One industry that is continually getting affected by the current pandemic is real estate. Due to social distancing protocols and lockdowns in many countries, the real estate industry has suffered a great hit. Real estate agents are now unable to continue their businesses, and homebuyers are justifiably hesitant to visit residential and commercial listings.
Many real estate agents, even today, depend solely on traditional marketing methods such as billboards, brochures, and referrals in promoting their services and listings. However, given the situation today and the fact that many people are now present online, agents should learn how to adapt to technology to better market themselves.
The digital market welcomes everyone, but the competition is high and difficult to overcome. That is why real estate agents should invest and focus first on building their online visibility. With that said, here are four ways you can boost your online visibility and local reach:
1. By performing mobile-optimization
According to reports, nearly half of search engine inquiries are local searches, and these people who search for local information are most likely to make contact within 24 hours. With that said, you should digitize your real estate advertisement to reach more local clients.
However, your digital marketing shouldn’t end with that. One thing that you should remember is that most inquiries are searched using smartphones. That is why you should optimize your website for mobile. Doing so will allow you to expand your reach and attract more leads as people prefer sites that are easy to navigate with their phones.
One thing that you should prioritize when designing your site for mobile optimization is its overall layout. Your web design should seamlessly and effectively fit the screen of mobile devices. You may also consider adding a navigation dock on the top portion of each page to direct visitors after scrolling down. This will allow them to easily make their way around your site and drastically improve the user experience.
2. By registering to Google My Business
To establish your credibility on the internet, you should make sure to register and claim your business on Google My Business manually. Doing so will help you get leads naturally as people search for your type of service.
Google My Business is a listing platform that allows various businesses to make themselves more visible on search engine results pages and Google Maps. This will work to your advantage, knowing that almost every person who has a smartphone uses Google maps to search for nearby services and stores.
When registering your Google My Business listing, make sure to do the following:
- Upload your logo and business banner
- Update all the information, including your contact information, office address, business hours, and services
- Provide high-quality photos or marketing materials
Do not forget to mention the address of your physical office if you have one. Doing this will help direct local customers to your business site quickly and effectively. If you don’t have a physical office but still want to focus your service to one or several locations, make sure to mention your service area in the business description.
3. By listing firm on local directories
Search for reputable business directories on the internet and register your real estate service on each one. Doing so will help your potential clients perceive you as a legitimate and trusted real estate agent. Aside from that, it will also help to spread awareness of your business to other markets that you might have overlooked.
Listing your service on local directories online can significantly boost your online visibility as this can:
- Direct potential customers to your business
- Serve as a platform where potential customers can read reviews about your service
- Let Google rank your business favourable once the search engine has noticed that you have a lot of backlinks from quality sites.
If you want to get more local customers, make sure to register on local directories. You can ask your fellow real estate agents for recommendations, or you can do a quick search indicating your industry and location.
4. By practicing local SEO marketing
One of the best things that you can do to promote your services is search engine optimization. This particular type of digital marketing can drastically boost your online visibility, lead generation, customer engagement, conversion rates, and revenue.
This works by integrating related and high-ranking keywords to your content so that search engines will rank your website and pages on search engine result pages (SERPs). Whenever an internet user searches for one of your keywords, search engines will display your website or your content, depending on its relevance and quality.
However, search engine marketing and optimization are not only about keywords. The following features also help in ranking your website or content:
- Functional links
- Fast loading speed
- Mobile-optimized pages
- Appropriate tags
- Optimized meta titles and descriptions
- Regular content creation
- Clear and concise CTAs and CTA buttons
- High-quality and relevant visual content
- Correct placement of menus and links
To target local customers with your real estate business, you should make sure to incorporate your service area in your web design and content. This will help your content rank highly in your chosen locations, allowing you to avoid having to compete in markets that aren’t relevant to your business.
Conclusion
Given the situation today, real estate agents should shift to digital marketing in advertising their services and listings. Although the pandemic has caused limitations in the industry, agents can continue their service by boosting their online presence. There are many ways you can achieve this, including optimizing your site for mobile devices, claiming your business on Google My Business, registering on local directories online, and performing search engine marketing and optimization.
To attract more local customers and results, you should integrate and mention your service location in your content, business description, and especially your keywords. This will ensure that your marketing initiatives are highly forced to the particular markets that you actually cater to, ensuring that your resources are well-spent and delivering the results that you need.
If you are looking for a digital marketing agency in St. Louis for your real estate business, get in touch with our team today. We can help boost your online visibility by offering our expert SEO services.