According to the National Association of Realtors, the first step that home buyers take in the purchasing process is searching online. No wonder best-in-class realtors have been embracing digital marketing to promote their businesses and build relationships with prospects.
Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned professional, online marketing can help you generate more leads, build relationships with clients, stay top of mind, and close more sales.
Yet, most real estate agents don’t have the necessary digital marketing strategies in place to attract clients online. This means you can stand out from your competition by investing some time and effort to establish an online presence.
Here are the key online marketing channels and strategies for real estate agents:
1. Create a Mobile-optimized Website Experience
Your website is your virtual storefront. It often makes the important first-impression that determines if a prospect will get in touch. As more people are using their smartphones to view online content, your website should deliver an optimized mobile experience.
Besides a mobile-responsive site design, you should leverage mobile-specific features, such as tap-to-call, location services, and autofill to enhance the user experience. Also, your site’s layout should be mobile-friendly — e.g. make sure all the content is legible on the small screen and the calls-to-action (CTAs) are easy to find with minimum scrolling.
2. Optimize Your Content for Local SEO
Most consumers use search engines when researching real estate purchases but most people don’t go past the first page of Google. You can attract more high-quality prospects when your website is listed at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs.)
To get found on relevant SERPs, make sure your website is optimized for local SEO by incorporating location-specific keywords in your content. Also, claim your Google My Business listing, which will help your business get included in the “local pack” at the top of Google search results.
3. Build Relationships with Email Marketing
Email marketing can yield an ROI of as high as 3,800% by allowing you to deliver targeted content cost-effectively to build relationships with your prospects. By sharing timely and valuable information, you can position yourself as a trusted ally and expert while staying top of mind.
There are many email marketing services you can use to send your campaigns. The technologies allow you to segment your list, set up automated sequences, and personalize the messages so you can send the right content to the right people at the right time to increase the impact of your campaigns.
4. Leverage Online Reviews to Boost Credibility
Did you know that 82% of consumers read reviews for local businesses and review signals make up 15% of Google local pack ranking factors? Getting stellar reviews on local directories and third-party sites (e.g., Yelp) can boost your credibility and drive high-quality traffic to your website.
First, claim your listings on these sites and complete your profile information (e.g., URL and photos.) Then, ask your happy clients to post a review — you can make it easy for them by providing photos and reminding them of the positive experience.
5. Drive Traffic with Online Advertising
PPC (pay-per-click) ads offer a great way to reach a highly targeted audience on SERPs, social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram,) and other websites. You can promote listings of specific properties to drive high-quality traffic to your website.
To optimize your ROI, make sure you’re targeting the right audience segments with the right message. For example, LeadHax can help you deliver the right ads to the right prospects based on past online behaviors, demographics, and geographic locations to get more high-quality clicks.
Online marketing can help you attract more high-quality prospects, foster client relationships, and increase sales. In the coming months, we’ll be sharing some in-depth tips on PPC advertising, email marketing, website design, content marketing, and more for real estate agents to help you grow your business — stay tuned!
