Realtor SEO - Advice for Realtors
"The market is slowing down, so I need some Realtor SEO to help me get more leads from the Internet."
About once a week, I get a phone call about my Realtor SEO services from a person who says something along these lines.
That's not an exaggeration ... about once per week. Some people are just kicking the tires, so to speak. Some are not exactly sure what they need, but they think it might be this thing called Realtor SEO. Only a few are serious about (and informed about) Realtor SEO -- and these are the ones who often become clients. I would say it's about 1 in 10.
The other 9 are just scrambling for a solution -- any solution -- to the slowing real estate market.
In truth, the quote that I opened this article with is usually a red flag of some deeper misunderstanding about what Realtor SEO can do, and what it cannot do. So here's my effort to shed a little light on this thing we call SEO for Realtors, and how it can best be used.
I don't say all of this to discourage you or dissuade you from pursuing Realtor SEO as a marketing tool. It's worth the effort, to be sure. But you need to understand how SEO works, what it can do for you, and what it cannot do for you.
Good luck with your web marketing!
-Brandon
About once a week, I get a phone call about my Realtor SEO services from a person who says something along these lines.
That's not an exaggeration ... about once per week. Some people are just kicking the tires, so to speak. Some are not exactly sure what they need, but they think it might be this thing called Realtor SEO. Only a few are serious about (and informed about) Realtor SEO -- and these are the ones who often become clients. I would say it's about 1 in 10.
The other 9 are just scrambling for a solution -- any solution -- to the slowing real estate market.
In truth, the quote that I opened this article with is usually a red flag of some deeper misunderstanding about what Realtor SEO can do, and what it cannot do. So here's my effort to shed a little light on this thing we call SEO for Realtors, and how it can best be used.
5 Truths About Realtor SEO
- Search engine optimization (SEO) cannot change a slowing real estate market. If people are not buying or selling homes, they are simply not buying or selling homes. No amount of marketing -- be it Realtor SEO or anything else -- can change that.
- SEO is not a quick-fix solution by any means. Realtor SEO is a long-term strategy, so it should not be used in "spurts" when business slows down. This is one of the biggest misunderstandings people have regarding search engine optimization. You plant the seeds today ... you reap the rewards months from now.
- Realtor SEO is not a lead-generation tool. Search engine optimization generates visibility, search engine rankings, and web traffic. But it does not produce leads. SEO can help you produce more leads, simply by giving you more web traffic to work with. But it does not produce leads by itself.
- Most real estate agents have more than enough web traffic to support their business goals. But they are not capitalizing on that traffic by converting website visitors into clients. So before spending money on Realtor SEO to increase web traffic, it's critical that you put things in place to maximize your website conversion rates (turning visitors into leads, and ultimately clients).
- Most of the techniques I use for my SEO clients can be handled by the Realtors themselves. So I say, why not take advantage of a slower real estate market to work on your website's visibility, search engine rankings, etc? In fact, I've written a book to help you do exactly that.
I don't say all of this to discourage you or dissuade you from pursuing Realtor SEO as a marketing tool. It's worth the effort, to be sure. But you need to understand how SEO works, what it can do for you, and what it cannot do for you.
Good luck with your web marketing!
-Brandon
Labels: Real Estate SEO
posted by Brandon at
4:03 PM
