Subscribe and receive email notifications of new blog posts.
RSS Feed
- 2026 | 17 Posts
- 2025 | 97 Posts
- 2024 | 114 Posts
- 2023 | 143 Posts
- 2022 | 188 Posts
- 2021 | 204 Posts
- 2020 | 190 Posts
- 2019 | 118 Posts
- 2018 | 122 Posts
- 2017 | 164 Posts
- 2016 | 95 Posts
- 2015 | 68 Posts
16
The Impact of Abandoning SEO
As the market remains challenging, many real estate brokerages are wrestling with declining sales volumes. Experiencing reduced profit margins, these brokerages are choosing to cut costs or delay adopting new strategies that could increase sales and benefit their business. One of these strategies is SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
With 97% of buyers today beginning their home search online, SEO has never been more necessary for the success of your real estate business. If SEO is not deployed, you lessen your chances of being discovered in search engines and miss out on more qualified leads and traffic.
What is SEO?
SEO refers to optimizing your website and online content to improve their visibility on search engines like Google. The goal of SEO is to rank higher in search engine results for specific keywords, which increases organic (non-paid) traffic.Â
SEO involves on-page techniques, such as optimizing content, meta tags, and internal links, as well as off-page strategies like backlink building and social media engagement. Technical aspects, including site speed, mobile-friendliness, and secure connections, also play a role. Effective SEO requires keyword research, content quality, and user experience optimization to improve search engine rankings.
How Does SEO Affect Lead Generation?
SEO is critical for lead generation. A higher search ranking makes your website and online content more visible to prospective clients searching for homes or agent representation in your area. And ultimately, the more traffic you get on your website, the more leads you have coming in.Â
What Happens When SEO Gets Abandoned?
The impact of SEO is made most clear when a brokerage abandons its SEO strategy. For example, one of our former large brokerage partners recently discontinued their SEO services when switching to a low cost website provider.
As a Delta Media Group® SEO partner, organic search accounted for nearly 50% of this brokerage's website traffic in 2024. We helped them grow their organic search by 16% year over year. Plus, their leads from organic search were up nearly 100%, and SEO accounted for 63% of those leads. These leads were extremely valuable to their organization, as they distributed them amongst their team of over 300 agents. Unfortunately, within 30 days of abandoning these services, their online visibility plummeted by 90%, costing them abundant traffic and leads.
Think Before You Cut SEO
If this case taught us anything, it's the value of SEO. In the current climate, we understand the need to cut costs to keep your business afloat, but cutting your SEO services will only further reduce your profit margins. SEO is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available today, and the impact is significant. The truth is that brokers often only realize SEO's true impact until it's gone, and then it's much harder to return.Â
Delta Media Group® is #1 in SEO
Simply having an SEO strategy isn't enough to generate leads in today's market; you need the help of an industry-leading expert. Delta Media Group is #1 in SEO. We deliver the best results, and our partners can prove it.
One of our newest website partners, Dean Ruoso from Baird & Warner Real Estate, said in an interview, "Since we've made this change from our previous website vendor to Delta, we have seen a very large increase in traffic."
Don't Abandon SEO; Work With the Best in the Business
As our recent case study shows, abandoning high-level SEO leads to a significant drop in traffic and inbound leads. Maintaining a strong digital presence is mandatory at a time when nearly all homebuyers begin their search online. SEO remains one of the most cost-effective ways to ensure your website reaches prospective clients, generating the organic traffic necessary to drive sales and stay competitive.
Cutting SEO to save costs may seem like a quick fix, but it can lead to long-term damage that is difficult to reverse. As the case of our former partner demonstrates, losing visibility can happen swiftly, and rebuilding it is far more challenging. In today's real estate market, where every lead matters, a robust SEO strategy is not just beneficial — it's critical for survival.
For brokerages looking to succeed in this market, partnering with an experienced SEO expert like Delta Media Group can be the key to sustaining growth. Investing in SEO now will ensure your business continues to thrive, no matter what unforeseen challenges lie ahead.
For more information on our SEO services, contact us today.
