Think about the most important factors for online marketing success in real estate. You want plenty of traffic for your real estate website, powerful search engine optimization (SEO) to help your audience find you, informative content that builds trust, shareable, clickable content to boost your social media marketing, and easy, natural ways to integrate calls-to-action in order to turn prospects into qualified leads.
It's no exaggeration to state that your real estate blog can be a dependable tool for helping you accomplish all of those goals and more. Here's why you shouldn't underestimate the power of the real estate blog and how to create a blog that will benefit your business for years to come.
The Power of the Real Estate Blog
Ultimately, your real estate blog is a tool for informing your audience, and all of the other benefits stem from accomplishing that key goal. You have plenty of real estate and market expertise to offer. Your blog is the perfect place to share that expertise with your audience and give your digital marketing a major boost.
New to Real Estate Blogging? Getting Started Is Easier than You Think
Hopefully, we've convinced you of the value of a real estate blog, but that still leaves one key question. How do you get started? While you can build a blog yourself from the ground up, there's an easier, more efficient way. Our custom content creation services make it easy to get all of the benefits of blogging without the time investment. We'll create content that's relevant to your audience, market, and preferences, leaving you with more time to pursue the leads that your blog creates.
A leading real estate brokerage in Southwest Florida generates nearly 200 visitors a month from a single blog post that provides reasons to move to the area. Another blog post filled with fun local facts from last April continues to drive nearly 100 visits to another Sunbelt-based brokerage.
So, what's their secret sauce? They are all benefiting from the value of coupling content with SEO. Content is a crucial component of any SEO program for real estate. By providing content that attracts traffic to their website and engages visitors, brokerages can leapfrog local competitors in traffic and lead generation. Without a complete SEO and content strategy, you miss out on driving more prospective local home sellers and buyers to your brokerage website.
That's why real estate brokerages benefit when they think like news veterans to drive more targeted and quality traffic to their websites. News publishers understand that nothing connects better to their audience than local news and information that provides value.
Avoid Being Yesterday's News
While you don't have a team of seasoned journalists who create content like big-time newspapers do, you can learn from how they do what they do.
About a third of all traffic to one of the country's largest-circulation newspaper websites comes from search traffic, according to Alexa. In addition, the paper's reader engagement is off the charts at more than double their competitor's average. So, it is clear that newspapers care deeply about SEO and the insights it provides.
For example, Search Engine Land notes that, often, data tools help shape editorial decisions. Newspapers closely monitor online reader behavior, which allows them to improve their content strategy, and, in turn, builds more trust with their readers.
Newspapers don't think about SEO as a one-hit-wonder for their sites. They know building trust with their readers takes time, and rather than try to sell to their customers, they focus on informing them. Today's newspaper world offers content that connects, and readers keep coming back for more.
Benefits of Content in Your Overall SEO Strategy
Google likes websites that offer new and engaging content. The more frequently your content is updated, the more Google crawls and indexes your website. As Google begins to see your website as being authoritative, your ranking in Google searches improves.
It's essential to provide fresh and frequent content that is distinct. Google does not like duplicative content. If you are repurposing the same content that Google is finding elsewhere, Google is less likely to come back and index your website. Google also will come back less frequently to a website when the content is stale. So you need to give search engines like Google something new to find.
Delta Media Group® regularly provides local content for brokerage websites that is distinct, with topics that spark curiosity to attract and then engage readers and helps ensure they spend more time on the broker's site. Examples of hyperlocal blog content include "Top 5 Picnic Spots in Dayton," "Pet Parks of Portland," "Best Bookstores in Boise," "7 Fun Facts About the French Quarter," and "9 Reasons to Move to Naples." These are the type of evergreen posts that can drive more traffic to a website for years.
In some larger markets, it is difficult for a brokerage to rank high in a Google search for a general home search, such as "Homes for sale in Miami." But by specifically building out hyperlocal blog content for these markets and optimizing these blogs for search, brokerages can increase their chances of ranking for the more competitive search phrases over time.
Delta also provides industry-leading SEO software that automates the process of optimizing a brokerage's website. As a result, it helps brokerage websites grow immensely, creating tens of thousands of pages from MLS listing data – content a brokerage otherwise would not have. Plus, Delta's software provides Google with clean, more descriptive URLs for each page it creates, making it easier to index.
