Local SEO for Real Estate – 14 Ways to Propel Your SERP Position

With 98 percent of consumers relying on the internet to discover more about local businesses as of 2023, local SEO for real estate isn’t a nice-to-have, but a must-have for better online visibility. 

What exactly does local SEO entail in real estate, and what are its benefits?

Local SEO for real estate agents includes an SEO audit, website optimization for local search, claiming and updating a Google Business profile, using structured data markups, and building links locally. Through local SEO, your agency can enhance branding, target specific customer segments, and boost conversions.

Building a profitable campaign doesn’t have to be a struggle for your real estate business. Mediaboom has all the tips and guidance you need for a strong local presence that usurps your competitors.

14 Key Components of a Successful Real Estate Local SEO Strategy

Are you ready to see what goes into local SEO for real estate brokers? Here are 14 steps to begin planning for today.

1. Run an SEO Audit

An SEO audit reveals the holes in your local strategy.

The audit will check for website ranking factors like mobile optimization, indexability, website or webpage duplicates, decreases and increases in organic traffic, and website architecture.

If your real estate agency has never focused on SEO before now, don’t be surprised if the audit reveals a lot of glaring errors.

That’s almost to be expected. Review your results with your team, then create a game plan for repairing broken pages, removing duplicate links, and rebuilding your site architecture.

As you begin implementing these changes, your spot in the SERPs will gradually rise.

2. Optimize Your Real Estate Website for Local Search

Taking a local approach to your real estate website means optimizing the site for local search. In other words, you need to target keywords for real estate local SEO.

Local keywords, as a backbone of local search engine optimization for real estate, are usually long-tail.

For example, if your agency is located in Chicago, a keyword you might focus on is “real estate agents in South Side, Chicago,” or “real estate agents in Lincoln Park.”

Naturally sprinkling these specific terms throughout your website will connect searchers with your site, helping them find the real estate services they need.

Discover more SEO elements your local campaign needs with Mediaboom’s roundup of essential tips.

3. Add Your Site to a Google Business Profile and Other Useful Directories

A Google Business profile for real estate agents is a must.

When people search for your agency, this profile will appear first, providing them key information like your business address, phone number, email address, and business hours. Users can upload photos and videos (as can you), and reviews will also be shown here.

Search for a Google Business profile, as you may already have one floating out there in cyberspace.

Claim the profile, then amend the information so it’s accurate. If you don’t have any visual media connected to the account, upload some yourself, such as recent properties you’ve sold.

Another important element of local SEO for real estate brokers is getting on local directories.

Research real estate directories in your state or neighborhood, then apply. Joining directories makes your business easier to find.

4. Publish Content on Your Blog

After checking your Google Business Profile off your list, your next task is to focus on your blog.

You might wonder how this is connected to local SEO for real estate websites.

Blogs are the backbone of a good SEO campaign, as they create backlinking opportunities, help you rank for specific keywords (short-tail and long-tail), and position your real estate agency as an industry authority.

While there’s no specific frequency for posting, you should plan to upload fresh blog content at least weekly to keep your audience engaged and your campaign chugging along.

5. Create Video Content

Another area of local content marketing to focus on is video. More than 85 percent of marketers agree that video is a critical component of successful campaigns, so it should be on your real estate agency’s radar.

You can create all sorts of engaging video content in your industry. When your agency has new listings, upload a video in addition to the copy and images you share.

Produce videos on the neighborhood to help people with their purchasing decisions, share educational clips on various real estate topics, provide tips for buying and selling, and share video testimonials.

You can also post agent introductions and behind-the-scenes looks into a day in the life of a real estate agent.

6. Use Social Media for Local Engagement

One of the biggest benefits of focusing on local content marketing is you can use it to foster a social media presence.

Your real estate agent should be on all the major social platforms, from LinkedIn to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Building a social media presence requires you to post engaging content. This doesn’t only have to be your own, but industry reports and trends news from other trusted sources. Communicate with your audience, replying to comments as time allows.

You can benefit local SEO for real estate through social media by boosting your backlinks, strengthening your brand recognition and reputation, and generating more website traffic.

7. Implement Structured Data Markups

When Google’s search crawlers visit your website, structured data helps them grasp what the page’s content entails.

The types of structured data Google recognizes relevant to real estate are videos, property rentals, subscriptions and paywalls, sitelinks search boxes, review snippets, profile pages, local businesses, learning videos, image metadata, FAQs, datasets, carousels, and articles.

Taking the time to improve your structured data can improve website traffic, click-through rates, time spent on pages, conversion, and website rank.

Learn more about the technical side of SEO with Mediaboom’s writeup.

