Marketing for real estate agents, all you need to know
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Digital marketing for real estate agents is a must for success now – in a crowded market, it’s imperative that you create a strong online presence to compete. Let’s face it, an effective marketing strategy is the difference between a property being snapped up in no time, or being left on the market for longer than the seller or the estate agent would like.
Gone are the days where the reliance was on print advertisements and for sale signs – digital marketers within the property industry are getting more and more creative with how they reach their audiences. Whether it’s putting social media to use, offering virtual tours, or leveraging SEO, there are so many ways to broaden your online reach as a real estate agent.
In this blog, we’ll explore some of the ways that estate agents can leverage digital marketing tools, tips and strategies to maximise their online success within a fiercely competitive market.
Leveraging local SEO as a real estate agent
Perhaps one of the most useful ways to leverage digital marketing is by investing in local SEO. Optimising for local SEO involves techniques that can help to boost your position in unpaid, location-based search results across Google Maps, Google Search, and of course other search engines.
These techniques can be vital in a variety of industries, but especially in the property market – if people are searching for a property, chances are they know where they want to buy or rent, or at least have some idea. Because of that, the searches they’ll conduct will likely involve location-based terms (e.g. ‘properties for sale in Manchester’). As such, it’s important to show for these terms that are relevant to the areas you operate in.
So, how can real estate agents optimise for local SEO?
Google My Business (GMB) Optimisation: One of the easiest things you can do is create or claim your GMB listing. It’s best practice to ensure all information is up-to-date, accurate, and complete – this includes your full business name, address, phone number, website, and opening hours. To really show Google your business is ‘alive and breathing’, you should add high-quality imagery of your office and your properties, and you can also use it to post regular updates about your business and listings!
Optimise for location-based keywords: You should optimise your website for local keywords, like ‘properties to rent in [location]’. This could be done by creating location-specific landing pages to target these areas. You could use keyword research tools, like Google Keyword Planner, to help identify the most popular terms, in relation to their search volume and demand. This could help you to prioritise the content you write and the pages you create.
Supporting local content: To support those location landing pages, you could write supporting blog content discussing things like local market trends and what there is to do in these neighbourhoods. These blogs can then internally link back to the main landing page (the pillar page), to drive authority to it. In other words, these supporting pages can help to bolster the pillar page.
Customer Reviews: As a part of your GMB optimisation, you can also encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google profile, and on other review sites too of course. If you respond to these, it also shows your engagement and your commitment to providing a good customer experience. Not only does this tie in with your local SEO strategy, but positive reviews online and on your website signal to Google that you are authoritative in the industry and are trustworthy.
Using PPC in real estate agency
We know that SEO takes time – Google won’t rank you highly overnight, and so it does take time to reap the benefits. As such, you might want to consider running PPC ads whilst your organic visibility develops. After all, the industry is extremely competitive, and so it’s important to ensure your brand is as prominent as it can be, within the budget you have.
Those searching for properties to rent and buy will search in a number of different ways – for the names of estate agents, or for properties in specific areas. That’s why it’s important to expand your presence online and for all stages of the buyer journey. Whilst those searching for your brand name may come through organically anyway, you can ensure you’re present for non-brand terms by bidding on them with PPC ads. Before running those ads, it’s important to look at auction insights and run competitor analysis to determine which areas are most competitive and where you may need to allocate more budget.
Other marketing ideas for estate agents
Showing up on search engine results pages is just one element of a potential digital strategy – there are so many other things that you can do. Here are just a few ideas…
Leverage social media: Grow your organic social media presence by sharing insights, listings and other content across different platforms. You could also utilise paid social media ads to reach your audience, by targeting specific demographics with your services and listings.
Use email marketing: Set up email marketing campaigns for potential customers at different stages of the funnel – you can send regular newsletters with new listings, market updates, tips, and other useful content.
Build your authoritative voice: Create content that showcases your knowledge – this could be in the form of guides, whitepapers or even podcasts. This can be shared on your website, but on social media too.
Looking for deeper insights into marketing in other industries? We’ve got you covered!
- SEO marketing for law firms
- Best strategies for dental SEO
- Your Money Your Life meaning
- EEAT – how to demonstrate your authority and experience in your sector
As this blog emphasises, investing in your digital marketing as a real estate agent and using a variety of techniques is crucial for success. If you’re looking for an award-winning agency to support your growth, get in touch with us for a free consultation.