This includes market landing pages, pages for local neighborhoods and subdivisions, school districts, brokerages, IDX listings results pages, and more — all optimized and updated for search engines automatically. Without this software, a brokerage would need a team of folks to manage this process. Combined with the regular blog posts Delta provides, there's always plenty of new content for Google to come back and index.
Right Time, Right Content
Real estate brokerages can leverage automation tools and deliver the right content to the right people at the right time. While you may not field a team of content creators like a major newspaper, the good news is that Delta Media already has one in place for you. Creating content of interest that is relevant and valued is what Delta does best, generating thousands of visitors to our brokerage clients' websites each month.
For example, manually creating and maintaining social media channels, email marketing campaigns, and a blog can be challenging. Many brokerages don't dedicate the resources needed for an effective content marketing strategy because it can be overwhelming and often not deliver a return on one's investment of time and money.
Delta Media Group helps brokerages overcome this hurdle by providing a robust content marketing strategy that leverages automated drip marketing email campaigns and social posting tools as well as hyperlocal blog content. Everything you do as a brokerage in leveraging content should be easy and help you better connect with the communities you serve. By delivering content that matters to your community, you can turn online prospects into closed transactions.
For example, in New Hampshire, a monthly email that targets 22,000 individuals showcasing new listings, price changes, and a real estate article generates 53% of their website traffic and 33% of their leads.
To drive more website traffic, major regional brokerages in North Carolina and Long Island, New York, deploy automated marketing tools, including Market Watch reports, new listing alerts, push notifications, and the My Customer For Life drip marketing email campaign. As much as 10% of their total traffic comes from these automated tools.
In fact, a brokerage can derive more than half of its website volume and a third of its leads from a well-crafted email campaign when the content is hyperlocal and seen as valuable. While the brokerage provides the content, the email goes out on behalf of agents to each agent's client and prospect database.
Agents benefit from this strategy, as they don't have to lift a finger to touch both past and potential clients. They appreciate their broker giving them this type of marketing support that helps them grow their business. Over the years, one broker's email campaign has built an almost cult-like following, with recipients looking forward to their weekly email blast.
Building Traffic and Leads
Real estate SEO is a lot different than how SEO works for most other industries. Regular SEO typically is trying to build and drive traffic to products or services that remain the same. In real estate SEO, the product — a property listing — is turning over all the time, and every new home listing is a new product. A lot of brokerages struggle with SEO for this reason.
But SEO done right can help brokerages dramatically increase traffic and generate more "ready to transact" leads. When compared with most other real estate marketing activities, SEO triumphs by delivering a stellar ROI, as it is one of the most profitable ways to market your brokerage website.
And SEO isn't just for national brokerages or ones with million-dollar marketing budgets. SEO is achievable for brokerages of all sizes. Best of all, the audiences you reach on your website with the right SEO program are buyers and sellers who are more likely to transact sooner rather than later.
Because Delta Media Group delivers the "under the hood" work that SEO requires, brokerages don't have to do the heavy lifting. As a leading real estate website and lead management developer, Delta has the programmers, system administrators, content creators, and web designers to help with the necessary website adjustments, maximizing the SEO of a brokerage site.
Delta works within your real estate website, including the back-end code, to make the necessary programming adjustments, helping brokerages avoid using the services of a third-party SEO company. In addition, copywriting is done by a team of professionals so that SEO-based content creation is by writers who include graduates from top journalism programs and many former professional journalists.
For SEO to remain effective, it also needs to be monitored and adjusted. Having a professional team that has your back gives brokerages peace of mind. Delta makes sure that your SEO investment continues to deliver traffic and leads through tracking and monitoring online behavior. As a result, brokerages get ongoing insight into their website traffic and lead generation because SEO transparency is paramount for its long-term success.
The Big Takeaway
It's a myth that SEO is only for the biggest brokerage firms, and SEO is anything but dead in real estate. The fact is SEO can provide one of the most significant returns on investment of any marketing expenditure by a brokerage.
The right SEO and content marketing strategy can be a brokerage's secret sauce for driving more traffic and building more leads. When a brokerage thinks like a publisher by delivering hyperlocal, relevant and timely content, they will drive more traffic to their website, generate more actionable leads, and delight their agents.
No matter where you live in the United States, most people will find your real estate business online. One of the best ways to take control of your real estate brand is by blogging.
