SEO For Real Estate: 7 Effective Strategies To Boost Your Website

Graphic of a house with a for sale sign next to the text "SEO For Real Estate" on a light orange background

By Melissa Ng   |   Last Updated 26 August 2024

If you’re in real estate, you know how competitive the market can be, especially online. That’s where SEO for real estate comes in.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps your website appear higher in search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you when they’re looking for a property.

In this guide, we’ll go over seven simple strategies to improve your real estate website’s SEO and get more leads.

Why SEO Matters for Real Estate

Potential home buyers standing in line at an open house in a suburban area with a for sale sign visible
Exploring property opportunities: Interested buyers gather at a suburban open house

Real estate is one of the most competitive industries online. Buyers and renters search for properties through websites, so if your real estate business isn’t visible on search engines like Google, you’re missing out on a lot of potential clients.

SEO for real estate helps you rank higher, making it easier for people to find your listings.

Whether you’re selling homes, leasing properties, or running a real estate agency, having strong SEO is essential for attracting more visitors to your site and turning them into clients.

Strategy 1: Start With an SEO Audit

Website professional examining a real estate website for audit
Before you do anything, conduct an SEO audit on your real estate website

Before you dive into improving your SEO, it’s important to run an SEO audit on your website. This means checking how well your website is performing in search engines. You’ll want to look at things like:

  • How fast your site loads
  • Whether your website works well on mobile devices
  • The quality of your content
  • How easy it is for people to navigate your site

Once you have a clear idea of where your site stands, you can start making improvements.

There are plenty of free tools online that can help you run an SEO audit, like Google PageSpeed Insights for site speed or Google Search Console to check if your pages are being indexed properly.

For more information, check out our other guides:

Strategy 2: Optimise for Local Searches

Aerial view of Bondi Beach showing markers for different real estate search keywords
Local search optimisation brings opportunities from potential customers nearby

Real estate is all about location, so local SEO is critical.

You need to make sure your website shows up when people search for real estate in your area. This means including location-specific keywords in your website content, such as the suburbs or cities where you operate.

For example, if you’re a real estate agent in Bondi, you’ll want to include keywords like “Bondi real estate” or “homes for sale in Bondi” throughout your website.

Claiming and optimising your Google Business Profile and Bing Place is another key step. This will help you appear in local search results and on Google Maps and Bing Maps when people search for real estate in your area. Don’t forget to add your address, contact details, and opening hours.

Learn more about local SEO in our articles:

Strategy 3: Create High-Quality Content

Mobile screen displaying a list of blog posts about the Bondi real estate market
Produce helpful content that search engines will reward

Content is one of the biggest factors in SEO for real estate.

Search engines rank websites based on how helpful their content is to users. The more useful and informative your content, the better your chances of ranking higher in search results.

For real estate, this means writing blog posts about topics that potential buyers and sellers care about. You can write guides on local property markets, tips for first-time home buyers, or updates on new developments in your area.

High-quality content will not only help you rank higher, but it will also keep visitors on your site longer, which is another important factor for SEO.

When creating content, be sure to use your target keyword naturally throughout your posts. However, avoid overusing it, as this can hurt your rankings.

Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Google Keyword Planner can help you find the best keywords for your business.

Learn more about keywords by reading our guides:

Strategy 4: Mobile Optimisation Is Essential

Responsive website design of a real estate agent shown on a computer, tablet, and smartphone
Ensure seamless browsing no matter the device

More and more people are using their phones to browse for homes, so your website needs to be mobile-friendly. Google even uses mobile-first indexing, which means it ranks websites based on how well they perform on mobile devices.

If your website isn’t optimised for mobile, you’ll likely see a drop in your rankings.

To optimise your website for mobile, make sure it loads quickly, has an easy-to-use layout, and that all your images and text scale properly to different screen sizes.

Strategy 5: Use High-Quality Images

Woman looking at a computer monitor displaying high quality real estate photos on a website
Show potential customers what they’re looking for with high quality images

Real estate is a visual industry, so high-quality images are a must. But it’s not just about how good the photos look — optimising your images for SEO can also help you rank higher in search results.

First, make sure your images are compressed so they don’t slow down your website. Slow-loading pages can hurt your SEO.

Second, use descriptive file names and alt text for all your images. This helps search engines understand what the images are about. For example, instead of naming a file “IMG1234.jpg,” rename it to something like “Sydney-home-for-sale.jpg.” This small step can make a big difference in your SEO for real estate.

Learn more about image SEO in our guides:

Strategy 6: Build Local Backlinks

Happy young couple shaking hands with a real estate agent and exchanging keys
Building connections within the community helps you gain authority

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your site, and they play a big role in SEO.

The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more authority your website gains in the eyes of search engines. For real estate, local backlinks are especially important. These are links from local websites, blogs, or news outlets that mention your real estate business.

To build local backlinks, try reaching out to local blogs or news sites and offer to write guest posts or provide expert opinions on the property market.

You can also join local business directories or sponsor local events to get your name and website link out there.

Find out more about backlinks in our blog posts:

Strategy 7: Track and Improve Your Results

Person looking at a laptop displaying a real estate website next to the website analytics with charts and statistics
Remember to check your analytics to find out what’s working and what’s not

SEO isn’t a one-time task — it’s an ongoing process. To make sure your SEO efforts are paying off, you need to track your progress and make adjustments as needed.

Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can help you monitor your website traffic, keyword rankings, and other important metrics.

Keep an eye on which pages are getting the most traffic and which keywords are driving visitors to your site. If certain pages aren’t performing well, you can tweak the content or update the SEO to improve their rankings.

Over time, these small changes will add up and help you build a stronger online presence.

Final Thoughts

SEO for real estate is essential for getting your website in front of potential buyers and sellers. By following these seven strategies you can improve your website’s SEO and attract more leads.

While SEO takes time, the results are worth the effort, and with consistent work, you’ll start seeing your real estate business grow.

Need help with your SEO? Give us a call on 0407 974 847 for a free audit and see how we can help you today.

Disclaimer

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the service, we may receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Rest assured, we only recommend products we believe will add value to our readers.

Melissa Ng, the Business Development & Operations Manager at AppSalon, is a versatile professional with a wealth of experience across fintech, startups, content creation, SEO, marketing, product management, and QA.

Melissa's career journey is highlighted by her seven-year tenure at Credit Savvy, a fintech startup under Commonwealth Bank. Here, she wore various hats, including product manager, content manager, operations manager, lead QA, and account manager. Her contributions led to the remarkable achievement of growing the user base from zero to over one million Australian members, in just over 5 years.

Beyond her professional achievements, Melissa embraces adventure, with interests ranging from hiking, pilates, and baking to knitting. Surprisingly, she even finds relaxation in cleaning.

Melissa Ng is a seasoned expert in the realm of digital business. With both extensive experience and commitment to excellence, Melissa endevours so that every single client receives the best possible outcome.

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