The real estate sector is one of the most competitive industries, with everyone from small businesses to large conglomerates fighting for visibility and listings. However, the competition online might not be so tough after all. As your area is hyperlocal, you will only be competing with other real estate sites in that same area. The competition might still be fierce here as well, but local SEO techniques will give you a better chance of success. To that end, here are some effective local SEO tips you can use for your real estate website:

Conduct an SEO audit

A technical SEO audit allows you to determine where you need to make improvements and which pages are currently doing well. Although it does take some time, an audit enables you to track your progress and gives you the necessary information for creating a roadmap. Consider whether your website ranks locally, if you are getting organic traffic, and whether you are converting clients or generating leads. If any of these aspects aren’t delivering the desired result, an SEO audit will help you improve them. Important areas to look into include page and site structure, links, content, and overall usability.

Optimise for mobile

Over 50% of internet traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. If you want to satisfy both your potential clients and Google, your real estate website has to function perfectly on tablets and smartphones as well. In terms of mobile optimisation, important aspects to consider are page and hosting speeds, responsive design, site navigation, homepage, usability, site search, and conversions. A responsive design is key to usability, as it automatically adjusts a website to fit any screen, along with keeping the site as simple and clean as possible.

Use structured data markup

Schema, or structured data markup, is organised information that enables search engines to learn more about your site’s content. If you’d like your website to rank high locally and even display rich snippets, you will need to implement this aspect wherever possible. As a real estate company, you might benefit from Product, Offer, Place, RealEstateAgent, RentAction, Residence, WebPage, etc. The exact schema you use will depend on your website structure, which is why it might be best to consult SEO professionals in this instance.

Optimise for search

We tend to focus on new trends and tactics so much that we often forget about the SEO basics that ensure success. Take a look at websites offering modern flats for sale in Montenegro, for instance. The reason their local success rate is so high is due to the fundamentals of SEO that help to enhance their overall optimisation. These include keyword research and analysis, image optimisation, SEO-friendly URLs, title and meta description optimisation, internal and outbound link placement, site speed improvement, content optimisation, etc. You should prioritise these aspects for higher chances of success as well.

Use Google My Business

An important part of local SEO comes down to local citations, especially in competitive markets such as the US. If you manage to get your real estate site listed in a number of different places, including your phone number, name, and address, your chances of success will be greater. Begin with Google My Business and aim to complete your profile. Fill it up with images, videos, listings, and other content, and keep your profile updated. This will enable you to rank higher in local searches on Google, and it might even improve your positions on important websites like Trulia and Zillow.

Focus on social media

While social media won’t impact your local SEO results directly, it’s still an integral part of any successful digital marketing strategy. It can connect you with your target audience, increase your exposure, drive traffic to your site, increase conversions, and simply build brand awareness, trust, and authority. Without social media profiles, real estate companies might find it difficult to gain visibility online. So, choose a few platforms that are most popular and relevant to your target market, and use them for sharing important news, deals and updates, as well as content from your website.

Create video content

Video content is particularly popular among audiences at the moment, and it can be ideal for setting your real estate business apart from your competition. Think about creating a YouTube channel, uploading videos to it regularly, sharing those videos on your site and social media platforms, and possibly even running live streams to build an audience. For instance, you can create listings videos. Q&A videos, open house videos, virtual home tours, etc. This is an easy way to attract and engage local users.

Although the real estate industry often comes with tough competition, online marketing still offers plenty of opportunities. As long as you follow the SEO tips mentioned above, you will be able to improve your rankings and even dominate local search.