A blog is a gold standard for generating traffic, leads, and building relationships. Blogging keeps you top-of-mind with your readers while positions you as an expert through helpful, informative content. Also, when you blog regularly, you benefit from an SEO standpoint. Google favors websites with relevant, unique, and engaging content added.
These sites are often indexed more frequently, and visibility in the search engines tends to improve.
Are you tired of getting the same old results from the same old real estate marketing tactics? It's said that Einstein once declared, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results." We could spend all day trying to find out if Einstein really said that, but that would be... a little insane. The point is that whoever said it was 100 percent correct, and the lesson applies directly to the real estate industry.
No matter how great your service and team are, it's hard to achieve your goals if your marketing isn't reaching the right people. If you want to attain the results that you dream of achieving, then now is the perfect time to take a fresh, honest look at marketing your real estate business differently.
There's no doubt about it: you don't just want Google to like your real estate website, you want Google to LOVE it. Why? When Google loves your website, you get a higher ranking in search results for real estate businesses and topics in your area. Most prospects don't look beyond the first few links on the first page of results, so a higher search ranking ultimately means more leads and more business. Fortunately, this love story doesn't have to be complicated.
Delta Media Group is known for having the #1 search engine optimization (SEO) platform in the real estate industry by a significant margin. Our team helps real estate businesses with search engine optimization (SEO) every day. Let's take a look at ten ways to make Google fall in love with your website.
When you use the words "location, location, location" speaking one-on-one with a real estate client, you're most likely talking about a specific home or property. However, the phrase takes on a whole new meaning when it relates to your marketing strategy. Real estate pros using hyperlocal content as a part of their online marketing strategies target neighborhoods, homes, local businesses, and events to draw the attention of a specific audience to their communities.
Hyperlocal content is one of the biggest keys to attracting a loyal audience for your real estate website and carves out a unique space for your business online.
Hyperlocal content is an essential element in the online marketing strategies we create for our clients at Delta Media Group. Let's take a closer look at how to use hyperlocal content to grow your real estate business.
In today's digital world, a website is essential for your real estate business: No one will believe you're a "real business" if they can't find you online. But the value of digital marketing goes further: Done right, it energizes your real estate practice with a consistent flow of buyers and sellers ready to do business.
Many real estate agents start out unsure which digital marketing tools suit their needs. They may post on social media or write blog posts for a while, only to discover getting traction is more challenging than they hoped.
Consistency is key, and a marketing mix where several digital techniques work together is more effective than any one approach. To move forward, consider these seven tools that have paved the way to success for real estate agents like you:
There are so many things to look forward to during Thanksgiving weekend, and we're not just talking about your delicious dinner. Thanksgiving is also one of the best times for real estate marketing because you can show your thanks to the clients and communities that help make your real estate success possible.
Whether you're giving a gift, raising money for a good cause, or just letting clients know that you care, now is the time to start thinking about Thanksgiving marketing. Get started with our five delicious Thanksgiving marketing ideas, cooked to perfection for the start of the holiday season.
The Delta Media Group just started rolling out an absolutely amazing Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) email platform that's so much more!
Let me explain...
18 months ago we had a crazy idea for a new system. After a few months of programming and coordination between the operations team, design team, and digital marketing team at Delta a new A.I. platform was born. Today we are announcing the new platform, called My Customer For Life, to all customers!
When people ask me, "Blogging ... Really? Do I have to?" My answer is "You Bet."
Blogging is a very BIG deal when it comes to your real estate website.
A blog delivers benefits to your website that will more than pay you back for the time and effort it takes to create it.
I can guess what you're thinking …"What a bunch of hooey." Well, that couldn't be further from the truth.
Here's why:
Creating a blog for your real estate website is one of the best things you can do to attract leads to your business because it allows you to:
Since most people today are using the Internet to house hunt, it only seems natural to use online marketing strategies to keep interested parties coming back to your real estate business for more--and that's exactly what blogging can do for you.
Delta Media Group releases new features for the DeltaNet5 platform on a regular basis. We undertake all types of projects ranging from our clients' special requests to emerging trends in real estate technology. If you have any suggestions, questions or need assistance, contact our Tech Support Team.
Blogging Is Custom Creative Content Marketing
When creating custom content that can be shared through blog posts it is important to keep in mind that the content needs to be targeted to what people want to read or watch based on a need they may have in the real estate industry.