Estate agent tips to appear in local search

If you are a local estate agent, the chances are that you want to appear in local search. Perhaps you are interested in appearing for a term such as ‘Estate Agent in [location]’ when someone searches on Google. If you’re looking to improve your local presence on Google, make sure you’ve done the following local search suggestions.Tiny

1.    Google My Business

Claim your Google My Business page and make sure you are listed on Google Maps. This clearly signals to Google that you are a local business.

·      To add your business to Google Maps, visit https://www.google.com/business/

·      Enter your business details.

·      Google will then send you a postcard with a unique verification code to the address you have entered which you will need to send to them to prove you are a local business.

2.   Research your keywords.

Use Google’s keyword planner, a free tool to research what keywords people are searching for and then include these within your website. For instance, this might tell you that you also want to include words such as ‘letting agent in [location]’, ‘property for sale in [location]’, ‘houses for sale in [location]’ as well as ‘estate agent in [location]’.

3.   Use H1 and H2 tags

Once you have decided on the keywords you are focused on, make sure that these are included within your website.  You want to make sure that you are including these keywords within the most important titles on your website and that you are marking these as H1 or H2 tags. For instance your homepage header might be ‘Estate agents in [location]’ marked up as an H1 tag if this is a keyword you are looking to rank for. Make sure you also update your page titles and meta descriptions – whilst these might not have a huge effect on your local ranking, they will influence how likely someone is to click on your results when you appear in a search.

4.    Local structured data

Use local structured data markup or schema markup to give your website a boost. This is specific coding that makes it easier for Google to identify local information. It includes things like address, telephone number and opening hours. If the thought of coding isn’t for you, you can use Google’s highlighting tool to help with this. Google have even created a tool to help you test that it is working correctly. It is really important that you include key local information such as your address, telephone number and opening hours.

5.    Locally focused page

Create a locally focused page that focuses specifically on the local area. This is especially important if you operate in multiple areas – you need to do this for each area. Include properties you’ve listed, talk about the local area, talk about changes in house prices, new developments and why the area is great. You could even include local upcoming events and promote these. Remember to also include your keywords in this page!

6.    Join business directories

Add your business to local directories. Look for local directories like Yelp, Yell or 118 Information. Try to keep all the information that you add to these directories the same – so do your Google My Business page first and then mirror this across the other directories.

7.     Link your social media profiles to your website.

8.    Include Reviews

Ask for reviews so that it shows your customers are talking about you. This will help highlight to Google that you are a local business.

9.   Backlinks

Try to get backlinks. Trust score is an important factor for Google when ranking a website. If sites are linking to you this indicates that you have worthwhile and trustworthy content. A good way to get backlinks is to showcase properties in local online press, for instance, and have them link to your site for full details. Read our guide for getting local PR for more details on this.

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