8. Build Citations for Local SEO

Local SEO citations for real estate are another major element of a successful SEO campaign. Citations refer to a company’s NAP data, or their name, address, and phone number.

Where does Google pull this information? From directories and your Google Business profile. You should have already claimed your Google Business profile, which puts you in a good spot, but you also must claim any other citations attached to your real estate agency.

Once you’ve claimed the listings, update the information, ensuring it’s up to date. If you have any new information to add to your listings, do so for all of them.

Claiming local citations will make it easier for searchers to find you and ensure the information they receive is correct.

9. Local Link Building

You can’t have local SEO for real estate agents without link building. However, if you don’t have a directory of links to dig into, it can be difficult determining where to start.

Why not reach out to any existing local partners and sources you have and propose a guest blogging arrangement?

You can then expand your guest blogging partner search, reaching out to related parties in your industry who might be interested.

As you begin gaining steam, you can work with bigger names, and perhaps even influencers and social groups.

Remember though that keeping your approach local is key so you can connect with your target audience effectively.

10. Encourage and Respond to Online Reviews

Local SEO for real estate websites requires reviews and testimonials to bolster your agency’s reputation, build brand awareness, establish authority, and later, strengthen your brand.

If you’re short on reviews, it’s time to begin actively encouraging your audience to leave them. Offer incentives for writing a review, such as entry into a giveaway or an automatic discount code of five percent.

As you get more reviews, make sure to take the time to respond to as many as possible, focusing on the negative reviews first.

Rather than sweep them under the rug or delete them outright, try to make amends, offering to fix the problem as best you’re able.

11. Optimize for Mobile Users

Did you know that more than 61 percent of internet traffic around the world in 2024 comes from mobile devices?

That underscores the importance of mobile optimization for SEO.

A mobile-optimized site loads within two to eight seconds, using image compression and minimizing pop-ups. It has a superlative user experience, with a clean interface, easy-to-use navigation, and great responsivity.

Simplifying areas like forms and navigation, selecting standard fonts, and incorporating custom CSS can also elevate your mobile optimization.

Learn more ways to optimize for SEO with Mediaboom’s expert tips.

12. Use Local Keywords in Meta Descriptions and Titles

By this point, you should have identified a series of local keywords to use in your campaign. Besides sprinkling these into your blog content, spread their usage.

 For example, SEO for real estate businesses requires using local keywords in listings, web page titles, meta descriptions, alt tags, and landing pages.

The key, as always, is to insert the keywords naturally. Keyword stuffing, or abusing the use of a term to the point of excessiveness, has always been punishable by Google and will continue to be.

Your rank will decrease, if anything.

13. Utilize Local PPC Advertising

Now that your website is ready to go, the next step in mastering local SEO for real estate professionals is advertising. Pay-per-click or PPC ads are a cost-effective way to spread awareness about your brand.

You have many types of PPC ads to explore, from search to remarketing, social, display, shopping, video, and email ads. You can also create local ads, which will only show up on local Google search results pages.

The PPC pricing model requires you to pay a publisher for every click you acquire. The average return on investment for PPC ads is 200 percent.

14. Monitor Your Local SEO Performance

You’ve implemented local SEO strategies per the tips above, but the results aren’t automatic.

It can take several weeks and upwards of six months before you taste the fruits of your labor. In the meantime, you will see clues that you’ve shifted your SEO marketing in the right direction.

Track your performance, looking for signs of upward mobility. If you’re not climbing the ranks as steadily as you might have hoped, it’s worth investing in another SEO audit to find and improve any trouble areas.

Discover the keys to local SEO domination with Mediaboom’s advice.

Measuring the Success of Your Local SEO Efforts

Part of gauging your success in local SEO is reviewing KPIs. Seeing how they grow and fluctuate gradually will be like a compass pointing you in the right direction.

Here are some metrics to measure:

• Keyword rankings
• Google Business profile insights
• Website traffic
• Reviews and ratings
• Local backlinks

Conclusion

Local SEO for real estate agents is a critical strategy for improving your visibility, brand reputation, and engagement rate. You can get an influx of leads, website traffic, and conversions.

Using the strategies and tips outlined throughout this guide will help your real estate agency determine where to start in your SEO efforts. Remember, an audit will identify the biggest blemishes in your SEO rank, giving you a roadmap to follow toward improvement.

Luxury digital marketing agency Mediaboom’s experts specialize in SEO services in the real estate sector. We’re available to help your agency drive the results you need to make a splash in the increasingly competitive world of real estate, so don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Resources: Intro stat [https://www.onthemap.com/blog/local-seo-stats/] PPC [https://www.sixthcitymarketing.com/ppc-stats/]