engine optimization is off-page optimization, which is the promotion of your site on other sites to boost your rankings. Not only does this increase organic traffic for real estate companies, but it also contributes to brand awareness and credibility. Off-page optimization involves backlink building and other efforts, which we will discuss in the section below. 

Backlink Building

Backlinks are among the most crucial ranking factors for prominent search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. They are essential because they help build trust and play a significant role in endorsing your site. 

The Importance of Quality Backlinks

The more quality backlinks you have, the more likely you are to rank high on search engines. This is because such backlinks show that the site provides valuable content, making it worthwhile to link to.

Also known as incoming or inbound links, backlinks refer to links to your site from other sites. But how can you build backlinks?

Building Backlinks Strategies

If you publish high-quality content on your real estate website, other sites will naturally link to it because your content adds value to their blog post. 

Likewise, you can also publish guest posts with a backlink to your website. This aids in creating relationships with other bloggers while driving more traffic to your website. Another way to build backlinks is by requesting people owning a website related to real estate to link to your web content. Whichever method you choose, it is crucial to monitor the acquired links to ensure they work. You can do that easily with LinkChecker.Pro.

LinkChecker.Pro for Backlink Management

LinkChecker can assist you in analyzing your website’s backlink profile and determining ways to improve it. This tool aids in monitoring your real estate link building strategies by showing their dynamics, anchors, types, tiers, and other relevant statistics.

Here are the best link building tips for real estate SEO in 2024 from the creators of the tool.

Crafting Linkable Content

First, craft linkable content that encourages link building. Create informative content that not only adds value to your readers but also shows your expertise in the real estate niche. 

Leveraging Infographics for SEO

A great way to stand out in 2024 is by building infographics. With the increased popularity of visual content, including infographics in your web content makes it easier for other people to share your content on other platforms and link them to various related websites. 

However, the infographics must be well-built and possess valuable information. To increase the linkability of your data, include an embed code and a custom URL next to it. Note that infographics can also be featured on Google Images, increasing organic traffic to your site.  

Social Media and Local Listings

Using social media and local listings is another excellent way of achieving off-page optimization while boosting the reach of your content. Simply share something on your social media or other local listings and provide links to relevant real estate websites. Thus, you acquire a new lead, subscriber, or fan whenever someone shares or reacts to your social media post. 

To better manage your off-page SEO efforts via social media and local listings, you must ensure that your online reputation is at par. Track all your brand mentions and ensure they represent your business accordingly. This also helps to understand your target audience's needs and preferences to provide effective solutions. 

The Best Real Estate SEO Keywords for 2024

Keywords are one of the most important aspects of SEO for real estate. They can help you increase your clientele as well as boost the number of deals you close. Correct use of keywords can allow real estate companies to reach their target audience, obtain more traffic and attract high-quality leads from online local searches. The section below looks into how to find the best real estate SEO keywords for 2024. 

SEO Keywords for Real Estate to Generate Leads

If you are looking for SEO leads as a real estate agent, there are several SEO keywords for real estate you can use. Some common keywords to find leads include:

Keyword	Search Volume	Keyword Difficulty
real estate housing market	459K	71
open houses near me	43K	20
real estate agents near me	26K	87
how to become a real estate agent	16K	52
commercial real estate agent	7.1K	46
top real estate agents	3.3K	56
difference between real estate agent and broker	1.3K	19
best real estate agent near me	1.2K	30
best realtors	900	43
luxury real estate agent	500	54
what does open house mean	500	24
local real estate agents	450	79
real estate broker near me	450	89
best realtors near me	450	14
top real estate brokers	400	52
top real estate agent near me	350	38
how to pick a real estate agent	300	58
can anyone go to an open house	250	16
types of real estate agents	250	10
best real estate agents near me	200	50
real estate agent services	150	20
boutique real estate firms	100	11

It is worth noting that even though a particular keyword has high search volume and competition, the key is to publish quality content that provides value to your potential client’s query. However, it is best to find low-hanging fruit to increase your chances of getting featured on the first search engine result page. 

SEO Keywords to Find Sellers

If your real estate website is targetting sellers, you must provide relevant information to satisfy search intent revolving around selling different kinds of property. Some of the best real estate SEO keywords for 2024 to find sellers are the following:

Keyword	Search Volume	Keyword Difficulty
sell my home	5.8K	85
selling a house	5.2K	67
should i sell my house now	2.1K	23
how long does it take to sell a house	1.6K	36
taxes on selling a house	1.3K	0
is it a good time to sell a house	1.0K	46
steps to selling a house	900	52
selling a house as is	900	48
how to sell a house fast	800	63
cost of selling a house	800	43
how much can i sell my house for	700	36
best time of year to sell a house	600	34
when selling a house who pays for what	300	43
who pays closing costs when selling a house	300	44
homes recently sold near me	250	40
checklist for selling a house	200	27
buying and selling a house at the same time	200	38
list my home	150	84

SEO Keywords to Find Buyers

If you are looking for buyers for your real estate listings, you must find the relevant keywords to satisfy this search intent. Below are some of the most popular SEO keywords to find buyers in 2024, along with their search volume and keyword difficulty:

