6 Tips for Optimizing Your Real Estate SEO Keywords

A working knowledge of real estate SEO keywords helps agents stay ahead of the competition. Now, more than ever, your online presence acts as a working resume for prospective real estate clients. Which prompts the question, what even is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of enhancing your website’s visibility in Google and other search engines. SEO keywords drive traffic to your website, boost credibility, and help your website index higher. Real Estate SEO keywords are targeted specifically for the real estate industry. This marketing strategy helps boost your competitive advantage and stand apart from other real estate agents.

If you believe a website is a “nice to have,” not a “need to have,” then it’s probably time to invest in SEO strategies. So, what are the best SEO keywords for real estate agents?

What are Real Estate SEO Keywords?

Real Estate SEO keywords increase your website’s visibility and attract potential new clients. SEO keywords for real estate are optimized to serve as a funnel for prospective clients. They are thoroughly researched and targeted to maximize impact and conversions.

Today’s real estate market is hyper-competitive. Having an optimized website presence to attract new leads is more important than ever. This is because 41 percent of homebuyers search online for properties first.

Companies like Zillow capitalize on this and encourage low-stakes opportunities to browse homes for sale. By the time a browser turns into a buyer, they’re already well-versed in the Zillow platform and are active users.

Just like Zillow, your real estate website serves as a prospecting tool for new clients. Capture new prospects with real estate SEO keywords. Then, nurture your sphere of influence with valuable content. This way, you’ll be top-of-mind when they begin their real estate search.

Your next client is just a query away. According to Hubspot, “Google processes approximately 63,000 queries every second, translating to 5.6 billion searches per day.”

With statistics like these, it is imperative your website includes the best SEO keywords for real estate agents.

The real estate keywords for SEO cover categories like amenities-based keywords, location-based keywords, and property-type keywords. By covering a broad range of categories, you maximize the opportunity for prospecting buyers and sellers to find you.

The benefits for a brand include increased website traffic and brand awareness. In turn, this created the opportunity for a higher conversion rate of prospects becoming clients. More clients mean the potential to increase company revenue.

So, what SEO keywords should you begin incorporating into your real estate website?

Long-tail vs. Short-tail Keywords

The best SEO keywords for real estate agents incorporate long-tail and short-tail options. These two styles are easily distinguishable and present almost exactly as they sound.

Let’s start with long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords are niche and very specific. Since they often require more in-depth market research, long-tail keywords target a determined audience. They tend to be 3-5 words in length. For instance, “homes for sale in Houston,” “home for sale,” or “move-in ready properties.”

The WordPress plug-in Yoast notes:

“Long-tail keywords get less search traffic but will usually have a higher conversion value.”

Yoast SEO

Translation: Don’t allow the lower search traffic to stop you from utilizing long-tail keywords.

On the contrary, short-tail keywords are generic and cast and broad net. Because of this, they are more competitive and less likely to convert. They also tend to be shorter in length. Popular real estate short-tail keywords are “home,” “property,” “listing,” and “realtor^®.” Since these real estate SEO keywords are less specialized, it is difficult to differentiate yourself from other real estate agents.

Use both forms of keywords together to increase brand awareness, reach a larger audience base, and increase credibility. Long-tail keywords aim to attract a very specific clientele, whereas short-tail keywords drive brand awareness. Together, they are a powerful duo.

Ready to invest in real estate SEO keywords and get results? Contact us today to get started.

Search Volume and Keyword Difficulty

Search volume denotes the number of Google queries a specific keyword generates over a set timeframe. Typically, a monthly search volume. This metric helps you understand how popular (and potentially profitable) a keyword may be.

As you can imagine, the more popular a real estate SEO keyword is, the greater the keyword competition. That is where keyword difficulty comes into play.

Keyword difficulty is synonymous with keyword competition. The metric gauges the difficulty for your website to rank at the top for that real estate SEO keyword. In layman’s terms, will your website rank on the first page of Google searches for that particular keyword?

SEO tools like Ahrefs provide a metric to gauge keyword difficulty. The keyword difficulty score ranges between 0-100, with the former being the easiest to rank for. As the number increases, so will the likelihood that competition will push the post down search engine rankings.

So, what is the sweet spot for real estate SEO?

The ideal score for keyword difficulty is between 0-39. This score means there is a good chance an SEO-focused post will perform effectively. Once you get into the range of 75-100, positive performance trends from “challenging” to “impossible.” In the “challenging” or “impossible” range, it may be best to evaluate your keyword selection. Ask yourself, “Would it be more lucrative to focus on other keywords instead?”

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to SEO keywords for real estate agents. That’s why it is important to have an SEO expert on your side to discuss your ideal marketing strategy.

The Best SEO Keywords for Real Estate

It is important to understand how high search volumes impact real estate keywords for SEO. However, keep in mind, the best real estate SEO keywords help attract your target audience. Do not stray from what makes sense for your business just because of certain keyword rankings. Authenticity for your brand helps build credibility.

Below is a curated list with the top-performing keywords for different real estate categories. Utilize these keywords to potentially attract new buyers and sellers and increase your visibility online.

While these SEO keywords are not all-encompassing, they serve as a great starting point for your marketing strategy. Use the real estate SEO keywords in conjunction to attract your ideal clientele. These keywords span from property-type keywords to location-based keywords.

