4 Tips to Instantly Improve your Real Estate SEO
If you own a personal or business website, there’s a high chance you’ve stumbled across the term ‘SEO’. But what does it mean, and how does it actually work?
In this post, we’ll demystify SEO and share a few tips and tricks on how you can best utilize it to your advantage.
What is SEO?
If you’ve associated SEO with Google or a similar internet search engine, you’re on the right track. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of improving your website and online content to appear higher on search engine results.
This is particularly helpful in the context of real estate. Proper SEO helps your listings and reviews to be found first, which means you’ll have more prospective clients looking at your content, rather than your competitors.
Here are three simple steps you can take to instantly improve your real estate SEO.
1. Link your RateMyAgent account to your Google Business Profile
When you link your RateMyAgent account to your Google Business Profile, you won’t need to perform any manual steps to optimize your website – we’ll do everything for you.
Here’s how it works. After linking your account, you’ll be able to show all your RateMyAgent reviews on your Google Business Profile, netting you higher relevance and ranking for your business. Plus, Google officially categorizes RateMyAgent under ‘real estate and reviews’, so when you link your Google Business Profile to RateMyAgent, you’ll be similarly associated with that category.
And that’s not all. You’ll be able to take advantage of Google-specific features we offer like bulk-requesting reviews, which saves you time, improves your SEO and helps more prospects find you first.
2. Send regular review requests
Google favors recency and velocity when it comes to determining your search ranking, so it’s a great idea to send out regular review requests (ideally, for every transaction you make).
This doesn’t have to be a chore though. You can automate the entire process with Easy Reviews – a feature bundled with a RateMyAgent Pro Subscription. Easy Reviews lets you automatically send review requests to your clients when a transaction has been completed, and lets you personalize your requests, set up messaging delays and more.
3. Keep your Google Business Profile up to date
Maintaining your Google Business Profile (GBP) is just as important as brushing your teeth – it’s often the first thing people see when you appear in a Google search, and leaving a great first impression is a great way to connect with a new client.
Make some time to ensure your Google Business Profile is up to scratch. Here’s a few things to check off:
- Make sure your contact details are up to date. E.g. Your name (or business name), phone number, email address, website address, and business hours.
- Upload high quality imagery. A good picture is worth 1000 words – or in this case, a new potential listing. Showcase your reviews, solds and listings through appealing photos on your RateMyAgent profile, and they’ll appear automatically on your Google Business Profile.
- Show you’re active and responsive. Answer questions and Google Reviews as early as possible – even the negative ones.
4. Get plenty of quality backlinks
Backlinks are simply links from other websites to yours. The more you have, the better the chance you’ll rank higher, as other sites are ‘vouching’ for your content. This goes double when the backlinking site is an authority on the subject matter or belongs to a similar field – RateMyAgent ticks all the boxes, for instance.
Apart from claiming a RateMyAgent profile, here are some other ways you can obtain quality backlinks:
- Leverage your RateMyAgent reviews: All our reviews are connected to a completed transaction with their own unique link. Since we’re an authority in the topic of real estate, this’ll directly boost your website’s Google ranking.
- Ensure you have a listing on all major directories: When you list your business on major platforms – Facebook, White Pages, Yellow Pages, etc. – you’re creating quality backlinks for your business and website.
- Write a guest blog on other websites: Being a guest author on reputable websites within your industry or location lets you showcase your expertise, as well as a free plug to your website.
Hopefully, you’ve now got a clear understanding of SEO and a topline view of how it all works. If you have questions about your business website ranking and SEO, drop us a line at +1 760-330-8758 or contact help@ratemyagent.com.
