How To Do SEO For Real Estate Website: 6 Common Mistakes
The real estate industry has been through a lot of changes in the past years, particularly in how properties are being marketed. While there are still real estate agents who give away flyers in public places or are able to make connections through referrals, having a robust online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) proves to be an effective strategy to engage with more people in less time.
Despite real estate businesses knowing how valuable SEO for real estate can be, there are still many that fail to capitalize on this digital marketing strategy, limiting visibility or performance. The following are some common mistakes being made in real estate SEO:
1. Neglecting Local SEO For Real Estate
A real estate website aims to reach people from all over the country and the world. Careful attention to this is required because you can target your marketing efforts to a specific target audience, such as real estate investors and home buyers. However, one SEO strategy that many websites overlook is not utilizing local SEO tactics, reducing successful real estate. This means that real estate sites fail to optimize their Google Business Profile listings, which is the missing link when connecting to the immediate people near your area.
Being in an industry where location is important entails being specific in the posts you use as well, but another crucial element search engine optimizers don’t incorporate is location-specific keywords in their content. Prospective buyers will have their eyes sparkle when they do a local search and see a post near their backyard or community and instantly inquire. Not utilizing this concept is a missed opportunity on your end.
2. Poor Mobile Optimization
Numbers don’t lie—an average person spends a lot of time on his phone. In fact, 46% of Americans devote more than five hours of their day to it. This means more and more are becoming hooked on their handheld devices, so real estate websites should be able to harness this reality to their advantage by making their sites mobile-friendly.
However, many real estate websites suffer from slow loading speeds on mobile devices, frustrating potential clients and increasing bounce rates. Some websites are unresponsive such that clients become frustrated and opt to choose those with a much faster online platform.
Another concern about poor mobile optimization is that the interface doesn’t adjust according to the device being used. For instance, what’s perfectly proportional on a laptop doesn’t suit the same way when opened on a mobile phone. You’ll know you deserve a red flag when texts require zooming to be read. Non-responsive design elements create a poor user experience, while difficult-to-use navigation menus deter mobile users from exploring the site further.
3. Ignoring Content Quality and Freshness
Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for enhancing online visibility, drawing potential clients, and establishing a strong digital presence. However, it’s important to note that having an online presence and maintaining it are two completely different things.
Producing quality content for a real estate website isn’t just about letting people know of your real estate listings—it’s also about providing useful information for them. Blogging, area guides, and real estate FAQs can help a website rank better and serve as valuable resources for potential clients. Being active online and regularly posting informative content also keeps you ahead of your competition because prospective clients’ll see you as engaging and available for them.
4. Overloading Pages with Keywords
Keyword phrases are your bread and butter when it comes to SEO. However, saturating your content with too much of it isn’t beneficial either. Imagine repeating specific words while talking to your friend. At some point, it just becomes annoying and predictable. Keyword stuffing leads to an unnatural reading experience and is penalized by search engines, making it counterproductive for a real estate website.
See to it that the keywords you need to incorporate are uniformly inserted in your content. Make the readers feel it’s intentional for it to be part of the post yet utilized correctly to prompt them about it. Your priority is the content as a whole, not just to use those exact words. You’re aiming for long-term relevancy, so use the keywords sparingly but do it consistently over time.
5. Using Poor-Quality or Non-Optimized Images
The real estate industry relies heavily on images, especially because potential clients want to see what kind of property you can offer. They want to make sure that what they see is what they get. That’s why using subpar quality or non-optimized images in your website content is a major blow to your endeavor to sell. At the same time, too large images can slow down page load times, leading to high bounce rates and poor search engine rankings.
Before you upload any image, double-check the file size first. It shouldn’t be too large that it covers the whole interface, but it shouldn’t be too small that the quality is compromised. Make sure it’s high quality but compressed. At the same time, keyword-rich file names and alt text for images help! These are things you should capitalize on because they guide search engines in comprehending what your image is about.
6. Inadequate Analytics and Tracking
If you’ve been involved in real estate market for quite some time now, then you should know that analytics and tracking are your allies in your SEO journey. Putting yourself out there isn’t a guaranteed success. It takes a strategic approach and continuous adjustment to thrive in this modern era. However, what many miss out on is them not analyzing or tracking their online activities. They’re content with having a digital presence and whatever happens, happens. Without proper tracking and analysis, it becomes impossible to improve performance of SEO for real estate.
User engagement and conversion rates often go untracked, making it impossible to measure ROI effectively. Using analytics tools is one of the best practices as it provides valuable information on key metrics. These help real estate professionals understand which pages and keywords attract the most traffic, how users interact with the site, and where potential drop-offs occur.
Conclusion
Being aware of the common mistakes made in real estate marketing is a step in the right direction because you now know what you need to adjust and focus on. Remember that SEO for real estate is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process that requires regular attention and adjustments based on performance data and changing market conditions. Consider the real estate SEO tips mentioned here as you plan and prepare.
