How Digital Marketing can help to Generate Real Estate Leads
Once you have your website set up with either WordPress or another platform you will need to drive traffic to your site. 90% of those looking to purchase property use the internet and 53% of property hunters start their search online. This means that there is great potential to generate real estate leads, but also that there is a high level of competition. You will need to develop a sophisticated and comprehensive digital marketing strategy to drive traffic to your site and convert these new leads into clients. The following information will help introduce the most important techniques that you will have to employ for successful digital marketing.
Search Engine Optimization
The most fundamental aspect of digital marketing is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. This enables your web presence to be picked up by search engines such as Google. Most people searching for properties to buy won’t have any affiliation to a particular broker. For this reason, it is imperative that your website is easy to find. There are two types of SEO on page and off page.
On Page Optimization
On page optimization, refers to the steps you can take to create content on your page that is easily found by search engines. The first thing you will need is to make sure your page includes keywords and keywords phrases. This will need to be specific to get you a high ranking. Keywords such as ‘relator’ or ‘estate agents’ are too broad and won’t make your page stand out. You need to use specific local keyword phrases, such as ‘Springfield homes for sale’. Some of the keyword phrases you can use include:
• [City] Real Estate
• [City] Homes for sale
• [City] real estate agent
• [City] Realtor
• [City] real estate listings
It is important that your website includes original content. Using an IDX matrix is an efficient and useful way to import real estate listing to your site. However, this data is unable to be read by search engines. Specific content can be a description of the services you offer, client testimonials, and blogs about specific properties. Other ways to improve your on page SEO include making good use of photos and videos, making sure they are tagged and captioned, and optimizing your website so it is accessible via mobile.
Off Page Optimization
Off page optimization, is primarily based around link building. By increasing the number of authoritative sites that link back to your webpage, you have a better chance of being the top search result on Google. The main way for real estate agents to build links is to make sure that they are listed on real estate directories. These resources have a huge audience and can be a great source of generating new leads. Some of the biggest directories pull in millions of visitors each month. Some of the biggest directories that you will need to be listed on are:
• Zillow
• Trulia
• RedFin
• Homes.com
Individual agents can improve their off page optimization by making sure that the bio page on the broker’s website contains keywords. The final important step for off page optimization is social media.