Keyword	Search Volume	Keyword Difficulty
homes for sale near me	391K	83
current mortgage rates	249K	90
fha loan requirements	52K	76
first time home buyer	47K	74
house for sale	39K	91
first time home buyer programs	33K	71
how to get a mortgage	24K	55
how to buy a house	22K	82
mortgage rates housing market	18K	79
cheap houses for sale	12K	65
cheap old houses	6.5K	51
first time home buyers	5.4K	75
old houses for sale	4.3K	65
homes sold near me	4.1K	8
what do you need to buy a house	3.0K	59
investment properties for sale	2.6K	22
new home listings near me	1.7K	95
should i buy a house now or wait	1.3K	26
steps to buy a house	1.1K	80
local real estate	900	80
fixer upper homes for sale near me	600	20
3 bedroom 2 bath house for sale	150	38
remodeled homes for sale	100	0
2 bedroom 1 bath house for sale	60	7
2 bedroom 2 bathroom house for sale	40	0

Local SEO for Real Estate

As mentioned earlier, the real estate industry is highly competitive, especially at an international level. However, focussing your efforts on local search gives your site a good chance to be successful in generating more traffic. 

Real estate companies can leverage local SEO by targeting potential clients within areas where they have available listings. Let us look at some tips on how to do it:

• Conduct research for local keywords you can easily rank for.

• Optimize your website using off-page and on-page SEO.

• Claiming your Google Business Profile.

• Building relevant local citations by submitting online directory submissions where you provide your real estate business name, address, and phone number.

• Optimize your website for mobile devices by ensuring it features a responsive design and simple usability across various devices.

• Use social media to connect with your target audience and boost brand exposure directly. 

Real Estate SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Unlike paid advertising, such as Google Ads and cold calling, SEO for real estate is not a one-time thing. It requires consistent effort to provide quality, up-to-date content that answers common search queries. As you attempt to master real estate SEO, there are several real estate SEO mistakes you should avoid. They include: 

Forgetting Tech Optimization

While keyword research and creating quality content play a significant role in achieving top search engine ranking, many forget optimization of the technical side of their real estate websites. 

Things like optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, and image alt tags, building XML sitemaps, boosting page load speed and site performance, as well as enhancing overall user experience often go untouched in real estate websites. Optimizing the tech side not only helps you rank higher but it also assists search engines to understand what your site is about and whether it provides quality content. 

Competing with Your Own Pages: Keyword Cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization is trying to get more than one webpage on the same real estate website to rank for the same keywords. It is quite common for websites in the real estate SEO industry to select one keyword and go all in by optimizing the entire site for that one keyword. This prevents your site from ranking for other keywords, and your site might also get flagged by the search engine. 

Instead of optimizing your website for only one keyword phrase, optimize it for several keywords to increase its chances of obtaining top search engine rankings. Whether it is blog posts, the ‘About Us,’ FAQ section, or even the homepage, use diverse options, including long-tail keywords, on each web page.

Not Tracking Your Backlinks

It is not enough to just have many links pointing at your real estate website for successful search engine optimization. This is because your backlinks could be from a spammy or less authoritative website. Google and other search engines penalize such sites by removing them from search engine result pages. As a result, if your real estate website has a backlink from such sites, it is likely to face a drop in search engine rankings.

Luckily, various practical link building tools can assist you in tracking your backlinks to ensure they are top quality. LinkChecker is an efficient backlink management tool that aids in checking the quality of inbound links. Thanks to its bulk backlink checker feature, this tool automatically analyzes numerous backlinks simultaneously to report those with issues and fix them accordingly.

Conclusion

The importance of SEO for real estate websites is undeniable. Whether you are a real estate agent, an SEO professional, or a real estate agency, search engine optimization should be part and parcel of your online marketing strategy, including local SEO for real estate and other optimization strategies. 

Tips from this guide will push you in the right direction when developing the right real estate SEO strategy. From implementing on-page SEO tactics such as keyword research and optimization for online search, to executing off-page optimization like building backlinks and securing social media and local listings, you have everything you need to drive more traffic to your real estate website. 

However, you have to dedicate your time and resources to realize significant results. Remember, SEO for real estate is not a one-time investment like paid ads. With consistency and implementation of the right real estate SEO strategies, you are likely to gain a loyal following of thousands, if not millions, of visitors daily. 

FAQs

Why Is SEO Important in the Real Estate Business?

SEO for real estate agents helps them rank their sites higher on search engine result pages. This drives more traffic and increases online visibility for their real estate listings.

What Is Search Engine Optimization in Real Estate?

Search engine optimization in real estate refers to implementing promotion strategies to make your online content readily available for potential clients. This includes practicing on-page SEO as well as off-page SEO while avoiding common real estate SEO mistakes.

How to Do SEO for a Real Estate Website?

To implement SEO for real estate agents, you should start with performing an SEO audit of your site, comparing it with your competitors, performing local SEO optimization keyword searches, and crafting high-quality content using long tail keywords. It also helps to focus on technical SEO, such as performing PC and mobile optimization to ensure your site loads quickly and to guarantee a smooth user experience.

What Are Real Estate Buzzwords?

Real estate buzzwords refer to advertisement phrases agents use that sell fast among buyers. They are desirable terms that attract buyers and successfully sell any real estate listing. Such buzzwords include granite countertops, hardwood flooring, move-in ready, stainless steel appliances, open floor plan, meticulously maintained, etc.