6 Tips to Improve Real Estate SEO

Landing that coveted number one spot in Google SERPs, or even making it to page one, is no easy feat. But you can climb the search engine rankings with time, patience and the following real estate SEO tips:

Do an SEO audit

Evaluate how SEO-friendly your real estate website is now. Use tools like Screaming Frog to assess how accessible your site is to search engine crawlers and whether or not all pages are currently indexed and returned by search engines. Also look for opportunities to optimize on-site (i.e., HTML and source code) and off-site elements (e.g., inbound links from external sites, social media marketing).

Think beyond high-volume keywords

Keyword research is an essential component of on-site SEO. But keywords that get a high volume of searches shouldn't be your only target. In fact, you may find it more difficult to rank high on a SERP for a competitive keyword (e.g., "real estate listings") than a less sought-after local keyword (e.g., "san francisco real estate listings") or another long-tail keyword (e.g., "foreclosure real estate agent near me").

Get on-site elements in order

Be sure that site and page structure are navigable, that page URLs, HTML tags, text and images target your chosen keywords and that internal and outbound links provide value and are neither too numerous nor too scarce.

Perform off-site SEO to build authority

Getting inbound links from authority websites in your niche can do wonders for your own website's reputation and search engine ranking. The best way to get inbound links is organically by building a website with value-added content. Then, increase your website's visibility by running a social media campaign. Another method involves writing a guest blog post for an authority website and getting linked from that website.

Create a real estate blog and/or newsletter

Maintaining an authority blog or newsletter is a great way to get onto people's radar and gain quality inbound links. The key is to create content that is brand-tailored, timely and relevant and informative and/or entertaining enough to make people come back for more.

Hire an SEO pro

Undoing a poorly conceived SEO strategy can be more work than implementing it right the first time. Get help navigating the complexities of SEO by hiring a part- or full-time SEO professional who uses "white-hat" SEO techniques. "White-hat" SEO techniques comply with search engine guidelines. "Black-hat" SEO tactics potentially violate these guidelines that can get your site penalized and lower its search engine ranking.

To view the original article, visit the MileIQ blog.