Property-type keywords

These keywords focus on a specific property type such as “single-family homes,” “townhomes for sale,” or “luxury homes.” While seemingly broad, property-type keywords are top-of-mind for an active homebuyer. If you hope to break into the luxury real estate market, utilize property-type keywords like “luxury properties.”

Contact an SEO specialist to find the best property-type keywords for your business.

Transaction-based keywords

Transaction-based keywords emphasize a certain aspect of a real estate transaction. As the name suggests, transaction-based keywords include “buy a home,” “sell a home,” or “rental properties.” These are action-based keywords that highlight key aspects of a real estate transaction.

Real estate agent keywords

Real estate agent keywords highlight search terms prospective clients might use to find a real estate agent. The best SEO keywords for real estate agents include “best real estate agents near me” or “highest rated agents in [city].”

Home buying keywords

Home buying keywords target what potential homebuyers may search to inform them of the home buying process. These keywords include “mortgage rates,” “appraisal contingency,” and “first-time homebuyer tips.”

Amenities-based keywords

Amenities-based keywords offer a great way to target home buyers. They highlight a set feature of a property such as a “home with a fenced-in backyard” or “properties with upgraded finishes.” Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and what key amenities may be popular in your area.

Location-based keywords

Location-based keywords showcase a specific city, state, or neighborhood. These keywords include “homes for sale in Houston” and “real estate agents in Georgetown.” This is one of the easiest keyword categories since many real estate agents primarily serve only a set city or town. Keep in mind these keywords still must abide by fair housing regulations.

Use these keyword categories as a starting place to jump-start your SEO strategy.

Ready to take things to the next level? Contact us to see how one of our SEO experts can help optimize your real estate website.  

How to Use SEO Keywords to Optimize Your Real Estate Website

Your real estate website operates as a discovery tool for prospecting home buyers and sellers. However, a website that isn’t properly optimized may struggle to attract valuable traffic to your business.

Here are four foolproof ways to use SEO keywords to optimize your real estate website.

Optimizing meta tags

To optimize meta tags, ensure your real estate SEO keyword appears in both the meta title and description. Meta tags communicate with search engines and provide necessary data. Be careful not to duplicate your meta description. This eliminates confusion and ensures the content discussed on the page is clear. In turn, this consistency helps ensure the page ranks higher by search engines.

Including keywords in page titles and headings

Use SEO keywords for real estate in your page titles and headings. This helps search engines contextualize the content of the page. If your page references “Single-Family Homes in Austin,” use “Single-Family Homes” and the location as your primary keywords.

Using alt tags for images

Alt tags are the written copy that explains to search engines what the image conveys. Effective alt tags include real estate SEO keywords to help your website properly index. If you have a picture of a condo, the alt tag should reflect “Two-Bedroom Condo in [Location].”

Creating high-quality content that includes targeted keywords

Your website should serve high-quality content that provides value. The content should always include targeted keywords like “Top 10 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers in Chicago.” Again, this is a fantastic opportunity to put yourself in your client’s shoes. Begin by brainstorming some frequently asked questions you often hear from homebuyers and sellers.

Use these four tips together to optimize your website to see positive returns. Remember that it is ok if you do not see results right away. Investing in SEO keywords for real estate takes time but provides lasting results.

The Search Engine Journal notes that:

“SEO helps build long-term equity for your brand.”

Search Engine Journal

This is a true testament to how there are unmatched benefits of incorporating these marketing strategies.

A real estate SEO keywords strategy is a long-term investment. Ready to optimize your real estate website with SEO strategies? Connect with an expert at Mediaboom today.

SEO Tools to Find More Real Estate Keywords

Thankfully, there are several tools ready to help you target the best SEO keywords for real estate. While not all tools are created equally, here are four powerful SEO tools for real estate keywords.

• Semrush – Semrush is an all-in-one SEO and marketing tool to discover the best keywords and conduct competitor analysis. Valuable insights provided by Semrush allow marketers to make data-driven decisions and stay a step above competitors.
  
• Google Keyword Planner – Google Keyword Planner is a free discovery tool to research new Google keywords. This tool “lives” within Google Ads and also helps determine the cost of running ads for that specific keyword. This is a great option for beginners just getting started but not ready to make a larger investment.
  
• SurferSEO – What if you want to focus on optimizing the content you’ve already published? No problem. SurferSEO is here to help. SurferSEO audits and optimizes your pre-existing content for organic traffic. When you’re ready to create new content, Surfer AI writes SEO-focused articles. 
  
• Ahrefs – Ahrefs is another powerful real estate SEO tool to help optimize website performance. Every minute, they crawl five million pages to return up-to-date data. They also offer a high-level performance dashboard, toolbar plug-in, keywords explorer, and site explorer.  

SEO keywords should guide every aspect of your business, right down to your brand and the content you create. While it may be a larger upfront investment, it is important to select the best tools for you and your business.

Every real estate agent has different needs, team sizes, and requirements. Take time to assess different SEO tools and find the best fit. 

Work with a Real Estate SEO Expert

Don’t let the competition win – partner with us to rank for the best real estate SEO keywords. In the ever changing real estate market, you need an expert on your side. Contact us today if you’re ready to stand out in the uber-competitive real estate market.