How Real Estate Agents Can Generate More Leads with YouTube SEO

Let's be honest: This topic is a combination of three constantly evolving fields. The housing market changes by the day. Lead generation can feel inconsistent, even at the best of times. And chasing after SEO keywords is up and down, too.

All three components are driven by trends. And they're trends that SEO-savvy real estate agents try their best to keep up with because good marketing leads to better business.

However, one constant piece in this formula is how much time the average internet user spends on YouTube. (The average person aged 18+ spends more than 40 minutes a day watching YouTube videos.)

So if you can develop a good YouTube SEO strategy, you'll be able to get your video content in front of more viewers than ever.

YouTube as a Lead Gen Tool

Before diving into the nitty-gritty details of YouTube SEO, it's important to understand why YouTube can be just as beneficial to your business as any other social media platform — say, Facebook for example.

According to a 2021 study, YouTube is both the second most popular social media platform (after Facebook) and also the second most visited website on the internet (after Google). And more than 2 billion active users watch more than 1 billion hours of video every day.

The takeaway here is that YouTube has become a primary hub for content. Whether the focus is entertainment, news, education, or a sense of community, more people are watching more YouTube content in 2021 than ever before.

As a result, it's become a popular destination for advertisers. Marketers spent a little over $4 billion on YouTube ads last year, and YouTube's global ad revenue was around a little shy of $20 billion.

It's like that idiom about drops of water in a bucket. Only in this case, the "bucket" is one of the largest bodies of water to ever be discovered by advertisers.

YouTube has become a key player in how people connect and share things with each other, and that has developed it into a major lead generator for businesses. It's the kind of lead gen tool that could be used by anyone in any industry — even real estate.

A Real Estate Agent's Guide to YouTube SEO

There's a good chance that Facebook is already a big platform for your real estate business. From posting video walkthroughs of houses to connecting with people (both homebuyers and fellow agents), it's hard to imagine a world where social media doesn't play some role in your work.

But the problem with relying on Facebook videos is that your reach is often limited to your network. And since Facebook doesn't quite have the most consistent search and filter algorithms, it's possible for people to miss out on things unless you are paying for targeted advertising.

Targeted ads can be very effective on Facebook, but they come with a price tag. The main trait real estate agents love about SEO-driven advertising is that it's all organic — by targeted specific keywords, you can make sure your content finds the right audience.

And the only "expense" on your part is putting in the effort to find the right keywords.

YouTube has developed reliable SEO guidelines thanks to its relationship with Google. And that means you can use the video platform to consistently and effectively get your videos to rank well when people search for specific keywords.

Of course, it's just like SEO rules on Google. If you want a top spot for a keyword, you'll need to put in some research (to find the keyword) and technical work (to make sure you meet YouTube SEO requirements). But it's the sort of thing that real estate agents can — and should — rely on to get video content in front of as many potential homebuyers as possible.

In other words, it'll help you generate more leads. And if you make YouTube SEO a regular part of your lead generation strategies, then YouTube can function as a reliable way to advertise yourself to new groups of prospective homebuyers.

Get the Most Out of Video Content

Even people familiar with Google's SEO process have to relearn a few things to get results on YouTube. The platform's focus on video content has led to very different trends in what sort of topics people search for, and specifically how they use the search bar.

For example, people are much more likely to search for "how-to" videos — tutorial content is consistently the most-watched on YouTube, and that was especially true last year. In 2020, YouTube saw a 50% increase in the number of views for videos with "beginner" in the title.

Viewers also have a higher chance of watching something from the suggestions bar instead of going back to YouTube to search for something else. (In fact, 81% of American YouTube users regularly watch videos the algorithm recommends to them.)

Contrast that with traditional web activity. How often do you search for something, click a result, and then start browsing that site to read posts about unrelated topics? That sort of thing works on YouTube, but hardly ever translates to Google.

People use the two platforms differently, and that applies to the SEO rules to follow if you want viewers to find your videos and start engaging with the content you share.

When it comes to real estate, it's unrealistic to think you can upload videos about every single listing you're going to see. Instead, think of YouTube as a platform where you can share other sorts of video content — by becoming a trusted voice on a specific topic, people will be willing to click links to your other social media pages or even your website.

Maybe you create how-to videos, introducing first-time homebuyers to different topics that will help them. Or maybe you make monthly updates about the market in your area.

And of course, you can still upload videos about listings as they become available, particularly if they are in a busy market that you know will get some traffic online.

Regardless of which video format you rely on, YouTube can become a powerful lead generation tool for your business. And by targeting specific keywords, you can use your YouTube channel to guide people to other platforms where you can connect with them directly.

To view the original article, visit the Wise Agent blog.