For your target customers to be able to find you online, you MUST be visible in the search engines. Search engine optimization is the #1 way to drive organic traffic to your real estate website. Without it, your site could easily end up getting lost in the mix and rarely seen by any prospects. 

There are multiple strategies you need to know to truly conquer SEO and get to the top of Google's search rankings. Now let's take a look at what they are:

1. Quality Web Design
While certainly important for appealing to customers, web design is about more than just creating an aesthetic. A quality website is not only visually appealing but is also easy to navigate and has pages that load quickly. Search engines additionally pay attention to whether your site offers users the information they need and includes the answers to commonly asked questions. In real estate, some of these common questions include, How does the home-buying process work? What are the steps involved with selling a house? Is it better to rent or buy? Why should I use a real estate agent? Or What is the current state of the housing market? Finally, a quality website design will be ADA-compliant and accessible for everyone.

2. Mobile Optimization
Making sure your website is optimized for mobile is another key part of conquering SEO. For your website to be mobile friendly, it should at the very least have a responsive design that works for various screen sizes, have readable text without needing to zoom in, avoid pop-ups, and be compatible with a touchscreen. Given how many people use the Internet from their phones and tablets these days, search engines like Google likely won't promote your site if it isn't optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. 

3. Post Frequent, Engaging Content
Search engine algorithms love fresh content that is informative and engaging. Along with providing value and sharing your expertise with your customers, this is one of the many benefits of having a blog and posting new content regularly. Google tends to prefer longer content, so your blog posts should be at least 500 words or more for greater visibility. They are also looking for "readable" content. This means articles that are easy to understand and simple to digest. Using Grammarly and incorporating sections or subheadings into your content are some ways to improve your content's readability score. 

As a busy real estate professional, finding the time to both write and optimize blog posts can be challenging. Thankfully, with Delta's Content Marketing Services, a team of professional writers and marketers will manage your blog content for you. So you can just sit back, relax, and let the prospects come to you.

4. Keyword Research
Google loves keywords. By identifying keywords and phrases your target audience is likely searching for and adding them to your URL, website content, meta tags, and headers, your customers will have an easier time finding you when searching online. Tools like Google Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you discover keywords with a decent search volume but little competition. 

5. Leverage Backlinks
Leveraging backlinks, or links from another website to yours, is another great way to improve your site's SEO. Having other established, editorially sound sites linking to yours will improve your website's credibility and show Google you can be trusted.

6. On-Page Optimization
Considering most customers will find your site through specific pages, it's important to optimize the pages you want to rank using on-page optimization. You can optimize your website pages using title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and image alt attributes. 

7. Connect Your Website With Your Online Presence
If you're doing it right, your online presence includes far more than just your real estate website. It includes social media profiles, Yelp and Google reviews, and maybe even a profile on Zillow. Linking your digital presence together and providing a consistent online experience for customers is another essential key to conquering SEO. 

8. Technical SEO
Along with strategies like making your site mobile-friendly, technical SEO means paying attention to things like the site's crawlability and indexability. It also includes optimizing your website's code, fixing any broken links, implementing schema markup, and utilizing XML sitemaps to ensure search engines understand your content to index them more effectively. If this language is foreign to you, don't worry, Delta Media Group® has got you covered.

9. Local SEO
A large part of conquering SEO means appearing in the top search results for not just anybody but the people in your market area. After all, it's not going to be super helpful if someone who is looking to buy a home in Oregon finds your site and you are based in Ohio. That's where local SEO comes in. To optimize your site for local searches, be sure to use location-based keywords, encourage local customers to review you, and create a Google local business profile that links to your site. 

10. Monitor Traffic and Make Adjustments
The final strategy for conquering SEO is to regularly monitor your site's traffic and make adjustments according to the analytics. Although all of these methods do their part, some may work better for you than others. Plus, search engine algorithms change over time, so it's best to keep an eye out in case the changes affect your site's traffic. 

Delta Media Group Makes SEO Simple

Mastering SEO is paramount for building a thriving real estate website. With the multitude of methods available, it's clear that a holistic approach is necessary to conquer search engine rankings effectively. Ultimately, the journey to SEO success is not a destination but a continual process of refinement and adaptation. As search engine algorithms evolve and user behaviors shift, you must remain agile and proactive in your approach. 

While it may seem like conquering SEO is a lot to take on, it's simple with the right partner by your side. Delta Media Group is known for its industry-leading SEO services, which include on-page optimization, mobile optimization, content creation, local SEO, monthly traffic reporting, and more. Utilizing these services, our clients have found up to 80% of their leads coming from organic traffic and over 70% of total traffic coming from organic search. If you're interested in learning more, contact us today.