Big changes for real estate brokerage SEO
First, let’s go over a couple of things to set the stage. SEO (search engine optimization) changes every month. And Google is rapidly changing the way they interpret data they crawl; so it is extremely important that we are proactive in the way we approach real estate brokerage SEO.
For starters, personnel changes within the Google’s Search team have been significant. After 15 years as the head of Google Search, Amit Singhal departed from the company, leaving a large position vacant. Google then tapped John Giannandrea (the former head of artificial intelligence and machine learning) to take over the role, and ever since then, the game has changed.
By integrating a larger amount of AI and machine learning into search, Google can better understand relationships between entities and web properties. For example, Google can understand the association between your website and Glassdoor — the well-known job review platform. In short, AI is giving reviews the credit they deserve, and the companies that are taking advantage of them are thriving.
How can you make this work for your real estate brokerage? Improve your social signals. Likes, comments, reviews matter. Having a strong social presence is good for your online reputation, but now it matters just as much when it comes to real estate brokerage SEO. Google is heavily crawling review sites to see what companies deserve the top spot among different search queries. Collection is key!
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6 tips to improve your real estate brokerage SEO (for non-technical people)
Tip 1: Ask for a review
Statistically speaking, reviews give you an enormous amount of SEO juice. And this is my favorite recommendation to a brokerage because you do not have to be technical at all, and really it comes down to effort. Odds are your happiest clients are not going to give you a review on Facebook or Google. But you should ask them, and don’t be shy — follow up with this. It’s worth it.
Tip 2: Explain why you’re asking for reviews
From first-hand experience, this works. When you are asking for a client to review you online, explain why you are doing it. Otherwise they might think you just want them to praise your name in public. If you let them know that you are doing this to gain favor with Google, your conversion rate will improve. The more communication the better, and this does not change when asking for reviews.
Tip 3: Trade reviews
If you have a friend that works in a professional service or is also in real estate, offer to swap reviews. We live in a busy world, and people may not have the time to do a quick favor. But if something else is in it for them, it’s a whole different ball game.
Tip 4: Keywords within the review matter!
When asking someone to review your brokerage, guide them on what to say. Include your town/city. And mention the particular service you provided for the client. Remember: Google searches are now all about AI — the bots can understand what you are typing, so be specific.
Tip 5: Create a campaign and scale it
Brokerages are filled with people, many of whom have a huge networks they nurture every day. Create a campaign to motivate your agents to help the company collect reviews. Think about where your business would be if you had 500 reviews.
Tip 6: Diversify your reviews
I recommend you start with Google reviews, but don’t forget about Facebook reviews, which are easier to collect. All major review sites are relevant, and can work wonders for your real estate brokerage SEO value.
